Welcome to anyone who's arriving here from ChurchCrunch.

You know how hearing your voice recorded and played back always sounds weird? Well, reading your words on someone else’s blogs looks weird too. The words read better on his blog than they sounded in my head when I wrote it. I like it. I really like it. Thanks for the kind comments too.

This is a Guest Post by Conrad Walton.

The biggest hurdle to getting a web site up and running is people. That’s true in the corporate world and in the church world. Technology is easy and fun. Design is easy and fun. Getting people to understand and agree is the hard part.

Read the entire article at:
http://churchcrunch.com/2009/04/29/church-politics-people-and-web-sites/

But, not every one is like me.

Imagine that.

Some people actually think that building a web site is difficult and expensive. Some people think that they don’t know enough to be able to create one. Other people think that web sites only exist in the realm of those techie guys and geeks.

Some people are afraid.

I want to tell everyone that putting up a web site is cheap and it’s easy. There are a couple technical things to know, but there are a couple technical things to know about driving a car too. Setting up a DVR can be tricky. If you can figure out how to use a cell phone, I think you can set up a web page.

The basic steps involved are:

1. Register a domain name.
2. Rent space on a web host.
3. Install wordpress.
4. Pick a theme and activate it. (one click.)
5. Write content.

That’s it. There are no more steps to setting up your very own web site.

Want a free site? That’s even easier! In that case, you only have the last two steps. Go to WordPress.com, sign up, pick the theme and start writing. You don’t have as much control, but it’s free!

It seems that the biggest reason that more people aren’t doing this, is inertia. They think that it’s hard and they are afraid. It’s easier to site on the couch and watch TV.

If your church does not have a web site, why don’t you go to http://www.wordpress.com right now and create one. Don’t tell anyone about it quite yet. If it doesn’t work, you can bail on it. Play with it. Put in some content. Change the theme a few times.

When you feel like it’s pretty cool, go tell someone at your church about it.

They won’t like how to you did it or what you wrote about something. They won’t like the color. They’ll ask you to make changes.

What will happen then is that the question will be the color or the content or the style or something. It’s no longer about “Do we need a web site at all?”. Now it’s “What kind of a web site do we want?”.

Make their changes and you’ve done it! The world is a better place. Your church will have a web site, more people will attend, members will better know what’s going on, and everyone will be happier.

You might actually be responsible for someone knowing Christ. Isn’t that better than watching TV?

It's Twitter Time for Your Church

Facebook has everyone and their brother on it now. I’ve met more people from my past in the last two months than I knew that I knew. It’s what’s happening now. Twitter is what will happen next year.

Do you use Twitter? Do you use it often? For what purpose? Do you follow more than you tweet? Please leave a comment.

Quoting from Church Marketing Sucks: It’s Twitter Time for Your Church

The Reasons Your Church Must TwitterAnthony Coppedge recently released a $5 e-book entitled The Reason Your Church Must Twitter.

It covers everything from what in the world a Twitter is to how your church can make maximum use of Twitter in various flavors–from simply having public conversations to using Twitter as a devotional tool.

Read the entire article at:
http://www.churchmarketingsucks.com/archives/2009/01/its_twitter_tim.html

Quoting from The Role of Design in Modern Church Marketing [Design Principles]

Yet the recent image makeover of churches is unpalatable for some. In 2006, Pastor John MacArthur published a popular article (“Grunge Christianity?”) condemning modern churches that trade sanctity for “cultural relevancy.” MacArthur and his supporters disagree with so-called pragmatists who seek bigger, more worldly congregations. Nathan Smith (GodBit.com) counters, “we are naive if we try to take an isolationist approach. God wants a direct relationship with each person, so we—as facilitators of that calling—have to meet people through what they know, and if that is pop culture, then so be it.”

How many congregations identify with dark, gritty imagery?

So what about the multitude of recent church web sites designed around ragged, dark, asymmetrical elements—what does this communicate about the church? How many congregations identify with dark, gritty imagery?

Read the entire article at:
http://www.sitepoint.com/article/design-modern-church-marketing/

Quoting from WordPress Sermons Plugin :: 4:14 evangelical christian theology blog

The Sermon Browser WordPress Plugin allows churches to simply upload sermons to their WordPress website, where they can be searched, listened to, and downloaded. It is easy to use with comprehensive help and tutorials. Features include:

1. Sermons can be searched by topic, preacher, bible passage or date.
2. Full podcasting capabilities, including custom podcasts for individual users.
3. Sermons uploaded in mp3 format can be played directly on your website using the 1PixelOut Audio Player.
4. An optional sidebar widget displays sermons on all of your posts or pages.
5. Embed videos from sites such as YouTube or Google Video.
6. Other file types can also be uploaded, including PDF, Powerpoint, Word, text and RTF. Multiple files can be attached to single sermons.
7. The full Bible text of the passage being preached on can be included on each sermon page (seven different versions, including ESV).
8. Files can be uploaded to your own site through the browser or via FTP. Alternatively you can use other free audio hosting sites such as Odeo.
9. Powerful templating function allows complete customisation to complement the look of your site.
10. Simple statistics show how often each sermon has been listened to.
11. Compatible with WordPress MU.
12. Extensive help and tutorial screencasts.

