Mormon Missionary Work Online

Mormon (LDS) missionaries going door-to-door is a classic image of the type of evangelizing that religious groups used in days past, but times are changing.  And this is true for Mormons as well as they are expanding their online proselytizing efforts.  The church now staffs an increasing number of missionaries at computers to connect and interact with religious investigators online, rather than sending those missionaries out to knock on doors.

The motivation is well stated by one of the church leaders:

We recognize that the methods and the approaches that we’re using to do missionary work need to change with what’s going on in our society with technology.

Adaptation in the face of changing circumstances is one of the secrets to long-run proselytizing success.  In this case we see adaptation in the face of changes in how people interact with technology drives.

Scientology TV Network

The Church of Scientology is about to launch its own TV network today.  It can be viewed on Scientology.tv but also on DirecTV, Apple TV, Roku, plus more.  This is not the first religious organization to create a TV network, of course, but it is interesting in that it allows a group that has received so much negative publicity in other media outlets to spread its message directly to interested parties.

Will this be a successful endeavor?  How would the church measure success?