The world of electronic communications is an exciting whirlwind of new opportunities. The World Wide Web and the Internet are rapidly evolving the information and communication landscape. Electronic mail, web browsers, multimedia and electronic conferencing greatly enhance the opportunities for communication. It’s a brave, new world that we live in. Is electronic communication compatible with ministry? Is the World Wide Web and Internet simply a fad, like CB radios that will fade in the near future? Is the Internet "the Beast" described in Revelations? Should the church and those involved in ministry utilize electronic communications?

I believe that it is essential for the church to utilize electronic communication in ministry. Some have poignantly asked the question if the church can remain relevant and vital in this society. The church must understand and communicate in the language and methods of the culture to remain effective in proclaiming its timeless message. Over two thousand years, its message has not changed, but the language and methods of communication have changed.

This new information age brings with it the most exciting opportunities ever known to humankind for communicating the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The information age blatantly exposes how inadequate technology is for meeting the real needs of people today. Never before has the need for the church been so great. Yet the church is relying on the tools of the industrial age to minister to people in the information age. If the church is going to remain relevant and vital in this age, then it is going to have to retool itself to communicate in the information age.

In this workshop we are going to address retooling your church and your ministry for electronic communications.

A person can sit down at a computer in an isolated hollow in West Virginia and communicate daily via electronic mail with friends in Perm, Russia. That person can have an interactive discussion ("chat") with people in youth ministry who are in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Toronto, Canada, Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Sydney, Australia simultaneously from that same computer using a local phone call. They can access the works of John Wesley and the Dead Sea Scrolls. They can engage in dialogue with Unitarians, Jews, Muslims and Mormons about proselytizing people of other faiths. They can sell collectable dolls, look at used cars and buy ostriches. A person’s life, vocation, ministry and world view are greatly affected by electronic communications.

Ministry is the vehicle through which the mission of the church is accomplished. Electronic communications can make a vital impact on the efficiency and quality of ministry.

Electronic communication enhances and evolves both intra-ministry and inter-ministry communication.

Through electronic mail, mailing lists, chat rooms, forums, news groups, etc. the traditional trickling of information through an organizational hierarchy is both enhanced and circumvented. Distrust and coercion through information control can be obliterated through creative and dynamic communication links within and without, above and beyond the normal boundaries of traditional communications.

The World Wide Web and Internet communicate to an increasingly post-Christian culture the timeless truths and life-changing Gospel in new and interactive ways. Sound, movies, animation and text blend in dynamic and surprising ways to attract and disciple new generations who just can’t connect with a Gospel tract. (Be honest, can you?)

As a person concerned with the cause of Christ, you can become more enlightened in your knowledge, more effective in your proclamation, more nurtured in your discipleship and more focused in your service.

Through the internet you can learn about the historical spread of the gospel in pioneer America and get updated information about current Middle East violence. Through a search engine on the World Wide Web you can find powerful sermon illustrations and images that convey your message. Through an email devotional you can be encouraged in your daily walk and find Bible study helps on a Web page. On your denominational web page you can find out what items flood victims need today, and communicate the need to be met by your congregation.

Now that we have explored the possibilities, we must understand some basic concepts involved in electronic communication before we can successfully launch into cyberspace.

The Internet is a collection of computers located around the world. These computers reside in universities, government agencies, businesses, and non-profit organizations. No one "owns" the Internet, but all these connected computers have agreed to permit some of their computer resources to be used for Internet communications. These computers are connected together with telephone lines and communicate using special "protocols" or languages. These protocols are data packaging so that the information can be interpreted by a variety of computers.

The Internet began as ARPAnet (The Advanced Research Project Agency) in the 1960’s. This U. S. Department of Defense project to link government and academic research computers through redundant paths. If one link connecting the computers failed, then another route could be used to send data between the computers. For a history of the ARPAnet, see

Today, the Internet has expanded to include commercial involvement. Since no one owns the Internet, there really is no regulation of it.

Simple: a degree in computer science, $10,000 dollars, an internet "geek" friend and stock in one of the telecommunications conglomerates, like Ninex and Bell Atlantic.

No, not really. All you really need is a computer, a modem and an internet connection.

A MacIntosh or Windows capable computer is needed to fully access the World Wide Web.. Before you run out and purchase a computer just for surfing the "Web," think of all your other needs first. You will probably want to use your computer for things like word-processing, games, office accounting or home financial management. If you find a machine that will meet all these needs, it will certainly meet your internet needs.

Go for one step below the top of the line. Today, it is recommended that your computer have at least 32 megabytes of memory.

