Content Aggregation and Church Websites

Joshua Porter wrote an interesting article early last month entitled “Home Alone? How Content Aggregators Change Navigation and Control of Content.”

It’s a very interesting article about how content aggregators (search engines, blogs, news sites, links pages, etc. - virtually any form of website or software which gathers content from other digital sources and presents them in an aggregated fashion) are changing the way people receive information, and I would strongly encourage you to read the entire article. I’m going to touch on one point he made and how it possibly relate to church websites, but I think the whole article has some very important things to say to us as Christian webmasters.

Here is an excerpt which I found especially compelling:

Aggregation hinges on gathering content from other domains. This dramatically affects the search for content. Users no longer need to start their search in the domain where the content lies. In fact, they almost never do.

The reason this interests me so much is because it dovetails with something I think churches often fail to realize when they launch or add content to a website: unbelievers are not coming to our websites. Most unbelievers aren’t interested in what we have to say because they think we are irrelevant.

People aren’t coming to our websites looking for information. They are using search engines. They are using newsreaders to read RSS feeds. They are visiting directories. But they aren’t coming to our websites. Very few people in today’s society are actively looking for a church and then going on the web to find one.

It reminds me of a quote from Reggie McNeal’s book, This Present Future (thanks to Jordon Cooper for the quote - I have the book at home and have read it, but I’m away from home, needed to quickly find the quote I was thinking of and knew that Jordon was a big fan of the book, so I was pretty sure I could find it at his site):

...You can build the perfect church--and they still won’t come. People are not looking for a great church. They do not wake up every day wondering what church they can make successful. The age in which institutional religion holds appeal is passing away--and in a hurry.... Church leaders seem unable to grasp this simple implication of the new world--people outside the church think church is for church people, not for them.

The overwhelming majority of unbelievers are not going to Google and typing in “church santa cruz” and hoping to find a church in my area of the world. Same goes for your area of the world. Unbelievers are not coming to our websites because they think we have the answers to their problems or because they think we can tell them how to live a fulfilling life or because they think we can show them how to make a difference in their community or because they think we have the best path to spirituality.

And so if we want to speak to unbelievers, we have to find ways to draw them in. I’ll say it again - we have to find ways to draw them in.

That’s why I think that church websites should be focused on what the unbeliever is thinking about, what her passion in life is, what the overwhelming life problem he is facing is, etc. We should be addressing the needs of those who suffer from cancer, the interests of those who are avid gardeners, the life passion of those who are devoted to surfing, etc., etc. The most natural way of doing this is to present people within our congregations who also suffere from cancer, who are also avid gardeners, who are also devoted to surfing, etc. and tell how their relationship with Jesus shapes their suffering, their hobby, their passion.

See our white paper for some expanded thoughts on this approach.

Thanks ultimately to Brian Bailey at Leave It Behind for the pointer to the Home Alone article.

Posted by on 12/06 at 12:36 PM

The Collective Voice!

Next entry: Creative Commons Search Engine

Previous entry: Digital Outreach To Kids

<< Back to main

-->

You may be interested in reading these articles which enumerate core principles of the strategy we advocate:

Effective Church Websites For Emerging Generations
Investigating the various ways in which a church's website can be targeted toward unbelievers in a church's local community.

A Strategy For Local Internet Outreach
How can the internet be used for evangelism and outreach while maintaining an environment of authentic Christian community?

Flawed Follow Up Or A Flawed Philosophy of Evangelism?
The ease with which we can “share the gospel” online can actually short-circuit the God-ordained process by which unbelievers are brought to faith.

Should We Include A Gospel Presentation On Our Websites?
Should conversion be our immediate goal in our internet evangelism efforts?

A Strategic Opportunity For The Church
A proposed strategy in which a church would use short video profiles of members of their congregation to entice unbelievers in their local area to consider the value of a local congregation’s ministry in their own lives.

