If Jesus Had A Website

I just wanted to make everyone aware of this event, and you can read the press release here.

Granted, it's just one day being committed to something that we really need to focus on regularly as a church, but I do believe that the first step is to increase the awareness of the importance of internet evangelism not just to the church, but to all of Christianity. We must keep up with the social revolution that is occurring online, or we will get lost in the shuffle. For we must remember Paul's words to the Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 9:21-23:

To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

For more information about the Internet Evangelism Day, checkout their official website at www.internetevangelismday.com.

We want the focus of out church websites to be on evangelization and reaching out to people, but there are some people we want to keep out of our sites: HACKERS!

Thousands of hackers are out there. Some are professionals whose job is to discover leaks in software, and then report them to companies so that the software can be made more secure. Others hack as a hobby to both show off their talents and to make the lives of others more difficult. This second group can really cause some troubles, as they may leave your website either tainted with some kind of virus or spyware, or modify your content.

Now, I'm no security expert myself, but there are precautions we can take to discourage or minimize the effects of hackers:

1. Make Backups Of Everything – This can be as simple as storing a ZIP file with all of you files in it on a seperate computer. When you have a copy of everything, if you do get hacked then you can restore your site to where it was before getting hacked.
2. Keep All Packages Up To Date – If you are using a Content Management System or your own dynamic content setup, make sure you (or that your hosting company) keep your server up to date with the latest versions. Often, updates are made to these packages for security reasons as often as they are for new features.
3. Watch Your File Permissions – If you're using a Linux host, make sure that all your files and directories are not set to CHMOD 777. That means that anyone can edit any of your files, add files or delete existing files; and even a new hacker can get in and modify your files. With other OSs, make sure that your files are not set for public or anonymous writing.

So those are a few pointers to get you started. Remember, if your site gets hacked, it's not the end of the world. Learn from the experience, and you'll help keep it from happening again.

 

Yea, you just read that right. And, yes, this is a Christian site!

Over the weekend, I read a lot of blog articles that linked to a church website that prominently features scripture from Luke 4:7, where Satan is speaking to Jesus. Now, I'm going to allow that church to save face and not point them out directly, but I would like to use this as an example of what not to do. As the person in charge of content on your church website, it also becomes your responsibility to use proper biblical context.

Now, last week I posted a story about the Ten Best E-Ministy Practices, with one of them being "Do your best, then post it", saying that in today's internet, errors are ok because they can be fixed. Today, I want to emphasize that statement, but constrain it to typographical and grammatical errors. These errors occur and shouldn't impact the nature of the content you are trying to convey. However, misleading biblical reference and using scripture out of context can have a long-lasting impact. Once people see an example of biblical illiteracy, it can be really hard to live down. It takes away the authority of the local church, and reflects poorly on the church as a whole.

So, while mistakes are sure to be made, do your best to demonstrate your church as biblically literate on your website. While doing so may not lead to many noticable benefits, not doing so will lead to numerous detractions.

A few weeks ago I made a post on the message board over at Great Church Websites concerning the place of educational materials on church websites. While this is an endeavour not embarked on by many churches today, I believe this is one of the opportunities for spiritual growth that is most often overlooked on church websites. Let's do a little Q&A to see why.

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1) Why should we do this? We already have bible studies and classes.

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In today's society (especially in the United States), many people have such hectic schedules that is difficult to find times for all people who are interested to participate in these activities. However, most people do have a certain amount of "down time" at home where they can do what they'd like. If you have someone who wants to be part of a class or bible study and you coordinate it online, then they will have an opportunity to be involved as they have time. They can then also use e-mail or forums to get involved in discussions and ask questions.

 

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2) Who's in charge of these online courses?

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Just because the venue changes doesn't mean that the structure of the courses needs to change. As always, you'll still have a leader or teacher who is responsible for directing the group.

 

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3) How much will it cost to set up?

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If your web host supports any kind of scripting language, then you can find a free forum or bulletin board package that you can use on your site. Most of these are relatively easy to set up and should provide you with what you need to get started.

If your web host does not support scripting languages, then you should be able to find a website that offers free or cheap forums for you to use. The free forums may be cluttered with advertising which pay for the free service, so be warned. It's probably worth the few extra bucks to avoid that nuisance.

 

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4) What do we do when the course is completed?

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Part of the beauty of this setup is that it provides flexibility. Once you complete a course, you can either keep it, archive it or delete it. In some formats, it may be ideal to keep the information active and allow others to come in and review the materials and comments on their own time. In others, you may want to focus on the discussion and save the ideas for the next time around. It's up to you!

