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Pastor combines business, ministry in cyberspace

by Sandra Reeves
Sacramento Bee, April 23, 2000, South Placer Neighbor's section, pp. 1-2.

In the free-for-all world of the Internet, Ralph Wilson has created an unusual niche for himself.

The pastor of Rocklin's Church of the Live Oaks, an American Baptist congregation, and an online marketing guru, Wilson uses the Internet to make money and to conduct his Christian ministry.

He writes three e-mail newsletters about doing business on the Web. He has built a nationally recognized marketing resource Web site that is the largest of its kind on the Internet. He also leads a weekly e-mail Bible study group of 2,600 participants from 75 countries around the world.

"I want my life to point people to God," Wilson said. "I think I can do that in my business -- not in a pushy way -- and in Christian ministry."

Wilson did not set out to combine business and the Bible in cyberspace; the dual activities seemed to emerge by chance. Pastoring a church in Southern California, he used computers for several years to write a newsletter for American Baptist Churches USA. He moved to Rocklin to start a new, church in 1988 and in 1996, when America Online offered 50 hours of free time on the Internet, he signed up.

"I was fascinated with what I found, and with the potential," Wilson said. "I did a lot of learning on my own."

In May 1995 Wilson created his own Web site of 100 pages, learning by doing, and on one of the pages he put up 100 Christianity-related articles he had written.

Then, just when a supplemental editing job ended (the fledgling Rocklin church could not support him), Wilson was asked by several local businesses to design their Web sites. The first was Sierra Digital Communications in Rocklin. He also started writing online articles about how to market businesses on the Internet. Many small businesses, attracted to the Web site by this free advice, subsequently hired Wilson to design their sites.

In October 1995 Wilson was "discovered." An item in a national magazine mentioned his Web design service, and within two weeks he had 10 clients. He had launched a national business.

"God's hand was in this," Wilson said. "I needed money to live on, and he provided a way."

The way grew. That November Wilson started writing Web Marketing Today, an e-mail newsletter that now has 90,000 subscribers. He added a second one, Web Commerce Today, about how to conduct e-commerce, and recently started Doctor Ebiz, in which he answers questions from people putting businesses on the Internet.

Using his hands-on knowledge, he has built 18 online stores for clients. He also has developed his mega hyperlinks page. "I wanted my Web site to be a center for information for business people," Wilson said. "That turned out wonderfully. We have links to 6,400 marketing articles and resources."

Wilson's Web site has been widely recognized. It's been mentioned on MSNBC, in at least 12 books and in dozens of publications, including the Wall Street Journal and Business Week, which called it "the best e-commerce site, bar none."

While building his own Web site, Wilson helped the city of Roseville and Placer County develop theirs. "Dr. Wilson has been invaluable in the design and set-up of the county's system," said Susan Prince, Placer County's public information assistant and Web manager. "We appreciate his broad range of expertise. We've come to him with weird questions, and he always has the answers." Anita Yoder, Placer County's public information officer, said of Wilson's Web site design abilities, "He knows how to construct a masterpiece."

Feeling called by God to learn how to use the Internet to teach the gospel, Wilson inaugurated his e-mail Bible study series in 1996. Now, 2,600 people, scattered worldwide, participate in weekly e-mail discussions of the current topic, the Gospel of Luke. Each week Wilson writes an exposition of a passage from Luke, looking for meanings and posing questions. Around the world, 14 group leaders moderate discussions on the passage.

One leader, who works with new Christians, is Lois Turley, a registered nurse living in Fort Smith, Ark. "I forward the questions to the group, asking what they think about them, or which ones speak to them," Turley said. "Each person has a different response, usually not contradictory, but complementary. It's exciting. The questions and discussion, I think, help them grow and learn as Christians."

Participants represent many different Christian denominations, from Baptist to Roman Catholic. It even includes an inquirers' group for those not committed to Christianity but wanting to learn more about it.

Wilson starts each online Bible study session offline, at his Church of the Live Oaks. The small congregation meets in the Rocklin Library. There he presents the week's passage and asks for comment before posting his exposition on the Internet. The result, Wilson said, is a gain on both sides. "We explore the passage, and that helps me see what issues I need to address online," he said.

Church member Don Kenzy said he thinks Wilson's online Bible study gives the church its strength and perhaps its purpose. "I really think his calling in ministry is in the area of the Internet, being able to reach a lot more people," Kenzy said of Wilson, "and the congregation supports him in that rather than trying to grow the church. Teaching really is his specialty, his gift."

Wilson said his biggest challenge is prioritizing his time. Another is not letting his business grow to the point that he would have to become a manager instead of a writer and teacher. "I want to stay small so I can use my gifts in the most helpful way," Wilson said. "And I don't want to create a business I won't enjoy. If you had told me five years ago I would have an Internet business and an Internet Bible study, I would have laughed. I would have thought 'how bizarre.' God has a sense of humor, I think. When I look at what God. has done, I'm amazed."

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Much of Wilson's online material can be found at http://www.wilsonweb.com. A new weekly column is at http://www.doctorebiz.com, and his Bible study is at https://www.jesuswalk.com.

Copyright © 2000 The Sacramento Bee.