It has been a decade since we joined the new millennium. Among many predictions concerning the 21st C, the Internet would be invasive in all arenas of our lives. Looking back retrospectively- for the last ten years, that was so true. There is no doubt that Internet revolutionized the way we conduct our lives; whether it is shopping items or dating or socializing or attending church sermons online.

The trend shows that more people are tapping into the advantages of Internet more than ever. Haag, Baltzan, & Phillips (2006) underscored, “One of the biggest forces changing business is the Internet” (p. 186). Rather than buying items without much choice and price negotiation from their near-by stores, consumers are flexing their bargaining power since they now can get better options and deals online. This trend of purchasing online has been there before the dawn of the new millennium; however, many of us haven’t thought that some items like cars would be available online. A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine asked me some technical help while he was biding online at eBay to purchase his new car. Like my friend, millions are purchasing new and used cars online. Wilson (2000) pointed out, “In 2000, it is estimated that 1.5 million new and used car buyers will make their purchases online” (p. 3).

Nearly everyone knows that more and more people are dating and networking online, especially using social-networks like Facebook. Many people start to feel comfortable and leaving the traditional ways of searching potential soul mates and/or partners online using the Internet as a medium. A recent research result that appeared on March 8 Journal of Social and Personal Relationships shows that online dating is as honest as real life (Mozes, 2010). Similarly, I have heard many people logging online and attending Sunday morning services of their favorite pastors.

Of course, Internet hasn’t come without flaws. There are some drawbacks and limitations in using the Internet, sometimes; we may need to conduct some businesses and affairs face-to-face. Even in such cases, the trend shows that many people are surfing the Internet and gathering data before they show-up in person. For example, a couple of months ago, someone invited me to watch movie together. As many of you may assume, we had logged and searched for title, timing, and not just in one Movie Theater but among the near-by Movie Theaters. And finally, we went to watch the one that was convenient for both of us.

These days, even businesses and organizations are encouraging their customers to order online or, at least, do some kind of homework before they show up in person. Considering this trend from both businesses and consumers, one may wonder where we are heading. I am particularly interested to evaluate the impact of the Internet and its future prospects in shaping Christianity. For that matter, I have developed this interest since 2007.

Back then, I was almost finishing my Master’s in Computer Science and was working as a Software Engineer. When I made a rough comparison between businesses, non-profits, and churches, I could easily be able to appreciate that churches were lagging behind in using new technologies. It became also clear to me that my community’s churches are far more lagging than other churches in the metro-area. Therefore, I felt doing something about it. Accordingly, I developed a proposal and presented to the Senior Pastor of one of the largest churches in the area. He was delighted and the project was started. The goal was to use whatever we do there as a pilot project and share the lessons and experiences with other churches in the area and beyond.

Though that small initiative brought some changes in that particular church, it couldn’t be expanded both in the same church and into others in the area as it was intended originally. Though there were church politics common to many traditional churches, the main reason why other IT related projects in the past and this particular project failed was simple- technology’s role hadn’t been given equal attention as the pulpit. I have noticed that, while many small churches are willing to raise and invest tens of thousands of dollars annually to air their services on TV and Radio, many of them are reluctant to invest a couple of thousands of dollars on new technologies at large, and on Internet based products and services in particular. Towards addressing this issue, I was pushing for a conference that would have raised some kind of awareness among pastors about the importance of ICT in attracting and maintaining the NET Generation, and improving the churches’ internal workings. This too couldn’t be successful and I should move my attention towards other initiatives.

Though I see some positive improvements during the last more than two years when it comes to using Internet in these churches, the pace of change is frustrating. And that is why I consider this article as a good opportunity to show the general trends, how the Church has been performing, and the future prospects of Internet in shaping Christianity so that churches of various denominations may give the issue a prime attention before it is too late.

In this regard, the paper evaluates past trends, assesses challenges, and projects future prospects. The following section reviews the global past trends concerning Internet uses. The third part discusses how Christianity responded for the advent of Information age and the challenges churches are facing to cope up with this digital age. Conclusive remarks and the future prospects of Internet in shaping Christianity will be projected in the end.

To read the full paper, check @ Internet and Christianity