Reaching People Who Think We Are Irrelevant

I have a different vision than most of how church websites can/should be used. When churches started jumping on the web bandwagon a few years ago, we saw a lot of sites which were not well-designed, to say the last. Sadly, we still see plenty of poorly designed church websites.

Now days, though, we are at least seeing more and more well-designed sites in the church arena. Some of that is due to church webmasters becoming more proficient at their craft. Some of it is due to the proliferation of companies offering template-based solutions to churches and ministries (while some may decry the “cookie cutter” approach of those companies, at least they don’t offer templates with spinning crosses and blinking text!).

As church websites become more and more usable and attractive, I believe that the next question we need to ask ourselves as a “community” of church webmasters is, “How can our websites be used most effectively?” Personally, I see very few church websites that make me think that the people responsible for the church’s web presence have spent much time considering that question.

My vision is for a cyberspace version of Romans 15:20-21:

And thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, that I might not build upon another man’s foundation; but as it is written, ‘They who had no news of Him shall see, and they who have not heard shall understand.’

I guess it’s natural that the majority of a church website’s visitors will be people from within the congregation. Putting that audience aside for a moment, however, I ask myself who I want to see visiting the church website. Who do I want to make up that additional audience? I recognize that other people see things differently, but for me, if them majority of that additional audience is made up of people looking for a church, then I’ve failed. I want the majority of that additional audience to be people who don’t have any particular interest in the church, at least at first.

To draw those people to the website, I want to present information that I believe they will be interested in. That’s why I think a church’s website should have as its primary content in-depth profiles of the people in the congregation. The overwhelming majority of people who convert to Christ do so, not as a result of the church’s programs or attending a service, but as a result of relationship with real people. So I ask myself, “Since the overwhelming majority of people who convert to Christ do so as a result of their relationships with believers, how can a church website be used to introduce unbelievers to believers and facilitate relationships that may eventually lead to the unbeliever considering the claims of Christ?”

I don’t want to settle for reaching only people who are interested in finding a church. I want to reach people who think we are irrelevant.

As always, comments are very welcome.

Posted by on 03/02/05 at 06:46 AM

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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?

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

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Web Development
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Content Management
Expression Engine

Web Hosting
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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

Reaching People Who Think We Are Irrelevant

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