Like others have already shared, the internet is just a tool. As with anything else, it can be used for both good and evil. (In fact, the same can be said about the Bible as well.)
When you use the internet, you are generally either (1) reading something, (2) watching something, (3) hearing something, or (4) doing a combination of the three. In other words, using the internet is generally on par with reading a book, watching a television program, or listening to music; the main difference has to do with the speed by which one can interchange between such activities, and combine them. Certainly, there is a place for personal preaching, teaching, and fellowship. As the saying goes, if love doesn’t work up close, it almost certainly will not work from a distance. But that truth should not be used to rule out impersonal teaching from afar, either.
When we read something as opposed to, say, watching/listening to a sermon at a church, we are favouring ration and reason to discern the content of what is being preached more so than our emotions. We have time to think about, meditate over, and re-read what is being said – we don’t have this opportunity when we are being ‘preached at’ in person. This represents one benefit of acquiring our Christian teaching via a written medium, as opposed to a more audio-visual approach. (The Bible would arguably be the best written medium for Christian teaching available to us today.)
Jesus said that those who worship the Father must do so ‘in spirit and in truth’. (John 4:24) In his letter to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul identified five distinct ‘positions’ (or ministries) within the church: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. (Ephesians 4:11-12) Two of these positions deal more with the ‘spirit’ side of the coin (evangelists and pastors), in that their approach is generally softer, and more concerned with the individual they are ministering to than the content of what they are saying.
On the other hand, another pair of the positions mentioned (prophets and teachers) deal more with the ‘truth’ side of the equation, with prophets in particular being generally known for their ‘hard’ and ‘rough’ image; and Jesus even went so far as to identify persecution as the tell-tale sign of a true prophet. (Luke 6:22-23, 26) Generally speaking, you don’t get persecuted for being soft and cuddly, and/or for telling people what they want to hear!
I would argue that an up close and personal approach is best suited for the first two forms of ministry (pastoring and evangelizing), while a more removed medium, e.g. the internet, may be better for the latter two forms (prophesying and teaching). In fact, this point may be valid if for no other reason than the fact that it reduces the persecution risk for prophets and teachers, who are much more likely to receive persecution for their work (if genuine) than are evangelists and pastors.
Anyway, that’s probably enough from me for now on that issue. Just a little bit of food for thought.