Ministry Technology is at it's peek. As one person once told me "Our churches are a rotary dial phone in a dial-up generation". So true, Let's start with one question: Is your church’s website is that important?
I want to share the three points, which will help us evaluate our answer:
1. If you're not on the Web, you don't exist. With such a wealth of accessible information on the Web, it's easy for people to limit their research to just an Internet search. Add to that the fact that younger families are much less likely to use yellow pages or newspaper ads, and pretty quickly you understand that not having a website makes you invisible to most people under age 40. When trying to communicate with young families, not having a website is similar to not having a sign on your building - how will they know you exist?
2. Their first impression of your congregation will be from the Web. Do you have enough information on your website to give visitors a proper first impression? Pictures are truly worth a thousand words on the Web. Do you have pictures of your worship services, classes and activities? Can a visitor to your site get a feel for what type of people worship with you? What they wear? How you worship? What your focus is? It's not enough to simply say, "Come visit us."
3. A poor website can actually deter visits from young families. People who "grew up" on the Web expect your website to be of the same quality as any other they visit. If your site was built by a volunteer years ago, and hasn't been updated since, that will be reflected on you. Younger families expect your website to provide service information, maps, news, calendars, sermons, and music clips. This type of information is readily available from other organizations' websites. Others expect the same things from you as well. Not being able to get this information can sometimes be frustrating to families seeking a church family.
This last point also reiterates a point I’ve made in the past: If your church’s current website is embarrassing (just ask the young people in your church if you aren’t sure), then take it down. Now. Replace it with one simple page listing your service times and map/directions, until you can create a better site. That sounds extreme, but it’s that important.
In the process of creating a new site, gather some of the young adults (single, married, and parents) for an evening. (Don’t forget to provide child care.) Offer a light dinner and pick their brains: What makes a good website? What would they expect on the site? What things would they use to decide to attend a church? What should it look like?
What comes out of this meeting will be invaluable in the creation of a relevant, vibrant website to reach your community.
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