Global Media Outreach Ministry Reaches 1 Billion People Through Virtual Gospel Presentations
Global Media Outreach, a web-based evangelical ministry, has presented the Gospel to one billion individuals through their network of websites, officials announced this week.
Ministry leaders now want to reach well beyond one billion by way of Internet, mobile devices and social media. Just a decade ago, when Global Media Outreach began, the organization witnessed more than 20,000 individuals commit their lives to Christ.
"With 91 percent of humans living within range of a cell tower, the majority of seekers come to our sites from their cell phones. We see technology moving so rapidly and so dramatically across the earth, we know God Himself is making this possible," stated Walt Wilson, founder and chairman of GMO.
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The ministry's evangelism and virtual discipleship efforts are accomplished through 200 websites in 26 languages, where seekers around the world searching for spiritual answers can view Gospel presentations and connect with online missionaries who respond to their questions. GMO's presentations are far reaching and even accessed by those in countries where Christians face rejection and persecution because of their faith.
Tara Mosby, marketing associate for GMO tells The Christian Post that the ministry's outreach approach is similar to marketers and retailers that use pay-per-click campaigns to present their product to online shoppers for an average of five cents per click.
"GMO is using these methods to give millions of people the opportunity to know Jesus when they are searching for Him. What industry developed for profits, God is using to win souls for Christ. By using innovative marketing techniques, GMO is leveraging social media, search words and mobile ads, as well as in-app advertising to present Jesus to everyone in the world, multiple times," explained Mosby.
Reaching one billion people is not just about the numbers says Mosby, who also explained that GMO's nearly 9,000 volunteer online missionaries make it a point to consistently follow up with individuals who commit their lives to Christ and connect them to local Christian communities.
In addition, the ministry's vision is to give every single person on earth the opportunity to come into relationship with God by 2020, especially those living in the 10/40 window, known as the area that lies 10 and 40 degrees north of the world's equator.
According to GMO, 60 percent of the earth's population lives in the region that has one of the highest levels of socioeconomic challenges and least access to Christian resources as it is home to Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism. Furthermore, Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary reports that less than two percent of U.S. mission's budgets are used to reach people in this area.
"We now have a unique opportunity to reach people in the 10/40 window, despite the challenges, because of the growth in the use of mobile devices and the low cost to share the gospel through mobile devices," Michelle Diedrich, chief marketing officer for GMO told CP.
GMO partners with 174 churches and 25 organizations in the United States and is currently expanding this model around the world to increase on-the-ground connections within every country.
