"Making Your Messages Matter"
A seminar led by Rev. J.W. Gregg Meister, president of Interlink Media, and Rev. Richard Sindall, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Bridgton, for the Presbytery of West Jersey, February 8, 2009
Why?
Why should your church have a web site?
Meister: Every church program should have some theological construct undergirding it to justify the resources expended on that program. With regard to having a web site, here is one theological justification: The purpose of the church is to communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We live in a media rich environment that would be the envy of Saint Paul, who had only the platform speech (a sermon) and letters. If a church is going to be faithful in this age then that congregation must be on the web.
Where?
Where are you and your congregation in terms of a web site presence? If you don't have one yet -- and approximately 1/3 of the congregations in the Presbytery of West Jersey do not -- why don't you?
What?
In practical terms, what can a local congregation offer on a web site?
See Dick
Sindall's church site as an example.Here is a
map of his site which you can print
Dick's site was designed by his son, Jonathan, a
graphics arts designer.
Here is a
list of West Jersey church web sites of the church web sites in our presbytery. Review these sites for features of interest, and note if on the home page they have a map, directions to the church, the times of the worship service, and an email to contact the pastor.
After the workshop Sunday afternoon participant
Bob Marks from the
Collingswood Church has set up this
training site. His church, and
Logan Presbyterian, host their sites for about $50.00 per year on
Wordpress.com. See also
wordpress.org.
Many thanks to Bob for sharing this information.
Debra Gerber led the workshop before ours on church newsletters. You can check out her fine information at
churchpost.com or
email her.
How?
How do you create a web site?
There are so many resources available, many of them free, that starting your own web site depends upon your theology and your energy level, and the desire of your congregation to exist (much less grow). But, quite simply, here is what a web site requires: a computer, an application, and a computer on the Internet highway called a server.
You create a web site on your (office) computer and you send that web site (you "upload it" or "post it") to the server on the Internet highway. Now anyone in the world can see whatever message your local congregation has decided to share. The best computer to have for this (or virtually any other purpose) is made by Apple (Meister's note: I have both Windows computers and Macs in my office; I use both; I own stock in Apple). New Apple computers come with a program called iWeb, which is a program designed to easily create web sites. Or you can go to companies like
GoDaddy and
Verio to rent server space and find templates for creating web sites. Our denomination has a
web site lisiting resources and ideas. For additional and/or more advanced features, see Dick's
print out, above.
I also merely typed "free Internet resources" into Google and 442 milliion sites came up. You may want to limit yourself to just the first few hundred...
Who?
Who will not just create your church web site but keep it up to date?
Good luck. Yes, your church secretary should do this, but resistance to learning new skills may stand in your way here. You can pay someone or some company (No,
Interlink Media, Meister's company, is not taking on new web clients), and for more advanced features this may be necessary. Since by definition this costs money it's unlikely your church will do this now when it had ample opportunity to do so prior to this recession. You can find a church volunteer, who quickly discovers that updating a church web site on a regular basis may win a star in his or her crown on that Great Awakening Day but in the meantime is a tedious and generally thankless task. You can do it yourself. If you could pass Hebrew or Greek then you have the capability to create a web site using html.
"Who?" circles back to "Why?" You, and a few leaders in your congregation, need to be convinced that the purpose of your church is to communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and that this is so important that you will find the resources and learn the skills required to be a church in the 21st century.