Be leery of used systems or promises of being able to upgrade old systems that people give to the church. If your system is a 486 or older, upgrading is usually not practical, because it’s cheaper to buy new computers and sometimes the upgrades just don’t work. Some 486 machines can be upgraded with more memory and a faster CPU (that’s the brain of the computer) but it depends on the model. If you are not sure, check your user’s manual or call your computer manufacturer. Computer technology changes rapidly. One advantage to technology changes is that more computing power is available for less money every day. The downside to this is that upgrading your system or purchasing a newer model is essential over time.

Next you need a modem. This is a peripheral for your computer that connects your computer to another computer through a phone line. If you intend to take advantage of graphics and sound on the Web, you should consider purchasing a modem with a speed of 28800 baud (bits per minute) or higher. These can currently be found for under one hundred dollars.

In the future look for cable companies to offer faster access. But for now, all you need is the telephone modem that comes your computer. Most new systems come with a modem, but if you need one, or you want to upgrade to a faster modem, you can buy an internal modem that goes inside your computer case for a little less than an external modem.

Finally, you need an internet connection. This connection is your life-line to the Internet. It consists of an account residing on a computer that has a high-speed connection to the Internet. Your computer calls the computer with your account on it using the modem. Once the connection is established, you can check your e-mail, surf the Web, and explore the vast information resources available on the Internet.

On-line services offer their own information resources as well as the ability to access the World Wide Web. Such On-line services include CompuServe, American On-line and Prodigy. These are full service Internet providers, plus they include additional information and services available from their in-house services.

CompuServe has very competitive pricing and covers about 90% of the U.S. The company is also quite active internationally—more than either Prodigy or America On-line. CompuServe has the best on-line information service among the three as well. Its religious material on its own system includes the Christian Interactive Network and the developing Religious Village. CompuServe also has a service called Spryte that provides only Internet access (not CompuServe’s own on-line material).

America On-line, or AOL, as it’s commonly called, really made its push with easy e-mail access for people in North America. It’s a user-friendly system, and the most popular online service in the world today. It includes the "Christianity On-line" service. This is another facet of the ever-expanding Christianity Today, Inc. AOL also has the Global Network Navigator (GNN) service for those who wish Internet access only.

An Internet Service Provider (ISP) can provide you with access to the Internet as well as electronic mail. These services come with reasonable rates and the software you need to get "up and running." However, be aware that making the connection through an internet service provider usually is not as simple as one of the On-line Services. At the same time, many of these ISP’s provide more personal and timely customer service. If you want Internet access but don’t really care about all the extras of On-line Services, then maybe an Internet Service Provider is for you. See the Appendix for more information.

Along with your internet connection, you need a piece of software called a web browser in order to cruise the internet. Most on-line services and internet service providers come with at least a trial version of a Web Browser. Currently the two big names in Web Browsing software is Netscape’s Navigator/Communicator and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. This software comes bundled with many software and hardware purchases you may have already made such as a new computer, a modem, an operating system like Microsoft Windows 95 (guess what Web Browser is packaged with this one), etc. Before you drop the $40 to $80 price tag for a Web Browser, make sure you don’t already have one!

If the Web Browser is for a church or ministry, it qualifies to use Netscape Navigator under a free non-profit license agreement. See the Netscape Navigator/Communicator license agreement to ensure that your use of this software qualifies.

Netscape Navigator/Communicator has leaped into the forefront as the most popular web browser available. It features easy-to-use point and click access to the world wide web. It has built in capabilities to view web pages, hear sounds, view images, and even video clips. It also contains a Usenet news reader to read messages from the news groups that are available to you. (See the section on Mailing Lists for more information) It also comes with it’s own mail program to read, compose and store your electronic mail. In addition, Netscape allows you to add features that did not come with the browser. These features, called plug-ins and modules, are created by companies and link themselves to Netscape in a predictable fashion. Netscape provides a few plug-ins of its own, and there are dozens of other plug-ins available for free on the Internet.

Using the power and resources of Microsoft, the Internet Explorer has forced itself into being a substantial competitor. IE offers intuitive and easy access to the Internet and comes bundled with most new computer systems.

Install Netscape Navigator according to the installation instructions that comes with the software. Once you have successfully installed the software, you are ready to launch the web browser and start surfing!

Find the icon to launch Netscape Navigator. If you have installed it correctly, the dial-up network will dial the phone number for your Internet Service Provider (ISP) and log into your account with a user identification and password provided by the ISP.

