I am amazed that yet another year of writing is behind me. The time went by quickly as usual, and now I get to review and reflect on what I have learned. Not to waste a post, I will of course relate it to your church’s digital strategy. First is my stumbling upon a weekly Twitter chat for church social media enthusiasts. I also reflection on a year of podcasting. Last I make a plea to re-think about your positioning for the mobile space.
Continue reading “A Year in Review: 2014”
Category: Inspiration
Bible verses, sermons, movies, podcasts, and even cartoons; inspiration can be found anywhere. Here are articles that touch a wide variety of topics. But they all follow a theme in that they were inspired by something.
What is A Church Website Strategy?
When people talk about website strategy, the conversation dips into many interesting areas. The problem is that the word strategy means something different to different people. Thus, to have an effective website strategy, you need to define what strategy is. In this article I offer you a framework to define various levels of guidance.
Continue reading “What is A Church Website Strategy?”
The Open Source Church
Open Source is a concept created by the software development community. It is basically that developers share the source code of a project for free distribution, and collaboration on future iterations of the project. This concept has been adopted by several influential churches, and is a new way their hard work and innovation can benefit churches around the world. While you may not be developing the next ground-breaking iOS or Android application, there are many ways your church can help and contribute.
Continue reading “The Open Source Church”
From Consumer to Producer
When a new Christian joins a church, they rightfully start off as a consumer. The programs they participate in are often run by volunteers and funded by regular church members. At some point that new Christian needs to consider moving from consumer to producer. We all know that once that happens, they become invested and integrated with the church at a much deeper level. How can your church utilize your web properties to help facilitate this?
Continue reading “From Consumer to Producer”
A Year in Review: 2013
Another year of writing articles has passed and I want to step back and share some lessons learned. Fret not, there will be plenty of material here that will apply to your church website. I just feel it is important to remark on what areas of life have helped this blog progress over the past year.
Continue reading “A Year in Review: 2013”
Be a Digital by Default Church
The British government has adopted the phrase “digital by default”. This means you start as many projects as possible in a digital space. By considering digital deliverables first, their strengths become more apparent, and their weaknesses can more easily be mitigated. This article delves into how this idea can be applied to your church.
Continue reading “Be a Digital by Default Church”
Encouragement to Write
Milestones are artificial measurements meant to give us an appreciation of our journey. In reflection of writing ninety-nine other articles, this one hundredth article is meant to do one thing. Encourage you to write. In this era of digital freedom, people are free to put their ideas out for an astonishingly large audience. Hence I am asking you to begin writing your thoughts, and when you are ready; publish them for the world to see.
Continue reading “Encouragement to Write”
Helping Others Deal With Tragedy
How does the church respond when calamity strikes, be it in their neighborhood, or around the world? When people are grieving, they often turn to the church for support; seeking refuge in God’s love. Is your website readily equipped to offer this comfort and do you have a social media policies to help govern your responses in that space? If there is any doubt, read on.
Continue reading “Helping Others Deal With Tragedy”
Website Failure: Placing Blame
Many decisions around websites are subjective; that is based on opinions and guesses. There are emerging areas for objective, numbers-based, decisions; but those techniques are often out of scope of smaller churches. That said, what happens when those subjective decisions go awry and your website does not meet expectations?
Continue reading “Website Failure: Placing Blame”
Website Failure: Building Hope
Launching a new website can be fun and exciting, filled with wild expectations of a flourishing church ministry. Then reality hits you when church attendance remains the same, and website traffic numbers are floundering. Here I will offer suggestions on how to maintain hope and deal with the obstacles of growing your church’s Internet presence.
Continue reading “Website Failure: Building Hope”Share Your Church Website’s Testimony
Unlike businesses where website ideas, processes and platforms are guarded secrets; it should be the opposite for churches. Sharing ideas and best practices will help further the Gospel. We are not in competition with one another, but should provide a united front against our true enemy. In this article I will discuss a few ways you can help churches around the world make better websites.
Continue reading “Share Your Church Website’s Testimony”
You Are Unique, Just Like Everyone Else
Simply running down the list of beliefs and a few pictures of volunteering at a soup kitchen is not enough to get new members into your church. Just like an eCommerce site, you need to establish yourself as a leader in a particular area. What makes you special? If you give your visitors an honest reason why they need to try your church out, you will distinguish yourself online and attract new members.
Continue reading “You Are Unique, Just Like Everyone Else”