More than 50 Internet and communications specialists from 13 countries in the European Seventh-day Adventist Church districts met in Prague Feb. 12 to 15 to discuss how the Internet can be used for evangelism.

Five workshops demonstrated various means to use the Internet in a missionary perspective. Pastor Bojan Godina, from Darmstadt, Germany, discussed the “movieco.de” Web site as a way to bridge the gap for young people, linking current movies and parallel statements in the Bible.

Joe Smozynski talked about the success of the Polish “portal of hope,” Nadzieja, and encouraged others to launch similar initiatives in their own countries.

“With more than 60,000 visitors a month, our portal, in a predominantly Catholic culture, is among the most-visited Internet addresses in Poland,” Smozynski said. “On our homepage, visitors find electronic Bibles, advice about plants, drug dependencies and family life, radio on Internet, prayer lists, on-line pastors and Bible studies.”

Swedish Pastor Tommy Björn detailed plans for a major, nationwide Internet evangelism campaign in Sweden. However, he added, the Internet can only prepare the way to personal contact with interested persons.

Dr. Matthias Dorn of Hannover, Germany, examined the issue of how to transmit knowledge via the Internet, and how to make such communications relevant.

The convention was organized by “STAonline,” an association of Adventist Webmasters in the region.