Click on the open button on the top middle portion of your Netscape Navigator. Type the following into the Open Location dialogue box. You may need to click inside the white box so you can type in it:

It may take a few moments for the page to load, but shortly you should see the United Methodist Information home site, the official web page for the United Methodist Church.

Mail (sometimes known as electronic mail or email) is one of the reasons for the explosive growth of the internet. An electronic "letter" can be sent anywhere in the world with almost no effort. This has had tremendous impact on communication with missionaries world-wide. Where it might take two to six weeks to send "snail" mail (regular post office mail), a letter can be sent and received in a matter of hours using electronic mail. Churches in the United States can respond within hours to the on going needs of missionaries world-wide.

Like other services on the Internet, mail is a client-server system. That means that a host computer acts as the server for your mail, receiving it from other Internet sites and storing it for each mail account. The server is kind of like the post office receiving mail and putting it in a post office box. The client program handles the mail by retrieving new messages, storing messages, creating new ones and sending them back to the mail server.

Every mail message received on the internet comes with lots of information. There are basically two parts to an email message, the header and the content. The header is all the information about who sent the message, when it was sent and to whom it was sent. The content is what is contained in the body of the message.

Subject: How to look and act cool, even if you are a nerd.

The full header contains much more information, but this information is rarely useful and usually stripped from the message by the mail client program. CC stands for "carbon copy" and lists others who receive the message as well.

An email address uniquely identifies an account like a mailing address. Let’s take a closer look at an email address:

71052.361 is the account information. This is the particular "mail box" that the message was sent to and uniquely identifies the mail account like a post office box number.

compuserve.com stands for the domain name. This is the host computer which contains the mail account and runs the mail server. It is kind of like the post office where mail is received. The left part of the domain name is the name of the computer. The right part of the domain name is the top-level domain. Here is a list of top-level domains and what they stand for:

• com Commercial business
• edu Educational institutions
• gov U.S. federal and state governments
• mil U.S. military
• org Miscellaneous organizations
• net Various types of networks

Top-level domain names can also describe a location such as uk for United Kingdom, ca for Canada and jp for Japan.

In most cases, email is delivered within a few minutes of when it was sent. However, a mail server could be down at either the sending or receiving end or there could be other problems. That means the delivery of your message could be delayed a few minutes or a few hours. The mail servers will attempt to deliver the mail message several times. If the mail message is not delivered, the sender will receive a message from the mail server describing the undeliverable message.

One should never assume that electronic mail is private. It’s very unlikely that a mail will be intercepted by or delivered to anyone but receiver. However, it is possible and to be safe, one should assume that it can happen.

Most Internet Service Providers include mail as part of the service. If you have an account on one of these services, then you have an electronic mail account. However, some companies provide electronic mail for users but not full internet access. Many of these services, like Juno and Wise provide a free electronic mail account along with the software to access it. As long as the phone number is a local phone call, then the account is free to the user. If their number is not a local phone call, then there might be a charge for using the 800 number. See the Appendix on Internet Access Providers for more information.

Mail Netiquette and a few other suggestions - from Internet 101: A Beginner’s Guide to the Internet by Holly Messerschmidt and Glenbrook Systems, Inc., copyright © 1997.

Don’t send unsolicited marketing mail. It’s not wanted.

If you include signature lines in your messages, limit them to three or four lines.

Use mixed case in your messages. All uppercase is considered "shouting."

It’s difficult to convey emotions or subtle meanings in email. You may make a remark intending it to be a joke, but since your recipient can’t see the smile on your face, he or she may be offended instead. For non-business letters you may wish to add emoticons (smiley’s) or letters in brackets to your messages.

Here are a few examples (look at the first few by tilting your head to the left):

:-) smile

;-) wink

:-o surprise

:-D big smile

:-( frown / sad

<g> grin

<s> smile

To see more emoticons than you can shake a stick at:

http://www.netlingo.com/smiley.html

There are also some abbreviations commonly used in email. Here are a few examples:

IMHO in my humble opinion

FWIW for what it’s worth

ROFL rolling on the floor laughing

LOL laughing out loud or lots of laughs

AFAIK as far as I know

TIA thanks in advance

If you need to emphasize certain words, use asterisks or underscores to do so. For example:

this

It may be helpful to quote some of the original message when you’re making a reply. In that case, quote just enough to refresh the sender’s memory or make it clear to what you’re referring. Don’t quote the entire original message, unless it’s necessary. To mark a passage as a quote, use >> before the

passage and << after the passage, for example:

>> Is this what you mean? <<

Yes.

Except for personal mail, try to make the subject descriptive of the message contents.