For example, my church offers a series of Christian Life Courses once each year, and the first one is required for membership. With the current setup, if you can't make it at that time, then you're kinda out of luck. However, if the materials were available for review online, this course could be an ongoing thing, with e-mails being used for questions. However, if you were doing a structured book study, you'd probably want to pull down or archive the materials shortly after the completion because the the more structured format.

 

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I hope that I've shown you some of the benefits of using your church website in your church's educational cirriculum. By no means do I believe that it should completely replace the personal interaction of bible studies and classes, but can instead be used as an extension so that more people can become involved in the materials. It's just one more way to reach out to those who are searching for truth!

I came across this article about E-Ministry Practices on the message board for Great Church Websites today. It does a good job outlining the change in mindset that a church needs to have if they want a successfull website. There are two key points from that article that I wanted to point out:

4. Never "scoop" the Web site.
In the press corps, the term "scoop" refers to publishing a hot news story before a competitor does. In a Web-enabled organization, "scooping" the Web site means making information available through handouts or public announcements that are not already published on the Web site. Churches with a successful e-ministry train their audiences to go to the Web first for the most current information. Scooping the site teaches people that there is really nothing new on the site. For churches, this means try posting new content on Friday, not Monday.

This can be a difficult thing to change, but the impact it will have on your church website will be indescribable. People will begin to view your website as a resource for information, instead of just a presence online.

10. Do your best, then post it.
Unlike the physical print world – errors and omissions on Web site content can be fixed easily and inexpensively. Revisions can easily be added after the preliminary copy has been posted. Many content providers get bogged down trying to provide "perfect" content for the Web, and end up providing nothing by the launch date. This leads to the dreaded "under construction" pages. Successful content providers understand that it's better to post something, and edit it later, than to post nothing at all.

One of the beautiful things about the internet is that anything on it can go back and be fixed. So if you do make a mistake, don't agonize over it. And don't be afraid to make them in the first place!

Be sure to check out the full article for other great tips!

Last month, a group of Canadian researchers published a study where they found that most internet users judge the aesthetics of a website in a fraction of a second , which in turn influences their overall opinion of the site. From the perspective of a web developer, that is a pretty scary thing to find out. So what things can we do to help make that most of that fraction of a second? Here's three ways you can help make the most of that first impression.

1. Don't put a photo of the church on the church homepage – While it's often the easiest quality photo to obtain, it puts too much focus on the building and not enough on the people and congregation inside. The one exception may be if the building is truly unique . After all, you don't see most major businesses putting their building on their website. Try to get pictures of church activities that you can use, or if you need to you can use stock photos to fill in what you don't have. You can still have the church photo on your directions or contact information page, but just try to avoid having it front and center.
2. Make sure your site is very readable – If the text on your page is not easily readable, then visitors are less likely to stay and check out the content you have available. Spend a little time working with a color contrast engine , and come up with a combination that works best for you. Black on white always works well, but it may not grab your eye like some other color combinations.
3. Give your church site a professional appearance – If your church website looks like it was put together by someone who is just learning HTML, then it will be a negative reflection on your church. A clear, organized site with a polished appearance is more likely to draw in a visitor to find more of what your church is about.

Keeping track of dates of events may not seem like much of an outreach activity, but if done right they can be a quite powerful tool.

I don't know how many times I've heard fellow Christians speak about how their faith is not about religion, but a personal relationship with Jesus. It's completely accurate, but sometimes we forget that, within the church, it's not about the services provided, but developing relationships with others through these outreaches. Showing an interest in people's lives outside of church can be one of the easiest, yet often overlooked, ways to do just that.

You may be thinking, "That's great, but what does that have to do with datekeeping on our website?". Well, I'm gonna tell you!

Try treating your church calendar as a community calendar. This will show that your church is not just interested in their "church-selves", but in their entire life. No, you don't need to list every activity going on, but try to target activities that relate to your congregations lives. Some good activities may be:

• Youth Sports League Signups
• Adult Education Registration
• Free Public Concerts
• Special Events At Other Local Churches (plays, concerts, etc.)

This kind of listing can help make your church website a more valuable resource for people to use in their lives. It may even make them pay a little more attention to the dates of activities going on in your church because they may better see how they fit in with their daily lives.

Remember that, as a church, we are a part of the community. Let's work on increasing our role out there and not just keeping to ourselves.