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St Francis Magazine Vol 9, No 4 | August 2013
7.2 Content of emails varies greatly
68 were abusive (1%), 919 were negative (18%), 785 were neutral (15%), while 3,346 were positive
(65%). Surprisingly, the initial email from some visitors shows that they consider the NL website to
be Islamic, despite the total lack of Quranic content. Some correspondents shared very personal
details of marital problems or addiction and asked for advice. Many visitors who correspond are
consciously searching for information on the Christian faith. Among those professing faith in Jesus
Christ, a significant number have no prior contact with fellow believers.
7.3 Intensity of correspondence
This has ranged from many single messages to one visitor who has sent 86 messages. Quite
commonly, a hiatus of many months, or several years occurs and then contact is resumed. Over a
period of years, many correspondents change location as they join in the Diaspora.
7.4 On-line Bible correspondence courses
308 were completed. The vast majority received a passing score of 60%.
8. The harvest: linking website visitors with local churches is the 3 rd level of blessing
The purpose of the NL website is expressly not to be a “virtual” substitute for a visible church
fellowship 38 . Connecting an individual with Christians in his or her proximity is the ultimate goal.
Linkage to local churches only takes place with the express permission of a visitor. To date, 57
visitors in 16 countries have been connected, to some degree, with a member of a local Christian
church. The countries where most visitors were introduced to local churches were: Kenya 12, The
Netherlands 8, UK 7, Ethiopia 6, South Africa 6, and USA 6.
9. Evaluation of the NL website impact after seven years
9.1 Putting the numbers in perspective.
After presenting a plethora of statistics, it is essential to emphasize how exciting they are within
the Somali context. If one assumes a 25% literacy rate among the world’s estimated 12 million
Somali-speakers, then the core target group for NL website is 3 million people. Since 152,195 people
visited the site over the past six years and three months 39 , this means 5% of all literate Somalis have
had at least some contact with the Gospel message. In terms of what attracted visitors once they
entered the site, it is remarkable that the introductory page for the Somali translation of the Bible
consistently ranked at fifth place. When pageviews of Old and New Testament introductory pages,
subsection pages, and individual Bible books are all combined, the total is 79,378; this is nearly 17%
of all pageviews 40 . This shows the intrinsic appeal of the Word of God to a Muslim ethnic group
who otherwise have had little chance to encounter the Scriptures in their heart language.
From these 152,195 visitors, 1% decided to initiate contact with the NL staff. The fact that 65%
of their messages were positive is also remarkable. Regardless of whether Somalis are traditional
Sufis or recent adherents of Salafism, the vast majority hold that to be a Somali is to be a Muslim.
Just as Jessup noted for Yemenis 41 , Somalis do not traditionally recognize ehlul-kitaab (People of the
Book) as a category for Jews and Christians. All non-Muslims are considered gaalo (infidels).
Therefore, the default setting for attitudes towards Christianity has been more hostile than in most
other Muslim nations. Viewed within that perspective, the tone of correspondence shows a
38 For a fascinating study of usage of Paltalk chatrooms by scattered Somali Christians in Norway (with global reach), see
Frank O. Thoresen, In the midst of Umma on the Internet– Religious Profession and Witness in a Globalized Era, (In: The
Church Going Glocal, Mission and Globalisation. Edited by Tormod Engelsviken, Erling Lundeby and Dagfinn Solheim,
Proceedings of the Fjellhaug Symposium 2010, Oxford Centre for Mission Studies, Oxford, UK. Regnum Edinburgh
Centenary Series) p. 151-162.
39
There is no data on visitation for the first year, but it is likely only a few hundred.
40
Bearing in mind that the Bible did not become available until 19 months after Analytics data began recording.
41 H.H. Jessup. Kamil Abdul Messiah, A Syrian Convert from Islam to Christianity. (1898, reprinted by Middle East Resources,
South Holland, IL, USA, 2008), p. 29. Given that Islam spread from Yemen to Somalia, this perspective likely originated
there.
St Francis Magazine is published by Arab Vision and Interserve 40