Open your electronic mail software. If you have an Internet Service Provider (ISP), then you also have an email account. Use the software you use to connect to the ISP, such as Netscape Navigator. If you are using an email provider such as Juno or Wise, then launch the application by double clicking on its icon. The rest of this tutorial will assume Netscape Navigator, but most email software works basically the same. Some of the buttons or options may be in a different location on the screen, but the functionality will be the same.

Once you have connected to your ISP and started Netscape Navigator, click on "Window" on the top menu bar and choose Netscape Mail.

A window will appear that says Netscape mail. Mail folders on the left hand side contain mail you have received. The right hand side gives a brief description of each message, the sender and subject.

To create a new mail message, click on the "To: Mail" or choose File from the top menu bar and "New Mail Message." Either of these actions bring up the Netscape [Message Composition] window.

The first step is to address your message to the appropriate email account. By clicking on the "TO:" button you can choose an existing email address or type in the window beside the "TO:" button to compose a new email address. See the description of email addresses above if you’re not sure what to type.

Use the "CC:," carbon copy button to include other email addresses to receive copies of the message your are sending.

"Attachment" can be used to attach a file to your email message, such as a text file, a compressed file, an executable file, a sound file or image.

Finally, type the body of your message in the main text window. Remember that your message will be read by people using different types of mail software. It is a good idea only to add carriage returns at the end of paragraphs and to emphasize points. This allows different mail software to format the text to best fit the window of the user.

Finally, click on the send button to "send" the message to the recipient.

The World Wide Web, or the Web or just WWW is a major part of the Internet. Some people think that the Web and the Internet are the same, but they are not.

The Web is made up of "sites," places where someone has put files that can be accessed by those connected to the Internet. These files contain text, graphics, video, sound, etc. and are on computers all over the world. These files are accessed using http, Hypertext Transfer Protocol which is a special language that allows different types of computers to share information in a common way. Web Browsers are the software which interprets http.

Web Browsers provide an easy-to-use intuitive interface to access information on the World Wide Web. Web Browsers allow users on different types of computers to access the same information stored on a remote computer and read the information in a uniform and predictable way. Web Browsers can access written words, sounds, images and even video. This information appears to the user of the web browser as a hyper link. Hyper links show up as underlined text or images. If the mouse cursor is on top of one of these hyper links, the mouse cursor becomes a "hand." By pressing on the hyper link, the user access the information which is represented by the hyper link. If it is text, then it appears as text in the web browser. If the hyper link is connected to a sound, then the web browser launches the sound application (if available on the local computer) which can correctly interpret the sound and generate it. If the hyper link is connected to an image, or video then the appropriate application is launched to view the image or video.

Also, the text, sound, image or video can be located anywhere on the Internet. You may be reading text from a computer in Australia and a hyper link may play a sound located in Boston, Massachusetts. The web browser smoothly and seamlessly jumps from one place to the other, without the user even being aware of it.

In the section, How to Get Hooked Up, we discussed the two most popular web browser, Netscape Navigator/Communicator and Microsoft Internet Explorer. Both provide essentially the same functionality with some minor differences. Both of these web browsers will provide you all the functions and features you need to enjoy the World Wide Web. The choice of which is better is a matter of personal preference.

Information is located on the World Wide Web using a Universal Resource Locator, or URL. Hypertext links specify the location of information in the form of a URL. The URL contains the location of the computer, the directory path and file name of the information. The Web browser interprets this information and "goes" to that location, retrieving the file interpreting it for you.

You will probably have some favorite web sites that you like to visit. These URLs can be saved in "bookmarks" of "favorites" and returned to without having to memorize the URL. Also, when you visit web sites, they usually contain hyper links to other web sites. Traveling through hyper links is what is usually referred to as "surfing." But be advised, Web surfing can take up a lot of time and may be habit forming!

URLs appear all over the place. On calling cards, commercials and billboards, URLs specify where a web site can be found. If you know the URL of the web site you want to access, press the "Open Location" button on your web browser and type in the URL. Then press "Open" to go to the URL.

You have heard that all this neat stuff is available on the World Wide Web. Now that you are hooked up and ready to go, how do you find the cool stuff? The answer is search engines.

A search engine is software which allows the user to find information which share come characteristics. Some search engines, like AltaVista automatically collect and catalog information from all over the Internet for users to access. Other search engines, like Yahoo!, collect information from people who manually enter it and collect it into meaningful indexes. Both types of search engines are helpful in locating information on the World Wide Web, especially if you do not know the Universal Resource Locator (URL). Since search engines use different methods for storing and retrieving their indexes, you will want to experiment with several search engines .

