Ben Dubow, the pastor of St. Paul’s Collegiate Church at Storrs in Storrs, Connecticut has written a masterful article for BetaChurch.Org called Ten Things To Know About Your Church Website.
Ben begins his article with these words:
Eighteen months ago I knew virtually nothing about websites, web design or anything else .... But after a year of working through website stuff for the church, here is what I’ve learned.
And Ben has learned a lot! And even better, it seems to me that Ben has learned the right things! His analysis is spot-on!
If I could somehow imprint one part of Ben’s article on every church leader’s mind and heart, it would be this:
Do not follow the path of least resistance...you will regret it.
I almost made this mistake. I knew we needed a website so I thought something was better than nothing. And in today’s world you can get a website up and running pretty quickly and pretty cheaply using services like Register.com or using a volunteer with frontpage. If a website is all the things we have been talking about, then take the time to strategically think through what you are trying to accomplish.
Now go and read Ben’s article in full. Nail it to the door of your office and call it “Ben’s 10 Theses on Web Design for Churches!” Well, okay — maybe not, but please read it!
I believe that the internet provides today's church with a historic opportunity .... to tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love in ways which could only have been imagined in times past. The objective of this website is to explore the various ways in which today's technology can be used to spread the gospel around the world.