2 John 12
Is there something incomplete about digital communication?

Fri, September 05, 2008 at 08:48 pm
Frank : happy that I've figured out how to import articles from four blogs into Facebook Notes simultaneously

Thu, September 04, 2008 at 09:14 am
Frank : very happy to reconnect with an old friend on Facebook!

Tue, September 02, 2008 at 10:31 am
Frank : reading a great article from flyte.biz about how microblogging is the future of communications. http://ping.fm/IT0XL

Sat, August 30, 2008 at 06:54 am
Frank : looking forward to a weekend of watching my daughter play soccer.

Thu, August 28, 2008 at 03:32 pm
Frank : reviewing SEO recommendations from our partner.

When the Luis Palau Evangelistic Association wanted to use the internet to promote their city festivals, they turned to Strategic Digital Outreach. Read more ....

Quick Contact Info

T: 831.461.1183
F: 831.461.1184
AIM: strategicdigital
ICQ: strategicdigital
Yahoo: strategicdigital
MSN: strategicdigital@hotmail.com

Web Development
Designwise Studios
DirectSteps
RockBeatsPaper
SparrowStyle
Turtle Interactive

Content Management
Expression Engine

Web Hosting
DreamHost

Email Management
Constant Contact

We work with several different organizations in exploring ways in which digital means can be used to reach an increasingly digital world. Some of these organizations are more traditional clients. Some are friends. All are our partners in the gospel (1 Corinthians 3:9). Invariably, we learn as much from them as they do from us. Here is a sampling:

David & Linda Arzouni
Assemblies of God missionaries to West Africa, based in Mali (the land of Timbuktu).

Assemblies of God
The Northern California and Nevada District, based in Sacramento, California.

India Prayer Drive
A 21-day prayer drive through the nation of India.

IreneDias.com
Although the suffering they face is severe, this is not a story of despair, but of an incredible faith and even more of an incredible God who sustains His followers with lavish grace, extravagant kindness, and unrelenting love.

Luis Palau Evangelistic Association
Proclaiming the Lord's Good News to the millions of people who have yet to respond to the Gospel.

Sacred Ink
Joyfully declaring the gospel to the tattoo subculture.

Santa Cruz Bible Church
Their evangelism department focuses on marketplace ministries.

ShareFest Santa Cruz County
Churches in Santa Cruz County, California join together to become a bridge from the church to the community through work projects designed to bless the community.

TimeOut Conference
Enabling a deeper relationship with God and more effective relationships with people.

Wake Up! Santa Cruz
Presenting the claims of Christ to the business community in Santa Cruz, California.

These are projects which we have initiated (either individually or as members of a team) in our efforts to use digital means to spread the gospel:

MissionEquip
MissionEquip.com was established to provide resources to missionaries and short-term missions teams traveling worldwide.

ChristianCruz
ChristianCruz.com is a localized portal for believers living in Santa Cruz County, California.

Prodigal God
ProdigalGod.com, a work in progress, is designed to provide biblical instruction to the wider body of Christ through the use of video teaching segments and written articles.

Christian Screen Savers
ChristianScreenSavers.com offers a selection of high-quality, inexpensive Christian screen savers which reflect biblical themes. Proceeds from the sale of these screen savers are used to support the work of Strategic Digital Outreach.

Blogs I Read

Adventures Of A Web Evangelist
The Appian Way
BetaChurch.org
BlogMinistry
BlogRodent
Boyink Interactive
Carpe' Digital
Christian Web Trends
Church Beauty
Church Communications Pro
Church Marketing Sucks
ChurchTechToday
Church Website & Blog Ideas
digital.leadnet.org
Digital Ministry
The Digital Sanctuary
e-vangelism.com
Effective Church Web Sites
Effective Web Ministry Notes
Equip Blog
Evotional
GodBit
Goodmanson
Gospelcon
Heal Your Church Website
If Jesus Had A Website
Leave It Behind
MicroExplosion
Outside The Box Ministry
Sacred Digital
So You Want A Church Website?
The Ultimate Issue
Web Evangelism Issues

Content Aggregation and Church Websites

Blogs I Read

More Blogs & Sites