How do you use a search engine? A word or group of words is typed into a form provided by the search engine. The word or group of words represent whatever it is you want more information about. For instance if you want to know about scholarships that are available from the United Methodist Church, you might type:

scholarship United Methodist

Then you press the appropriate button, like "seek" or "find" or "search."

The search engine will usually return within a few seconds a list of hyper links for you to try which the search engine has tried to match to the words you typed in. The list is rated by how many words were matched and listed from "best" to "worst" match. The entries will contain a brief description and the user can go to any of the entries simply by clicking on the hyper link.

Yahoo! started out as a small, part-time project to list some of the best web sites available has grown into one of the most popular search engines in its own right. Since the listings are catalogued by people, they are structured hierarchically into related sites. It can be accessed at:

Indices are listed alphabetically. A word or words can by typed in the text box and then pressing search, or you can browse the indices. Some interesting links can be found by starting with Society and Culture, then choosing Religion, then Organization, and finally Christian. As you can see, there are hundreds of Christian organizations on the Web. Save this location as a bookmark. In Netscape Navigator, click Bookmark on the top menu bar, then Add bookmark. This location is automatically added to your bookmarks.

AltaVista is another search engine, but it creates a large index of entries. By entering a word or group of words a list of possible links is created, sorted by number of word matches, and displayed for the user to select. Each link also has a brief description of its content. Entries are made into this database, and many other search engines by means of a software "robot" that automatically surfs the Web and scavenges information for the database. Since each search engine uses different criteria and information to gather and sort their entries, no two are alike. That means a search using the same key word on Excite will probably come up with different results than the same search on AltaVista. Your best bet is to try more than one search engine to gather a broader spectrum of information.

Excite http://www.excite.com/

HotBot http://www.hotbot.com/

Infoseek http://www.infoseek.com/

Lycos http://www.lycos.com/

Open Text http://www.opentext.com/

Web Crawler http://www.webcrawler.com/

The Bible Gateway contains English, German, Swedish, Latin, French, Spanish and Tagalog translations of the Bible. It’s English translations include the Darby, KJV, NASV, NIV, RSV and YLT. Check it out at:

http://www.gospelcom.net/bible/

Bible Browser - designed to help you explore the Bible in ways not possible with traditional, printed books.

http://goon.stg.brown.edu/bible_browser/pbeasy.shtml

The World Wide Study Bible - access to Bible Gateway, sermons, commentaries, and hymns relating to specific chapters and verses of the Bible!

http://ccel/wheaton.edu/wwsb/

Here is an inexpensive Bible program to download for free:

http://www.onlinebible.simplenet.com/

Blueletter Bible Project - with links to lexicons, concordances, conservative Christian commentaries, and searchable Bible dictionaries.

http://www.khouse.org/blueletter/

ICLnet: A Guide to Christian Literature on the Internet

Music

A COLLECTION OF HYMNS, FOR THE USE OF THE PEOPLE CALLED METHODISTS.

http://ccel.wheaton.edu/wesley/hymn/jw.html

The Southern Harmony, and Musical Companion, contains midi files for many popular hymns.

http://ccel.wheaton.edu/s/southern_harmony/

Web worship resources:

http://www.worshipworks.org/

Contemporary Christian music links:

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ajjoosse/tms.html#m

Denominational Resources

The Official United Methodist Information web site:

http://www.umc.org/

Para-church organizations

Gospel Communications Network - probably the largest alliance of Christian organizations on the net:

http://www.gospelcom.net/

Maps

Through Yahoo! (and some other services) you can find the location of any U.S. street address with surprising accuracy! Try your address at:

http://maps.vicinity.com/yahoo

Telephone numbers and addresses

Find people. their current address and telephone number using:

http://www.switchboard.com/

Mailing lists are discussions carried on via email. People post messages to a mailing list using email and those messages are then delivered via email to everyone who has subscribed to the list. Lists can also be electronic magazines (ezines), newsletters, or journals. With this type of list, you don’t post messages; rather, someone or some organization sends you news or information periodically.

There are many thousands of mailing lists, covering a whole bunch of subjects. Chances are that you’ll find several that have to do with your personal interests.

When you find a mailing list to which you would like to subscribe, you’ll see that it has two addresses. It is very important to understand the functions of these two addresses. One address will be the administrative or list server address - this is the address to which you send an email message when you want to start or stop receiving the messages that are posted to the list. This is also the address to which you can send various other commands to perform functions, for instance to retrieve archives or change your list options. The other address is the list address. This is the one to which you send posts - the messages that you want other people on the list to read. Make sure you understand the uses of the two types of addresses. There will always be two such addresses for any list. Never send unsubscribe messages or other command messages to the list address. If you do, it will be distributed to everyone who subscribes to the list, and still will not accomplish your objective of having the command carried out.