Read the entire article at:
http://www.4-14.org.uk/wordpress-plugins/sermon-browser

Penn Jillete is an atheist. Even though I’m a Christian, I really respect people who are thoughtful atheists. At least they thought about something, even if the conclusion is wrong. Most people, probably 90%, have a vague belief in God, but have never really thought about it much.

This is an amazing video. Penn has some very thoughtful things to say about how much Christians must hate everyone else.

If you are involved with a church that does not have a web site, I can show you how to get one for free, using WordPress.com. All it takes is a little initiative on your part and you can have a web site. You don’t need a $300 site. You don’t need a $500 site. You can have a free web site for your church. Go to www.worpdress.com and follow the instructions.

Do it now. For the children.

Quoting from The Church In 2009 – KYPost.com

Close to half of the churches offer Web pages.

For example, local churches have caught up with the secular society in their use of computers and technology. In 1998, fewer than one in five U.S. congregations hosted Web sites; today, close to half of the churches offer Web pages to their members and local community. A friend of mine who ministers to a large Washington, D.C. Baptist congregation has a frequently updated interactive Web site whose volunteer editor works from India.

Read the entire article at:
http://www.kypost.com/content/middleblue3/story/The-Church-In-2009/o3oMerab5E2upfPeBvDqdg.cspx

Quoting from 5 Features That a Church Website Shouldn’t Be Without | Web Site Design Blog

A good church website needs to be informative, visually appealing and have a bit of interaction with the visitor. After all shouldn’t your church’s website inspire people to visit your church physically? It can be easy to forget that people not in your local community may be searching for a church to attend a worship service. What features do you look for when you are looking at a church website?

How do you get there? Sure an address is great, but a map or written directions would be better.

Driving Directions

How do you get there? Sure an address is great, but a map or written directions would be better. Make it as easy as possible for the website visitor to locate your church.

Service Times

When do you worship? Often more times than not the service times are not listed on most church websites. Be sure to place your worship times prominently on the homepage of the site.

Sunday School

Let’s say that your visitors have children. What do you suppose they would like to know about your church? Make it well known that you offer a Sunday school service to avoid any confusion with new guests to your church.

Events Calendar

What if a member of your congregation misses a Sunday, but would like to know about the youth soccer game in the park? By having an up-to-date events calendar you can let your church members know what is going on.

Pictures

Sure stock photography is great in some cases, but what about those great pictures from your church’s mission trip? Be sure to include real pictures of your church and congregation. This will give your site a more realistic and personal touch.

Read the entire article at:
http://blog.collinsinternet.com/27/5-features-that-a-church-website-shouldnt-be-without/

Quoting from 10 Reasons Why Your Church Website Needs Work | Web Site Design Blog

1. You have an over excessive use of animated clipart.
This may have been acceptable in the 90’s for personal home pages, but it should never be used on a church’s website.

If you want to really annoy your visitors, keep this feature because it works.

2. You play background music that cannot be turned off.
If you want to really annoy your visitors, keep this feature because it works.

3. Your site is in frames.
So you figured that you would make it easy for the navigation to be updated. Too bad you didn’t realize that search engines and some web browsers cannot properly view frames.

4. The last time you updated the site was two years ago.
It’s always good to know what events took place in the past, too bad we have no idea what’s going on in the present.

5. You utilize scrolling marquee text.
Sure it may look okay on CNN, but it looks horrible on a website.

6. You use numerous font types throughout the website.
A little Comic Sans here, a little Arial there and a few Wingdings here, it’s a masterpiece! Perhaps only to a child.

7. You built the site using Microsoft Word.
It was easy, just outline everything how you wanted it and then save as webpage. It doesn’t matter how different web browsers and different screen resolutions see the site, because it looks fabulous on your screen.

8. You used Java or Flash for your navigation.
Look at the pretty cool effect. It’s a shame that search engines have a hard time trying to crawl a site with that type of navigation.

9. You didn’t properly resize images before you added them on the site.
Why is that picture of the Pastor so blurry?

10. You have used the same website design for the past five years.
Why change it now? That old outdated look really defines our church.

Read the entire article at:
http://blog.collinsinternet.com/34/10-reasons-why-your-church-website-needs-work/

Quoting from Churches open door to ministry on the Web By Tracy Farnham

Bennie Greene, left, chairman of Media Services for Hopewell Baptist, and Ken Mull, sound technician for Hopewell Baptist, work on a recent Sunday morning to get the churches services online.

MORGANTON – Much like an interactive church bulletin, local congregations are embracing the Internet to broaden the scope of ministry and stay in touch with members.

Hopewell Baptist Church uses the Web for their church calendar, prayer requests and member contacts. Josh Norman, who handles media and technology for Hopewell, said they had a test run in October for previously recorded services over the Internet.

“We record all our services and broadcast them on the Internet. We went full streaming with our Sunday morning services in November,” Norman said.

Along with offering free sermon outlines, questions may be asked and submitted to Dr. Raymond Rowland. The Web site has information about ordering a CD or tapes with messages through the Bible by Rowland. These are free and can be received by following the links on the site at www.afocusonchrist.com.

To view past services for Hopewell go to www.hopewellbaptist-church.org.

Read the entire article at http://www2.morganton.com/content/2008/dec/29/churches-open-door-ministry-web/