Church Army’s word-on-the-web ministry celebrates a double milestone this month. Not only does October mark word-on-the-web’s fourth birthday, the ministry has just topped the 6,000 subscriber mark for its free daily email service, which is sent to people in more than 100 countries. Derby based Ruth Walker has been with the project since day one and runs the site as by Project Administrator. Ruth comments: “It is so encouraging to see word-on-the-web being used internationally, and especially in countries where it is hard for people to access bibles. I pray that God will bless this ministry further and that it will continue to develop and grow.”

For the past four years, word-on-the-web has sent short challenging Bible studies each day to whoever wants to receive them. These studies have been written by people such as Luis Palau, rock bands Delirious? and yFriday, singer Sue Rinaldi, and people from organisations such as Girls’ Brigade, Boys’ Brigade, YFC, YWAM, Salvation Army, and also a number of bishops.

One of its writers, the Rev Dr Rob Frost, has sent his congratulations: ‘word-on-the-web is an accessible, approachable and appropriate way in which Christians can relate to God's word for everyday life. In a generation which is increasingly computer literate it's exciting to see that God's word can be imparted in ways that most people can now relate to. I think it's great!’

Danny Brierley, another word-on-the-web writer and Head of Oasis Youth Action (the youth division of Oasis Trust), also sends his best wishes: ‘Oasis commends word-on-the-web for making the Bible's timeless truth so accessible to today's IT-literate generation for whom the web is not new technology, but simply part of everyday life.’

The founders of word-on-the-web, David and Alison Booker – both of them Church Army officers now working in Leicester – have written their fond memories of the beginnings of word-on-the-web back in October 2000:

‘It is hard to believe word-on-the-web was launched four years ago! The day the email with the first reading went out we really wondered what the response would be. We’d prayed, talked it through, and really believed it could work. It took a while to help those who were allergic to email and computers to understand what we were trying to do, but finally we were given the opportunity to try the idea out. Having convinced people to let us have a go we hoped the risk would pay off!

‘Four years on it’s amazing to know the daily notes go to around 6,000 people, not just in the UK but around the world. More important than the simple numbers are the stories that number represents. Almost from day one a steady drip feed of emails came through from people thanking us for the project. Some had drifted away from church; others had been thinking about faith and had found us on the web. Through the daily emails they found an opportunity to glimpse God and many moved towards him.

‘It was a real privilege to launch word on the web and see it through its first couple of years. Long may it keep rolling!’

As well, as the daily Bible studies, there is also the word-on-the-web website which contains up-to-date film reviews, interviews, Christian CD reviews, a discussion forum, a monthly competition, and much more. To subscribe to the free daily email, visit www.word-on-the-web.co.uk and click the ‘Signup’ link at the top of the page.

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For a graphic of word-on-the-web or photo of Ruth Walker please contact Niall Donnelly on 020 8309 3515

For further information of to set up an interview with a member of the word-on- the- web team, contact:

Andrew Wooding on: 0114 272 7451 or Ruth Walker on 01332 748241 or email: theteam@word-on-the web.co.uk

NOTES FOR EDITORS

Church Army is a society of evangelists within the Anglican Communion, which exists to enable people to come to a living faith in Jesus Christ. For more information log onto www.churcharmy.org.uk