When you have successfully subscribed to a list, you’ll receive an acknowledgment or welcome message. This welcome message will have instructions for unsubscribing. KEEP this message - at some point in time when you want to unsubscribe, you’ll need it. The welcome message will usually give you information on other commands you can use, what options you can set, and how to post to the list, as well as any other information about the list in general. Pay attention if the message points you to a FAQ(pronounced fak) for the list. A FAQ is a Frequently Asked Questions list. It contains answers to the most commonly asked questions and provides information about the list. If the welcome message points you to one, take the time to retrieve and read it. Occasionally, the initial message you receive will ask for confirmation of your intent to subscribe. In that case, you’ll usually be asked to simply send a reply to the message, which will complete the subscription.

After you’ve subscribed, you’ll start receiving messages sent to the mailing list. They’ll arrive in your mailbox. The frequency of the messages will vary greatly from list to list. If it is a high volume list, you may receive a hundred messages a day. If it is a low volume list, you may receive messages once a week. When you are ready to post to the list, you compose an email message. In the address you put the list address, not the list server or administrative address that you used to subscribe. Type in what you want to say in the body of your message. When you send the message, it will be delivered to the mailing list program, which will then distribute it to everyone who has subscribed to the list. If you use the reply function of your email software, make sure that the address showing in the To: field is the list address, not the email address of the person who wrote the message to which you’re replying.

There are many different brands of chat programs available on the internet, but all of them have the same basic functionality. They allow different computers to link together for the purpose of text chat. In text chat, users type a message which can be seen and read by other users in real time. These text chat discussions can include from two to hundreds of participants at one time. IRC, Internet Relay Chat is one of the most popular chat programs available. Other popular chat clients include Excite Chat, Netscape Chat, and Yahoo Chat. If you are using a newer versions of Netscape Communicator or Microsoft Internet Explorer, then using these chat clients is very easy and straightforward. However, these features are only available on Windows 95 platforms. Internet Relay Chat is popular and available on a wide range of computers.

Internet Relay Chat (IRC) was developed by Jarkko Oikarinen in 1988 as a multi-user text chat program. It was not the first text chat program, but it spawned the first global network, EFNet that linked together computers all over the world for text chat. It’s popularity has soared as new, user-friendly software makes sound, video, animation and real-time file transfer available at the click of a mouse.

IRC uses specialized software, called a client, to allow your computer to access another computer, called a server. The server program interprets the client’s requests and performs the appropriate action, like sending a text message to another computer. The user can chat with other IRC users and exchange files with them.

There are many IRC client programs available for Windows and for Macs. Many of these clients programs are freeware and shareware programs and can be obtained free at many sites on the Internet. Using these programs, using IRC is relatively simple using menu selections, mouse clicks and dialogue windows.

Your IRC client will ask you for the name and port of the server you want to contact. Using this information, the IRC client will contact the server and connect you with other users who have contacted the same server and port.

IRC networks come in all sizes and interests. Some are family-oriented, some are technical, or deal with hobbies and some are for adventure and role-playing games.

OK, so how do you make this thing work? First you install the client software on your computer. Then you connect through your internet connection to an IRC network. After connecting to the network, then you choose a channel to join. A channel is like a "room" where people can and "listen," get involved in the conversation or leave. Within the room participants can talk in groups or have private conversations.

The people talking on these channels can remain relatively anonymous. There is no way of knowing if what someone says is true or not. Some people can and will say things that will offend or shock you. There are moderators who can force people off of a channel. You may want to look for channels that are family-oriented. Remember, you can always leave a channel and try another if things become offensive. You can usually find people with whom to enjoy pleasant conversation

/list - gives you a list of channels on the server

/names - gives you a list of nicknames being used

/help - gives you help information

/join <channel> - joins a channel

/part <channel> - leaves a channel

All channel names begin with a pound sign (crosshatch) or an ampersand, for example, #jesusfreak.

After joining a channel, it is always wise to take a few minutes to see what is being talked about before jumping in. Also, take time to observe what others are doing and see how things work.

Getting started with IRC is about as easy as installing a web browser. Some of the details are different based on the type of operating system and internet connection. Here are some basic hints.

