This is the 2nd installment of a series of posts I’m doing to help pastors get themselves and their churches online and plugged in.

VIEW THE ENTIRE SERIES

DISCLOSURE: I do web development work as a side business.  I work mostly with other churches.  Though I’d love to have you as a client, that’s not why I’m writing this post.  I really have a heart to see churches get plugged in, no matter how they get there.

Get a Good Website

do you have something nauseating like this on your website? REPENT.

I said “good” for a reason.

The first question is if you have a website, is it a good website or a bad one? Now, odds are you are a terrible judge of this.  So are your friends.  I know that seems harsh, but it’s usually true.  I really can’t count how many times another pastor has bragged about their website and I go look at it and it’s abysmal.  Ask a 25 year old to give you an honest opinion both on the functionality of the site as well as the design.  Have them describe the site to you in their own words.  Ask guests if they have seen the website and what they think.  Watch their body language as much as what they say.  You’ll know, if you pay attention.  If you still aren’t sure, email me or leave a comment with a link and I’ll give you my honest (but nice) opinion.

If you don’t have website, or your current site looks like any of these (I’ve seen worse, but these are bad enough) then you need to change that now.  This is a bigger priority than most people realize.  Start dealing with it this week because it’s hurting you more than you think.

Assume that anyone that thinks about visiting you is going to Google your church name first, because they will.  What will they find?  Does it help you or hurt you?  First impressions last, and your website is your first impression.

Where Do I Start?

1. I’m a pastor so I know how this works.  Right out of the gate, you need to face the money issue. Unless you are blessed with a volunteer that is a skilled, experienced and faithful web developer at your church, you are going to need to hire someone.  Yes, there are open source solutions out there that you can use to create your own site for cheap/nothing but that only gets you the tool.  It doesn’t teach you how to use it, create the right content, or organize it the right way.  Most churches start with a volunteer, then hire someone they know to fix it, and eventually pay someone who actually knows what they are doing to fix 3 generations of junk website and wasted cash.  Make payments if you have to, but get it done right the first time.  If you think it’s hard getting financial backing now, wait until you go through 2 or 3 failed (and very public) iterations of a website.
2. If you really can’t afford that (or can’t convince your finance committee to cough it up) then at least hire someone (for less) to do a basic “brochure-ware” site that only has 2 maybe 3 nicely designed static pages with some pics, general info about your church, service times, directions, and contact info.  This is far from ideal, but I’ve seen some sites like this that were very compelling and well done.
3. Provide at least one section of content on your site that will keep people coming back.  This could be a news/announcements section, prayer request board, church calendar, sermon podcast, etc.  Anything that will make people come back to check for more.  If you have to choose, go with sermons.  EVERYONE wants to “try before they buy” and church hunting is no exception.
4. Don’t bite off more than you can chew.  You should have sermons on your website every week.  But, if it doesn’t get updated it looks bad.  You will need a volunteer to handle the sermon editing and uploads.  You should have a church calendar.  But if it’s empty, you’ve shot yourself in the foot.  Resist the pressure to add every bell and whistle you can to your site.  Start small, and grow it as it is practical to do so.  Be honest with yourself up front about what your church is equipped to handle and do well.  If it won’t be excellent, don’t do it.
5. Get a CMS (Content Management System).  Whoever you hire to create your site, should provide this to you.  A CMS allows you (and your volunteers) to edit and manage the site’s content without having to be a web geek.  It gives you a graphical, web-based  interface that is intuitive.  Demand that as part of your contract with your web company.  If you have a skilled volunteer creating your site, demand that they use a CMS.  No one person should ever have sole ownership and access to your website.
6. Remember to include the basics.  The following should all be no more than 2 clicks away, one is better.  Staff bios with pics.  Service times visible on every page.  Directions (even better, embed a Google map).  Contact info including an email form.  Statement of Faith (that makes sense).  What to wear (no matter your denomination, you need to tell them this.  You’re a bad host if you assume they know what to wear).  I can’t tell you how many church websites I’ve seen where I have to hunt for this info for 5 minutes or more.
7. Be very very careful when hiring someone from your church to do it.  When it works out well, it’s great.  You usually get more passionate work at a better price.  However, when it goes bad it goes really bad.  You end up having to choose between losing a church member and losing a website. You don’t want to be in that position.  I’m not saying don’t do it.  I’m just saying, do MORE than your due diligence when it comes to hiring a web designer from your church membership.

If you want to check out some excellent church websites for inspiration, GodBit has a nice church website review section.  Worth a look.

There’s more to do than this, but this will get you started which is my goal here.  Assuming you haven’t hired an incompetent web geek or allowed the “computer guy” in your church to handle the website (you haven’t, have you?), most of this will be taken care of.  However, if you don’t ask for it you might not get it.

Shoot the Animated Doves

Once your cool new site is live, promote that thing like crazy.  Mention it all the time in conversation, mention it Sunday morning, mention it to guests.  Put the URL in your bulletins, business cards and signage.  Find ways to force your church to visit it often.  Make it a part of your church culture, because this is a building block on which you are going to be able to build other things.

Next time I’ll get you started with blogging.

This is the 1st installment of a series of posts I’m doing to help pastors get themselves and their churches online and plugged in.

VIEW THE ENTIRE SERIES

Most pastors know that they need to get plugged into web technology, but they have no idea where to begin.  This series is for you.  I want to help you engage your city and the world with the gospel.  I also have another audience in mind.  It’s those that still don’t see the need to get on the web tech bus.  Maybe your seminary prof told you the web is a dark and evil place that should be avoided at all cost.  Or maybe you just see this as a big fad that will go away soon.  Let me address that problem first as a way of providing some context.

Only a crazy hermit could deny that web tech has taken over, particularly in the form of social media and networking.  Still, I meet pastors all the time that simply don’t see how participating in that world can possibly benefit their ministry.  If they do participate, it’s begrudgingly.  They say, “Humph.  I guess these days this is the kind of thing you have to do.  All the young kids are doing it, so I suppose we should too.”  In other words, I don’t see the value in this, but I’ll do it to make people happy.  However, I know in my own mind that I’m not going to really give this a shot.  I don’t understand it, so it must not be important.

What that pastor is missing is the way these technological trends are shaping our culture.  These things ar not just culture add-ons.  They are shaping the cultural ideals and perspectives of people on a global scale.  This is also not an “outside” the church thing.  It’s inside the church too.  Very much so.  The different ways that’s happening are too numerous to unpack here, but here’s a few for starters:

1. The days of senior leaders sitting in ivory towers is over.  People expect to be able to have some connection with you, even if only through your blog or Twitter updates.  I think this is true regardless of church size or staff size.
2. Whereas people used to expect their senior leaders to at least appear to be perfect, they now expect their leaders to at least appear to have some flaws (though only small ones…).
3. People expect to be able to customize their experience, particularly when it comes to interpersonal connection.  One size fits all doesn’t fit anyone anymore.
4. It’s no longer about a global economy and where we fit in it.  It’s about a global culture and where I fit in it.  Pastors have to stop thinking locally, and start thinking globally like the rest of the world.
5. Your first impression used to happen at the front door of the church building.  Now it happens on the web long before that potential church member ever leaves the house.
6. You and your church are now “competing” against other religions on a global stage, whether you like it or not.  It’s no longer just about the Mormons down the street.  It’s the Muslim a world away that is competing for the hearts of the lost in your city.

And that’s just the beginning.  Engaging on the web is not an issue of fad or keeping your parishioners happy.  It really is about the gospel and the Kingdom of God.  If you are a pastor and you can’t get into that, then what are doing?

In the next installment, I’ll be giving you some simple tips to help you get started.