Web 101
“As for me and my mouse,
we will serve the Lord!”
Pittsylvania Association
August 25, 2006
Why Should a Church or Association
Have a Web Site?
 Christians have an important
message to communicate
 People need to hear the Christian
message... and they’re on the Internet
 You can Grow your Ministry and Free
Up Resources
 You Need to Make a Good First
Impression
Why Should a Church or Association
Have a Web Site?
 The internet has become the
dominant window in the world culture
 It’s how the world communicates and
learns
 Computer networks are now the most
crucial battleground for the minds
and souls of people across the world
 “For our struggle is not against flesh and
blood, but against the rulers, against the
authorities, against the powers of this
dark world and against the spiritual
forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
(Ephesians 6:12)
Getting Started
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
What is the mission and purpose of our
church?
What are the most important things for
someone to know about our church?
Who are the constituencies we want to
reach?
What are the strongest programs within our
church?
How can the web presence further that
mission and purpose and reach these
constituencies?
What are the first steps you need to take in
order to develop the web ministry?
Getting Started
7.
8.
9.
What do the statistics and other information
tell me in regard to how I should develop my
own site? www.pewinternet.org has done
extensive research on how Americans use
the internet including work on how we use
the web for religious purposes.
Who are the people within the church who
need to participate in some way to make the
web ministry flourish? (Who do we need to
get buy in from)?
Who could be on a team to develop the web
ministry?
Getting Started
10. What kind of technology do we want to
use? Host ourselves? Outsource? Templatebased solutions?
11. Who and how can we develop new and fresh
content for the site?
12. What can we do to promote the site?
From www.pewinternet.org
 Nearly two-thirds of online
Americans use the Internet for
faith-related reasons.
From www.pewinternet.org
 The 64% of Internet users who perform spiritual
and religious activities online represent nearly
82 million Americans.
 38% of the nation’s 128 million Internet users have sent
and received email with spiritual content
 35% have sent or received online greeting cards related
to religious holidays
 21% have sought information about how to celebrate
religious holidays
 17% have looked for information about where they
could attend religious services
 7% have made or responded to online prayer requests
 7% have made donations to religious
organizations/charities.
OK, How do We Get a Site?
1. A domain name (as little as $8.95 a
year)
a.GoDaddy.com
b.NetworkSolutions.com
2. A Web Host: (as little as $3.59 a
month!)
a.VBMB recommends ViUX Systems
(http://hosting.viux.com)
3. A Webmaster/Web team
4. Web Design Software (or simply a
browser for template-based system)
5. Graphics Editing Software
Two Main Types of
Websites
1. Brochure Web Site
a. Same information as a printed
brochure about the church
b. Supports the ministry of the church,
but is not a ministry in and of itself
c. Gives basic information about the
church and what it has to offer
Two Main Types of
Websites
2. Web Ministry
a. Interactive site where ministry
occurs
b. Builds community
c. Provides outreach to seekers
d. Integrated part of a church’s
outreach to community and beyond
Church Website Essentials
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
About us section
Theological background
Worship and regular event times
Current events
Directions
Profiles of Pastors and staff members
Program descriptions
Basic Contact information
Web Design Software
Two Major Choices:
1. Microsoft FrontPage
a. Advantage: similarity to rest of Office
suite
b. Disadvantages: non-standard code and
potential security issues if used with
Server Extensions
Web Design Software
Two Major Choices:
2. Adobe Dreamweaver
a. Advantages: writes standard code, very
extensible
b. Disadvantage: unique interface
Web Design Software
Companion to Dreamweaver:
Contribute
Works with Dreamweaver templates;
allows an average user to update a
website with little to no knowledge
of web design needed
Web Design Software
Template-based System:
Best known in church arena:
E-zekiel (www.e-zekiel.com)
$19.95 per month and up
Allows editing of website to be done via
the browser
Graphics Editor
Basic:
Free Program: IrfanView
(www.IrfanView.com)
Does the basic tasks needed by
most churches and the price is right!
Graphics Editor
Better:
•
Paint Shop Pro
•
PhotoImpact
Graphics Editor
Best:
•
Adobe Fireworks
•
Adobe Photoshop
Issues to Consider
1. From the earliest planning stage,
the needs of non-Christian site
visitors should be considered.
The language and style should
express welcome and hospitality.
Issues to Consider
2. Christian jargon should be
avoided where possible – or
explained when used.
Issues to Consider
3. Present the Gospel, or link to it.
“One online respondent wrote that while
visiting many church websites she had
learned a lot about churches and staff – but
not how to meet Jesus. As an unbeliever she
wrote, ‘It seems to me that churches would
tell lost people how to be found.’”
Reaching Non-Christians
 avoid “Christianese” jargon words
 understand non-Christians felt needs
& interests
 assume zero knowledge
Effective church sites
 not just adding a ‘way of salvation’
page
 attitude of unconditional welcome
 focus on people – ‘these are
normal people I’d like to be with’
 real stories, pictures, and sense of
fun
Killing the jargon
 ‘insider language’ excludes people
 one of main turn-offs in Christian
communication
born again, salvation, saved, sinner,
new birth, Savior, justification, Holy
Spirit, testimony, evangelical,
assurance, redeemed, redemption,
saved, mission, outreach,
repentance, witness, confess, found
the Lord, have a burden
Evangelistic Strategies
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Virtual tour
Accessible language
Answers to problems
Children’s corner
Games and competitions
Evangelistic Strategies
 Seasonal information and special
events
 Humor
 Community news and activities,
plus start-pages
 Calendar of events
Evangelistic Strategies
 Sermon summaries and Bible
studies
 An evangelistic section
 Evangelistic books
 A virtual magazine
Publicize Your Site!
 Include the church URL on EVERY item
of printed church material, every press
release or advertisement, and on the
church sign
 Choose an easy-to-remember domain
name
 Register your site with various churchfinder directories and search engines
Checklist
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Welcome
Language
The Gospel
Usability
Finding the church
Checklist
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Disabilities
People
Youth and kids
Got a problem
Design style
Reality Check
 People don’t want to be amazed at your
flashiness; they want to find information
 People don’t read Web pages, they
scan them
 People won’t take their time at your site;
they are in a hurry
 People won’t visit your site every day, so
don’t rely on it to be the primary
communication channel
 People give up quickly; provide a way to
ask questions on every page
It’s up to you!
“I believe that the Internet is one of
the most powerful evangelistic tools
and will impact the world for Jesus
Christ in this generation.”
- Professor Dan Henrich, Liberty University
“See, I have placed before you an
open door that no one can shut.”
- Revelation 3:8
I’m Here to Help!
I offer:
 One-on-one or group training in
Dreamweaver and FrontPage
 Consulting on getting started on your
web site
 Consulting on how to improve your web
site.
Feel Free to Contact Me!
Kirby Knight
kirby.knight@vbmb.org
804-915-2449
800-ALL-BGAV ext. 6277