Find an IRC client that is easy to use. mIRC is a freeware chat client that let’s you connect to an IRC and provides a nice, clean Windows interface. If you are running Windows 3.1, use mirc502s.exe If you are using Windows 95, use mirc502t.exe. These freeware programs can be found in many places on the internet. For instances, try

Then install the software on your computer. NOTE: If you don’t know what to do with a .zip file, PKZIP/UNZIP is available at the above site as well. Once it has been downloaded, you can uncompress and extract "zipped" files. See the documentation for more information.

After installing the software, you will need to connect to your internet provider just as you normally do.

Finally, start the client program, mIRC. You will be prompted for an IRC server. Here are a few IRC networks:

Regardless of the site connected to, all users on the network are available. Some sites may provide better response.

There are many types of information available on the Internet. The potential for exploiting the power of the internet for ministry is incredible. The church can use this technology to gather and use information, to communicate and mobilize resources. But what about web pages? Does the church of the twenty-first century need a web presence? Since there is so much offensive material on the web, should the church avoid this medium?

In order for the church of the twenty-first century to remain vital and relevant, it is crucial for the good news of Jesus Christ to be proclaimed and transmitted by the church in the medium and language of today. The medium and language of this generation is the world wide web.

The World Wide Web has made the information andresources of the Internet easy and accessible to many more people. The explosion of the World Wide Web is nothing short of phenomenal. "WWW dot something" is on the radio, billboards, television and even on the phone when you are on hold. A question that churches are asking is if they should have a web site on the World Wide Web?

Para-church organizations have jumped on the web from the very beginning. We’ve looked at some of these in our workshops. But what about individual churches? Many churches are now creating web pages to publicize their church, proclaim the Gospel and communicate with their members. And in addition, this new medium incorporates graphics, photographs, text, sound and even video in interactive and fun ways. OK, now that you think your church might need one where do you start?

First you need a place to put your web page. Many Internet Service Providers give space with your account to publish a web page. Compuserve and America On-line will both give you two megabytes of space for your web page as a part of your membership. Other ISPs that provide web space with your account are City Net with two megabytes of space, New Wave with ten megabytes of space and Ianet with four megabytes of space. If you have another ISP, just ask them about web space. Sometimes if you let them know that the web site is for a church they will give you a discount or more space for free. Don’t be afraid to ask.

The General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church provides an account with up to five megabytes of space for any church or organization, free for the asking! Check out

You’ll find all the details about the account, an on-line application and links to a whole bunch of web-page creation helps. Be sure and get approval from your pastor or Administrative Board before applying for the account.

Also, a new service called Houses of Worship maintains web pages for every church in North America! This service is provided free to any religious organization in North America because it is underwritten by the American Bible Society, The Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation and OnTV Pittsburgh, L.P. All churches aren’t listed yet but they are in the process. First, look for your church at

If it’s there, you can apply to edit the pages. Take a tour and see what other churches have done. This is a very convenient way to quickly and easily create a web site presence for your church.

Each church is provided with four basic pages: A message from our pastor, schedules of services and events, a youth bulletin board and needs and offers. Each of these pages can have individual editors or the same editor can edit all four. It is easy to add text to your page and you can also add pictures, sound and graphics. Also, people can apply to be sent an email text version of your web pages on the schedule that the editor chooses. That means the information on your page becomes an electronic newsletter!

Let’s take a closer look at the information on a web page. A web page can contain, text, graphics, links to other pages and interactive forms.

The text appears on the web page just like text in a word processor. However, in order for the text to be displayed like this, it is embedded with special commands called HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language). Many of the newer word processors and desktop publishing tools can generate your document in HTML. If you are fortunate enough to have one of these tools, like 1997 versions Microsoft Word, Publisher, Excell or Corel Wordperfect Suite 8, then all you need to do is write your text using one of these tools, then save it as a web page (HTML document).

Pictures and graphics can also be displayed on your web page. Using graphics formats like GIF and JPEG, graphic files and even photographs can be included in your web page. A link is created to these graphic files which is read and displayed by the browser software.

Your page can also have links to other pages. These hyper-links appear as highlighted, underlined words on your web page. These links point the computer to another web page stored on the same computer, another file, or even another web page stored on a computer in the next room or halfway around the world! These links appear as the common URLs that you have seen before. To link someone to the official United Methodist page, one would include the link, http://www.gbgm-umc.org/index.html

As seen before, the www.gbgm-umc.org is the address of the computer where the information is stored.

index.html is the name of the file that contains the HTML commands to be read and interpretted by the browser.

