This Christian Life

Internet Pornography

Could your computer kill your ministry?
by Mark Stedman

Satan knows that a quick way to damage a missionary’s capacity for ministry is to ruin his family and moral character and these days, he’s using Internet pornography very effectively to wage this war. The affordability, accessibility and anonymity of the Internet are key contributors to this problem. An article entitled “The Dark Side of the Internet” in the January 2003 EMQ started me thinking about how LAM can support it’s missionaries and staff in this battle.

First, commit this matter to prayer for yourself and the other missionaries of the mission. Pray specifically for protection from temptation for men and women in ministry and their children. Pray further that peoples’ deep needs for intimacy will be met in healthy ways in their relationship with Jesus. We are all at risk for substituting man-made things for Jesus (this is a whole other article!).

Second, install software on your computer in your home and/or workplace to protect you from objectionable content. I’ve done some research on software that’s available and have two recommendations. Let me start by saying that my criteria in my study was that the software be fairly transparent, easy to use, and that it not overly block sites that are not objectionable. Furthermore, my biggest criteria was that the software keep an indelible record of surfing. We’re all mature adults and can make decisions about what sites are appropriate. Knowing, however, that your surfing activities are being recorded, however, can help to provide a powerful deterent. Pornography is an area where an ounce of prevention is worth a ton of cure!

My recommendations depend on your circumstance. If you are married and your spouse is willing to provide some accountability for you, or you have someone else who is willing to visit your computer periodically, I recommend a product called “We-Blocker”. It’s available as a free (!!) download from. It provides filtering based on a database of sites as well as word filtering. Most importantly, it keeps a log of all sites visited. I use this software on my own computer at home. I installed it and my wife has the password. I do not know the password and in my research was unable to find a way to circumvent the system.

My second recommendation is for those of you who don’t have anyone nearby who can be an accountability partner for you. It’s called Covenant Eyes. When you sign up for The Covenant Eyes Program, you are asked to provide the names of two “Accountability Partners” (only one is required, but they recommend two). On a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis, your accountability partner will receive an accountability log which will be a record of all of the sites you visited, including the web addresses and amount of time you were on the Internet. This log is e-mailed to your Accountability Partner. The Covenant Eyes Program is maintained on computers at the corporate headquarters in Corunna, MI. Therefore, the history of sites visited by the member cannot be erased (though they can be viewed confidentially over the Internet by the user). Covenant Eyes is $6.95/month or $74.95/year paid in advance.

Statistics tell us that in a collection of people as large as our mission, there are people who are struggling with pornography. Frighteningly, statistics tell us that it could be as many as a third or even half of us. I’m writing this part for those of you who may be struggling right now. First, let me tell you that Jesus loves you irrespective of your sin. That’s the wonder of Grace. He grieves, however, because of your sin. He grieves for the damage you are doing to your family and your ministry. Please, take steps now to begin leaving the grip of pornography. Enlist friends, your spouse and the member care department at LAM. This is the fight of your life—stand up, admit your actions and fight for yourself and your family.

Mark Stedman
Director, Information Technology
Latin America Mission