I'm Evan, a web designer and developer from Richmond Indiana. Learn more about me by visiting the "
Interesting Stuff
How to know when your church is ready for a website
As a website developer and a Christian I often find myself trying to think of ways to use the internet to further the ministries of the church. Whether it's through online prayer boards or church home pages I always get excited about the possibilities that the internet can offer to a church that's driven to reach the masses (which they all should be). So, how can you tell if your church is ready for its own website? Let's take a look and find out.
What is the Internet used for?
If you strip away the fancy designs and the alluring advertisements the internet is simply a means of communicating information. You can think of the internet as a very large, cross linked encyclopedia where the the information on a given topic is accessed through search engines. It is important to understand this in order to get a better understanding of how the internet can be used for the church as a whole. The truth is that most church websites aren't as effective as they could be. Many of them focus on giving information on the church, which isn't a bad idea, but falls short of the opportunities by a mile. So, part of knowing whether or not your church is ready for a website is knowing if you (or someone else) will be able to commit the time and manpower to generating a website that rises above these pitfalls.
That being said, there are some cases where a small, brochure-style website is the best fit for a church. If you're pretty sure that your church falls into this category, you can ignore what I'm about to say. :)
Ready for the web?
Typically a church that is ready for a ministry-driven website meets one or more of these criteria:- The church has been successful for reaching lost souls for Christ through their services and local-based ministries
- The church has a large congregation which could benefit from internet-based communications
- The church is already using technology in some way for outreach into their communities.
Moving forward
If you feel that you're being led to start a website for your church, keep some of these things in mind:- Other than providing information about our church, how can I use this website to reach non-believers?
- Maintaining a website is very hard and time-consuming work, are you willing to put in the time to make sure that your church website stays both up-to-date and effective as a tool of ministry?
If you're interested in starting a website for your church and want some help getting started, feel free to contact me and I'll see if I can help you get things started!