It's In The Blog

Almost everyone knows what a blog is nowadays. Shoot; it seems like almost everyone HAS a blog anymore. They've swept the internet as a craze, but have held strong to show that they are not just a fad.

The reason that blogs have become so popular is twofold: they provide a more personal means of communication, and they have a simple enough interface that most anyone can maintain them. The addition of features such as comments can often help make a great interactive atmosphere that most people seem to welcome.

It is exactly this kind of format that makes blogs great evangelical tools, and they can serve of great use to your church website if they are used properly. A blog can be a great place for your pastor or pastors to share about themselves and the religious issues that are of importance at the time. Even prayer requests fit well into this format. This can help encourage discussion amongst the members of your church through comments, as well as involve those who come across your church website.

While blogs can be great tools, they also come with a good deal of responsibility. Blogs need to be updated regularly or else they tend to lose their impact. If someone likes what they've read on your blog and see that it gets updated regularly, then they are more likely to check back and see what's up next on the blog. If they do end up coming back a few times and no updates have been made, it is quite possible they may never return to that blog.

The other responsibility of a blog is self-moderation. Your blog author must be responsible for watching over what they write and the image they present. Once something is posted on a blog, while it may be edited at a later date, it may not always be "taken back" if it's already been read. So beware that a poorly moderated blog can actually severely detract from your website's impression on visitors.

However, a well utilized blog can be an outstanding asset to your church website as a powerful outreach tool. Every church, both large and small, can benefit greatly from them.