(Go to above link for list with all functionality)
“Week in, week out, more visitors turn up at our church on a Sunday because of
the website, than anything else”
– King’s Church, Kingston UK: a site using these principles
Making church sites into evangelistic tools
- Most church websites are designed entirely for their members, or unwittingly
exclude non-Christians because of their choice of language and content.
More This is the main reason why church websites fail to reach into the
community. It is a tragic missed opportunity. Biblical communication
requires that we move over to where the non-Christians are, rather than
expecting them to make the journey. - A church site must communicate with three very different target groups:
More • the church members
• Christians moving to the area who are looking for a new church
• non-Christians in the community - This ‘three-way stretch’ is a challenge, but can be achieved.
More If you wish your site to reach non-Christians in the community, make a
conscious decision that this is to be an over-riding priority for every
aspect of the site. It’s ability to speak to non-Christians must be
intentional, rather than hoping for some sort of ’trickle down’ effect. - Take time to consider the needs and viewpoints of non-Christians.
More We cannot reach those we do not understand. The first task of an overseas
missionary is to learn the surrounding culture. Although we are
immersed in our own culture, we may not understand it, or the needs and
pressures that most non-Christians in our society are facing. - Avoid all ‘churchy’ jargon and ‘Christianese’ language throughout
the site, especially on the homepage.
More Non-Christians, almost by definition, do not like or understand these words. This even applies to the navigation menu. Many churches have a menu link called
‘ministries’. This is actually a jargon word meaning ‘Things we do’ or
‘what’s on’. Much better to use neutral alternatives like these. - Non-Christians may have negative images of Christians: boring, killjoys, judgmental, etc.
More A light-hearted, informal, witty website may help to counteract these
misconceptions. Opinion polls show that evangelicals are increasingly
perceived in a very negative light, in almost all countries. - Christian outreach often fails because Christians do
‘megaphone proclamation’ from behind the protecting walls of their
‘ghetto’.
More A church website should not aim to be an impersonal electronic ‘cut and
run’ tract distribution system. Its primary aim should be to draw
people in the community towards real relationships with real people
within the fellowship. Most conversions result from relationships. - A primary task of the website is to convince non-Christians of these four things:
More
• our church is made up of ordinary real people
• we understand their life problems
• we are community, family, and there is an unconditional welcome waiting for them
• in that context, God can meet them and help them - Do not think of your church site in isolation, merely as a stand-alone online brochure.
More Integrate it into your overall strategies, both as a way of contacting
individuals, and giving the fellowship a higher profile within your
community. - Church is people: the home page should have at least one photo
of a church member. This is absolutely foundational to good
communication, yet infrequently done.
More Although you can also use a photo of the church building on the home page, this
is impersonal – however attractive your building may be. So use people
too. Inside the site, include more photos of real people. Make sure you
have signed permissions to add these pictures to the site. Do not
include full names or personal information about children and young
people. - Internal pages on the site can include photos of both the outside and inside of the church building.
More But again – include people. If potential visitors feel themselves to be
familiar with the building and the people, they are more likely to make
the quantum leap of visiting the church. - Include some ‘meet our members’ pages.
More These may well not be full-blown testimonies, but brief informal first-person
profiles, with ‘real’ information about their lives: jobs, places of
study, likes, hobbies, pets. - All links, page titles, and sub-headings should sound enticing.
More The use of query marks can make subheads or text links sound more
interesting: “What happens at Teen Link?” rather than “For Teens”. - If testimonies are used, they should be completely free of religious jargon, exaggeration and sentimentality.
More Non-Christians can see through religious veneers easily! “Everything in my life is now permanently wonderful” does not ring true. Such well-meaning statements
do not honor God. - Consider a ‘New to this site?’ visitors link on your homepage. This enables you to
offer a particular welcome to an outsider.
More But – very important – this is not a ‘let out’ so you do not need to apply these strategy tips to the rest of the site. The entire site must be user-friendly to non-Christians.
A visitor page should be very welcoming and written in plain language. It
needs to provide all the info a potential newcomer to a church meeting
would require. Click on ‘Extra’ link for an example. - Games and fun stuff are attractive and make a site
sticky. I.e. encourage repeat visits, because of the interesting and possibly frequently changed content.
More You can include online games within a children’s/teen area of a site. Or
even make them available for everyone! (Incidentally kids/teens areas
of a site can have a different, almost stand-alone, design
style, in order to achieve their purpose. The ‘Extra’ links are
examples of simple but compelling games built with ‘Flash’. There are
many sources of free Flash, Java and Javascript games. - Consider adding some ‘bridging’ pages to the site.
More You can create ‘bridge’ pages about secular topics of local interest, which
will draw people into the site. These could be local history, community
events, pictures, or a page of best secular local links. Follow the
‘Extra’ links for more information. | - Involve your church members in praying and supporting the web design team, and ‘owning’ the site.
More Encourage your church members to understand the purpose of the website, pray for
its effective outreach, and make it known to others. Members who have
blogs or other types of site can use them to give the church a higher
profile. - Demonstrate a specific welcome for people with disability.
More Explain what facilities are available for people with disability: level access,
lifts, loop system or large print books. Ensure also that your website
complies with usability guidelines for sight-impaired users, including
appropriate use of the ‘alt’ tag for graphics. - Summing up: the overall impression of the site must of a gentle, loving, enticing welcome. But...
More Of course, people who then visit a church meeting must actually receive
a welcome! There are many shocking stories of first-time visitors being
only spoken to by an usher as they enter, if they are lucky. It ought
to be self-evident, but all churches should train their members to
speak first to someone they do not recognise, after (and indeed before)
any meeting.
No comments:
Post a Comment