The Communications Revolution and Evangelical Internationalism

Abstract

This chapter explains the practical mechanisms by which evangelical organizations expanded their reach. It talks about many scholars of Christianity that have attributed the global expansion of evangelicalism to “new technology” without adequately demonstrating how technological innovations made evangelical Christianity appealing to its new adherents throughout the world. The chapter also illuminates the strategic approach of U.S. evangelical organizations in using electronic communications to spread the gospel. It shows how individuals and local communities abroad interacted with Christian media and details how evangelicals throughout the world came to view themselves as members of a transnational community of believers by the early 1980s. It examines the interplay of religious and political beliefs that underpinned the push for overseas evangelism, the technological mechanisms that fostered evangelical internationalism, and the scriptural interpretations that informed evangelical notions about human rights and the role that the United States should play in the world.