“And I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.” —Philemon 1:6
Like most people, Annette Poff does a lot of the same things each week. Maybe it’s babysitting a grandchild, driving her mother to physical therapy or bookkeeping for the property management company she owns with her husband.
It’s pretty routine, yet each week, something changes as her sphere of influence widens to include different people from all over the map—people she’ll never meet face to face.
Annette was serving as a BGEA Rapid Response Team chaplain when she heard how she could get involved in Search for Jesus, BGEA’s Internet evangelism ministry.
“I signed up immediately,” she said.
Annette was trained as a volunteer e-responder, where she answers spiritual questions via email, submitted through the Search for Jesus (SFJ) evangelistic website, PeaceWithGod.net.
It’s been a perfect fit.
As a Rapid Response chaplain from Virginia, Annette has deployed to several local disaster sites to comfort people in their loss. She’s been to regions blown apart by tornadoes and to West Virginia to pray with a grieving community in the wake of a 2010 mine explosion that killed 29 people. She’s used to being there for people amid chaos and questioning.
Yet providing spiritual guidance to people online, one on one, is a little different. She offers her presence and care through written words and often carries on conversations for months.
As people online ask spiritual questions on a wide variety of topics, Annette finds her own faith growing as she seeks out answers.
“I have to figure out how to word my answers so that they can be understood by someone,” she said, adding that she tries to explain answers in simple language and avoids Christian lingo not everyone will grasp.
In January 2014, Annette got one of these spiritual questions from “Sam,” a university student in London.
“I want to receive Jesus into my life, and I know He wants to receive me,” Sam wrote. “How can I get Jesus in my life?”
Here was a young person with a deep hunger for Christ, and Annette was thrilled to light the way.
Sam did begin a relationship with Christ shortly after that, but wrote that “it feels I’m very inexperienced to be in a relationship with God.”
Annette encouraged Sam to read the Bible, pray often, look for a local church and check out SFJ’s free online discipleship course, KnowJesus.net, which shows participants how to live as a Christian.
Sam signed up for the course, bought a Bible, told family about accepting Christ, visited a church and started praying for a sister who didn’t believe in God. Sam also began sharing this newfound faith with friends and told Annette it’s important to know how to answer their questions about God.
Not only did Annette encourage Sam along this new journey of faith, but Sam inspired her by taking his relationship with Christ seriously.
“I’m slowly working my way through the Gospel of John, and so far all of the things that Jesus says I find myself saying, ‘Wow, He actually said that—that’s pretty cool,’” Sam wrote. “People say the Bible is old, but the stuff I read was as if it was written for me in the 21st century!”
But the passion and excitement for Christ was soon tested with bumps in the road. Sam started struggling to find time to pray and read the Bible. Depression set in when hard times hit, and Sam felt like God wasn’t there, like his prayers were empty.
Annette wasn’t going anywhere. She stuck with Sam, offering reassurance that struggles are normal and can actually strengthen a person’s faith. At Annette’s direction, Sam continued praying and reading the Bible and reached out to a church friend for encouragement. Eventually, Sam was out of the valley and felt equipped to take on the next one.
Since the initial connection with Annette, Sam’s family has also gotten involved in church. The sister Sam and Annette prayed for is making positive changes.
“I can’t describe how much joy and encouragement I have had by being a part of Sam’s story,” Annette said. “What I’ve done [as an e-responder] has made me a stronger chaplain, and what I’ve done as a chaplain has made me a stronger e-responder.”
Annette is now an SFJ area coordinator, overseeing other trained volunteers who live in her area.
“I knew I wanted to do a ministry like this for many years. I did not know what a blessing it would be to me,” she said. “Every time I look in my Bible, I see another verse I could use in this ministry. I just love it.”
You can have a lasting impact on someone’s life by volunteering with BGEA’s Internet evangelism ministry, Search for Jesus. Learn more.
