By Jason Wenell
What is Onemillionwitnesses.com?
One Million Witnesses is a faith experiment in which we are setting out to post 1 million witness accounts of God’s love and work. The purpose is really two-fold. One, we want to prove to the world that God is working here and now and not just in Bible times. Think of it almost as an online “billboard” for God’s existence. If a non-believer goes to our website and sees thousands of testimonies, maybe they will have to reconsider. Two, we are also using this concept as a Web 2.0 fund-raising tool. The money generated goes directly to Living Water International (water.cc) to build wells in Liberia. How did you decide to do this?
The idea is really a little personal to me. We saw many miracles with my father’s fight with cancer and even though I hear of these stories almost every Sunday, I never see them get out to the mass media. When you turn on the news all you see is the evil of this world. So really, this website is just posing a question: “God, where are you working in this world?” Where are all the miracles and blessings amongst the terrorism, hate, and corruption? I want to show the world how He is working.
I really feel the site could encourage people once it grows. You see, every story is search-able by keyword, so lets say you are struggling with anxiety…you can type in anxiety and every testimony that has anything to do with anxiety will illuminate and pop up. So you can be encouraged by other believers who made it through the struggle or you can see how God worked in their lives. I think this could be a powerful aspect of the project.
Why 1 million? Do you think you will ever reach that goal? The dream is really big, I know… how will you ever find 1 million stories? But that is okay; I am willing to wait. You have to set your sights high right? I figure if places like Youtube get 10 million visitors a day, and things like “1 million supporters for Stephen Colbert” can reach their goal, there has to be 1 million Christians in the world that are willing to build this legacy. I guess in my experience, most Christians have a story….some small or big thing that God did in their life, when they thought to themselves, man, God is not only real but truly awesome. I am hoping the site will have that snowball effect once we get it out there. We made everything on the site very viral, and easy to spread, for example, after you share your story, you can upload your contact list in 1 click and spread the word. Why are you raising money and where does it go? Why wells in Africa? Visit One Million Witnesses – the Ultimate Faith Experiment and share your story. If you liked this article, check out: A Community of Affirmation
My wife and I have always had a heart for missions, and often we feel like it is hard to really make a difference. The dream is that we can help fund 10 different organizations in a huge way. The first of those is Living Water International. We have partnered with them because they have the equipment in Liberia waiting for funding and they are the actual well builders so they can give us before and after information such as pic’s and video. The cool thing about this is that the donors will know exactly where their money went. They will know the village that they helped support and see the evidence to prove it.
How do you see Christians using the web to further the kingdom of God? Is it a completely good thing, or are there pitfalls and traps that we should avoid when using technology in ministry?
The web is a very powerful tool and can be used for both good and harm. It depends on how we use it. It can’t take the place of person to person relationships but it can be used in a way that helps us communicate and give glory to God.In his book”The World is Flat”, Thomas L. Friedman notes the force that “one man and his laptop” can be in the modern era, and I really think there is some truth to that….I mean One Million Witnesses, could never become a reality if we didn’t have the internet and a network of believers. That power can be used for the good of mankind but also the bad. A huge hurdle for us is the all the computer scams that have burnt people over the last decade. How can people trust that their money is going to the place we say it is going? There is a lot of skepticism now days, and that just shows that people have taken advantage of the internet as well. It hurts well-meaning projects such as ours and hundreds of others.
Jason edits Prodigal Son Magazine, a partner publication of Wrecked. Prodigal Son is a dynamic men’s portal site for men of integrity. It aims to be a cornerstone for Christian men, a place for men after God’s heart to find informative, relevant, cutting edge information on lifestyle, relationships, career, pop culture and their walk with God.