Links can also be to sounds. If a link points to a MIDI file, WAV file or AU file, a computer equipped with the software and hardware to play these files will load and play the sound. Check out

Links can also specify animations and digital video. QuickTime files and JPEG files can be interpreted by special software to display movies and animation from your web page.

Also, links can execute programs or scripts. These scripts for messages, forms, searches or other interaction provide some action based on the users input. Filling out forms or sending email are examples of these scripts. An example of a form is at:

The possibilities are enormous and only the imaginations of the people who produce these unique web creations can tell us the bounds of this technology. An example of an interactive game is at:

If you are up to the adventure of web page creation, a good place to start is by looking Web pages that you find on the web. Your browser will give you the ability to "View Document Source." In Netscape Navigator this is found by selecting View from the menu bar and choosing Document Source. What you will see is the actual HTML code for that page. Also, find a good resource like Teach Yourself Web Publishing with HTML3.0, 2^nd Edition, by Laura Lemay (published by sams.net, Indianapolis, Indiana. 1996.

Empowered with your knowledge and experience of electronic communication, the future is yours. The possibilities are endless and the uses of this technology boggle the mind. However, this technology has been used not only for good, but also for evil. People have exploited the power of electronic communication to propogate greed, pornography, oppression, pride and almost every form of evil imaginable. The challenge of this workshop is to take this new technology and the possibilities of electronic communication and use them for the glory of God, to proclaim the good news of the Gospel and bring the Kingdom of God closer to home. Jesus read from the prophet Isaiah:

Initially, the Microsoft Network quickly became overburdened and could not handle the number of users it attracted. However, they are rolling now and sport their own Web browser for Windows™, Windows95™ and Macintosh called Microsoft Internet Explorer. It is one of the two "biggies" in Web Browsers competing for the market. See the next section on Web Browsers for more details.

Prodigy beat the other commercial online services with Web access. Unfortunately, Prodigy’s Web browser is slow and not as fully featured as others. They have not been able to keep up the pace with other online services. Nevertheless, you might find this service does what you need.

This company is known for its high-quality, reliable Internet connectivity. If all you want is the Internet, see if AlterNet is available in your area. AlterNet is increasingly international, too.

NetCom has competitive pricing and good software for cruising the Net with Windows™ and Macintosh. Many beginners rave about the ease of use.

The long-distance phone companies are gearing up for being competitive players in the Internet-access game. Call your long-distance company and see what kind of Internet connectivity rates they quote you.

Also, if you want to check on the Web for the availability of local Internet providers in your area or in a friend’s area, go to the following pages:

http://www.yahoo.com/business/corporations/internet_access_providers/

http://thelist.iworld.com/

You can type in the area code 304 and get a list of ISPs in WV.

Cost: TOTALLY FREE

JUNO http://www.juno.com

WHEELING, MORGANTOWN, CHARLESTON

Automated email: info@badgerden.com

Human email: ceo@badgerden.com

URL: http://WWW.Badgerden.com/

Automated email: info@citynet.net

Human email: info@citynet.net

URL: http://www.citynet.net/

Human email: eki-gc@pop.eastky.com

URL: http://www.eki-gc.com/

Automated email: info@eurekanet.com

Human email: kcooper@eurekanet.com

URL: http://www.eurekanet.com/

Automated email: webmastr@1st.net

Human email: ed@1st.net

URL: http://www.1st.net/

Human email: helpdesk@hgo.net

URL: http://hgo.net/

Automated email: info@iolinc.net

Human email: ceo@iolinc.net

URL: http://www.iolinc.net/

Automated email: support@intrepid.net

Human email: support@intrepid.net

URL: http://www.intrepid.net/

Automated email: marcom@marcominc.com

Human email: marcom@marcominc.com

URL: http://www.marcominc.com/

Automated email: info@mountain.net

Human email: info@mountain.net

URL: http://www.mountain.net/

Automated email: webmaster@newwave.net

Human email: webmaster@newwave.net

URL: http://www.newwave.net/

Human email: postmaster@ovnet.com

URL: http://www.ovnet.com/

Automated email: info@sols.net

Human email: webmaster@sols.net

URL: http://www.sols.net/

Automated email: sales@ramlink.net

Human email: sales@ramlink.net

URL: http://www.ramlink.net/

Automated email: bawn@seorf.ohiou.edu

Human email: bawn@seorf.ohiou.edu

URL: http://www.sccsi.com/

Human email: drobbins@cwv.edu

URL: http://www.cwv.edu/

Human email: support@weir.net

URL: http://www.weir.net/

Human email: info@wvinter.net

URL: http://www.wvinter.net/