Your website...

It used to be that having a website for the church was optional and not really thought of as critical; well, my friends, the times have changed.

With more and more people consuming media online these days, it's imperative that your church have not only an online home, but also a presence on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and other social networking platforms. You may think that this doesn't include you, and if you want to continue reaching the same demographic of people that you currently have attending, than you can probably disregard this; however, if you do choose that road, I fear that you are choosing the easy way out, and dare I say the lazy way out?

We are not called to minister to just the people in our local congregation but to the world! If we are not actively seeking new ways of reaching those that need to hear the message God have commanded us to share, then I feel that we fall into the Laodicean category.

Your website has become your primary broadcast channel. Gone are the days when people will look up a church in the phone directory and call the office (yes, I know, it still happens). People are more likely to search for the church online, get the information they need (assuming it's easy to find) and then make their decision on whether to visit based on what they see.

A few months ago, I painted a picture for my local church congregation to help them see the benefits of a vibrant and functional website; allow me to do the same here.

"Imagine a visitor walks into our church one day. That visitor has already visited our website and read what we believe as a church, what our mission statement is, discovered a couple small groups that they might be interested in, and even watched a sermon or two...all in the comfort of their own home. What we have now is an informed visitor who is not only more familiar with the church and what we stand for, but also about what kind of people go to church here and what the facility looks like. All because that person was able to experience what our church IS before every stepping foot inside our doors." These are the kinds of visitors you want!

Maybe next week I'll talk about the worldwide ramifications of having a media ministry that is consistently updated online!