If you are reading any of my articles, you probably feel that your website could use some help. One of the driving factors behind a good church website is the pastor. They are considered the leaders of the church, and have a profound impact on how regularly your church’s website is updated. However, when your pastor is not participating or even against your website strategy, there is still hope.
In a previous article I challenged pastors to stand up and lead their church website efforts. I then considered situations where you have no pastor to lead your church. Before this article I really had not explored situations where there is a pastor that simply does not care about your website or its strategy. What can you do in the face of indifference or even adversity from your church pastor?
Pray
If you are going to be without your spiritual leader in all of this, you will need prayer. Before you start a web team meeting, before you start writing new content, before you post on Facebook, before you make any graphics… pray. When men and women fail you; you need to rely more heavily than ever on God.
Make regular updates
Even though you may not feel equipped to post daily or weekly devotionals, you can certainly keep your weekly calendar up to date. By posting pictures, news, and events you can show others you have a vibrant church community.
Seek counsel
You may have more help around your church than you know. I wrote an article about seeking out unexpected talents; use that information to find others in your congregation to make things happen. Additionally, contact other churches to see what their web teams are doing. Perhaps you can even organize a meetup to share ideas and network!
Get Traditional
Perhaps your pastor does not embrace technology or is even hostile toward it. You can probably get information from them via more traditional methods, such as phone calls, face-to-face meetings, or even handwritten notes. Any input you can obtain from them will be a blessing, despite the format.
Action Item
I have worked with churches where the pastor completely ignores the website. It is frustrating to see this lack of enthusiasm. The good news is that those churches have had key members of the staff and congregation rally around each other to make their church website work. In the face of adversity. It may not be easy, but take heart that it can be done. The Apostle Paul faced many obstacles, but persevered. Perhaps this is a trial in which your web team will grow in knowledge and expand in numbers.
Photo courtesy of Grażyna Suchecka
