There are many reasons – both good and bad – that a church would want to have a website. I’m going to look at some of the reasons to have a website today and later this week or early next week I’ll look at why not to have a website.
One of the biggest reasons to have a website is to reach out to your congregation and the community you serve. Keeping people informed on what is going on in the church, what is happening with the congregation, news, calendars, phone lists (password protected of course), devotionals, thoughts from the pastoral staff, and so much more.
Reaching people who are not in your community. We are called to spread the gospel throughout the world – a website is a good start to reaching those not just around the corner, but around the globe. The internet is boundaryless – it reaches beyond what we could ever hope to reach as a single church congregation.
As much as a Church staff tries to be available 24/7, it can be frustrating for them answering the same questions frequently or it can be frustrating to those trying to get information but getting hit with voice mail everytime they call. Having a website with information that is easy to obtain can help eleviate some of this frustration that staff, volunteers and members of the congregation feel at times.
Church websites can allow for another way to plug members of the congregation in. They can take sections of the site and be in charge of it. This allows members to feel needed and beyond that it gives them another way to serve Christ witht he gifts that he has given them. If they are good photographers, they might be interested in helping with a photo gallery or if they are a good writer they may want to help proof or write sections of your site. There are so many opportunities – even for those without ”technical” experience.
In the next day or two I’ll look at reasons not to have a church website.
In Him,
JD