So, you want a website for your church ministry
Everybody wants a website. They’re trendy. They’re also easier than ever to create. Websites as a tool for ministry fall into a category that I call “just because you can doesn’t mean you should.” Before creating a new ministry-focused website, the following questions need to be addressed:
These first two questions are designed to help you realize what makes a website compelling.
a. What websites do you visit daily? at least once a week? once a month? just once?
b. Why do you visit those sites? Why do you visit them at that frequency?
The remaining questions are designed to help you focus your website purpose.
c. Why do you want a website for your ministry?
d. What purpose of your ministry will a website help achieve?
e. What content will the website offer?
f. Who is your target audience for the website?
g. Why would the target audience go to the website? and as a follow-up, ask a disinterested person in the target audience for an honest answer.
h. What would the target audience do at the website?
i. What percentage of the content is date-sensitive?
j. Who will manage/maintain the date-sensitive content on the website?
k. How will the Gospel inform this website? How will the website help advance God’s Kingdom?
l. Based on answers to above questions, what can the website you want to create offer that is not already offered through Bethel’s existing web infrastructure
As I’ve noted before, WordPress is a great tool for quickly launching websites that can be maintained with no HTML\CSS knowledge required. Add Bethel’s Children’s ministry to the list.
Dave Stone @ April 9, 2008