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Page 1 of 8 70+ tips for effective church sitesDesign and build a website to reach the community
This article was re-published from Internet Evangelism Day from Gospelcom.net
Making church sites into evangelistic tools1. Most church websites are designed entirely for their members, or unwittingly exclude non-Christians because of their choice of language and content.This is the main reason why church websites fail to reach into the community. It is a tragic missed opportunity. Biblical communication requires that we move over to where the non-Christians are, rather than expecting them to make the journey. 2. A good church site must communicate with three very different target groups:
3. This ‘three-way stretch’ is a challenge, but can be achieved. More If you wish your site to reach non-Christians in the community, make a conscious decision that this is to be an over-riding priority for every aspect of the site. It’s ability to speak to non-Christians must be intentional, rather than hoping for some sort of ’trickle-down’ effect. 4. Take time to consider the needs and viewpoints of non-Christians. We cannot reach those we do not understand. The first task of an overseas missionary is to learn the surrounding culture. Although we are immersed in our own culture, we may not understand it, or the needs and pressures that most non-Christians in our society are facing. 5. Avoid all ‘churchy’ jargon and ‘Christianese’ language throughout the site, especially on the homepage. Non-Christians, almost by definition, do not like or understand these words. This even applies to the navigation menu. Many churches have a menu link called ‘ministries’. This is actually a jargon word meaning ‘Things we do’ or ‘what’s on’. Much better to use neutral alternatives like these. 6. Non-Christians may have negative images of Christians: boring, killjoys, judgmental, etc. A light-hearted, informal, witty website may help to counteract these misconceptions. Opinion polls show that evangelicals are increasingly perceived in a very negative light, in almost all countries. 7. Christian outreach often fails because Christians do ‘megaphone proclamation’ from behind the protecting walls of their ‘ghetto’. A church website should not aim to be an impersonal electronic ‘cut and run’ tract distribution system. Its primary aim should be to draw people in the community towards real relationships with real people within the fellowship. Most conversions result from relationships. 8. A primary task of the website is to convince non-Christians of these four things:
Integrate it into your overall strategies, both as a way of contacting individuals, and giving the fellowship a higher profile within your community. 10. Church is people: the home page should have at least one photo of a church member. This is absolutely foundational to good communication, yet infrequently done. Although you can also use a photo of the church building on the home page, this is impersonal – however attractive your building may be. So use people too. Inside the site, include more photos of real people. Make sure you have signed permissions to add any picture to the site where a face is clearly identifiable.. Do not include full names or personal information about children and young people. 11. Internal pages on the site can include photos of both outside and inside of the church building. But again – include people. If potential visitors feel themselves to be familiar with the building and the people, they are more likely to make the quantum leap of visiting the church. 12. Include some ‘meet our members’ pages. These may well not be full-blown testimonies, but brief informal first-person profiles, with ‘real’ information about their lives: jobs, places of study, likes, hobbies, pets. 13. All links, page titles, and sub-headings should sound enticing. The use of quotation and question marks can make subheads or text links sound more interesting: “What happens at Teen Link?” 14. If testimonies are used, they should be completely free of religious jargon, exaggeration and sentimentality. Non-Christians can see through religious veneers easily! “Everything in my life is now permanently wonderful” does not ring true. Such well-meaning statements do not honor God. 15. Consider a ‘New to this site?’ visitors link on your homepage. This enables you to offer a particular welcome to an outsider. But – very important – this is not a ‘let out’ so you do not need to apply these strategy tips to the rest of the site. The entire site must be user-friendly to non-Christians. A visitor page should be very welcoming and written in plain language. It needs to provide all the info a potential newcomer to a church meeting would require. 16. Games and fun stuff are attractive and make a site sticky (i.e. encourage repeat visits), because of the interesting and possibly frequently changed content.. You can include online games within a children’s/teen area of a site. Or even make them available for everyone! (Incidentally kids/teens areas of a site can have a different, almost stand-alone, design style, in order to achieve their purpose. 17. Consider adding some ‘bridging’ pages to the site. You can create ‘bridge’ pages about secular topics of local interest, which will draw people into the site. These could be local history, community events, pictures, or a page of best secular local links. 18. Involve your church members in praying and supporting the web design team, and ‘owning’ the site. Encourage your church members to understand the purpose of the website, pray for its effective outreach, and make it known to others. Members who have blogs or other types of site can use them to give the church a higher profile. Have others that have websites link to yours. 19. Demonstrate a specific welcome for people with disability. Explain what facilities are available for people with disability: level access, lifts, loop system or large print books. Ensure also that your website complies with usability guidelines for sight-impaired users, including appropriate use of the ‘alt’ tag for graphics. 20. Summing up: the overall impression of the site must of a gentle, loving, enticing welcome. But... ... of course, people who then visit a church meeting must actually receive a welcome! There are many shocking stories of first-time visitors being only spoken to by an usher as they enter, if they are lucky. It ought to be self-evident, but all churches should train their members to speak first to someone they do not recognize, after (and indeed before) any meeting, IN ADDITION to any formal system of greeters that is in place. 21. Sadly, it is this issue of welcome and assimilation that frequently breaks down. In a recent survey of people who stopped attending church after six weeks, 92% of them said it was because no one talked to them. How will churches grow if this is people’s experience? 22. The context of your country, area and culture may lead you to apply these principles in different ways. 23. Church websites are not the only form of web evangelism. The Web is a God-given tool with huge potential to reach the world. For those in your church with the gifts and calling, it could be a wonderful outlet. And surprisingly, there are many opportunities for people with no technical knowledge at all! |
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