Digital evangelist trains believers in the Middle East
Most of the time, OneWay’s digital evangelist works behind the scenes, helping overseas missionaries reach their local communities from the United States. But in late August, he left his computer screen for the hot sands of Egypt to teach Middle Eastern believers to share the gospel with their Muslim neighbors through digital evangelism.
As Sparrow* led breakout sessions at the Mobilization Conference run by OneWay’s Streams of Living Water, he was encouraged to see how many people, regardless of age or background, were interested in using social media for digital evangelism. Sparrow saw God’s hand at work as He connected new evangelists with veterans in the field.
“I get to empower believers who want to be involved in outreach,” Sparrow said. “It's a privilege to serve evangelists who are humble and worthy and called by God.”
Sparrow’s calling and passion is to connect people from a Muslim background with the gospel message through digital evangelism. He began his ministry in 2015, growing a network of overseas missionaries or believers who want to use the internet to safely share the gospel in more hostile communities.
“Throughout history, Christians have been committed to using any available means to reach the perishing,” Sparrow said. “My heroes are the people who use the technology of their day to reach new people with the gospel.”
In August, Sparrow attended the Streams of Living Water Mobilization Conference to teach a breakout class and build relationships with potential partners in the Middle East. More than 500 people from around the region attended the conference, which is focused on mobilizing workers to reach the Arab world with the gospel.
During his two breakout sessions, he taught missionaries and believers to use social media for evangelism even if they had no previous experience with online ministry.
“I wanted the missionaries that Streams deploys to be able to use social media to connect with seekers in their countries who were hungry for the gospel,” Sparrow said. “Others wanted to volunteer their time, and I was working to get them connected with the ministries that could use their help.”
In addition to teaching, Sparrow met a teenage girl interested in social media evangelism but scared to start on her own. Sparrow offered to help her find a mentor. Later, Sparrow felt the Holy Spirit telling him to take a walk, and he met a man who offered to connect the girl with his wife, a Christian who works full-time in social media.
Conversations like that encourage Sparrow to keep growing his ministry in digital evangelism.
The real privilege was getting to meet Egyptian Christians who are walking with the Lord but may not be sharing their faith with others,” Sparrow said. “The opportunity to share their faith online bridged the gap for some of them and enabled them to make evangelism a part of their lives.”
Pray for Sparrow and his network as they grow their community and their reach all over the internet for the Kingdom of God.
*Name changed for security