Content

Visitors judge the values and programs of your church from your website. You'll turn them away with poor spelling and grammar and 'upcoming events' that are two months old! They want answers to basic questions about your beliefs and church life. Service times, driving directions and contact information should be in plain view.

Church is scary to unchurched people. Provide information about what to expect when they visit, perhaps by using a virtual tour. Mention your services (type of music, how long, typical order of service, what to wear, childcare). But don't use churchy terms, such as 'contemporary worship'. Tell them about everything from parking to the warm welcome they?ll receive. Then, when they do visit, be sure they actually feel welcomed!

Invite people to contact you either by email or phone with any questions they may have and be sure to check for, and respond to, messages regularly. Offering to pray for site visitors? needs can also be strategic, if you can do this with integrity and appropriate privacy.

Many church websites tell a lot about churches and staff ? but not how to meet Jesus. You may want to offer a link such as "What is the meaning of life?" or "Finding real fulfillment", which do not sound preachy yet show non-threatening spiritual content. Some visitors may even listen to online sermons but never attend your church.

People are interested in people. You may want to include some 'meet our members' pages with brief informal profiles about their lives, jobs, places of study, hobbies, pets, etc. This could be done through text, audio or video.

Jesus used stories with a message, leaving people to go away and think. It is possible to write a page on your site which brings out a parable or allegory. For instance, an article about restoring cars could suggest that just as old cars need new engines, we need something new in our lives. This could then be linked to a page which explains the Gospel in a meaningful way.

If neighbours visit your home, you don't start preaching at them. Similarly, any link to a church's doctrinal statement is probably not appropriate on the homepage. Create a "What we believe" page which contains a simple explanation, avoiding Christian jargon. Then you can provide a link to the Statement of Faith on the National Ministry Centre website for those who are interested.

Some other things you might include: answers to problems (many non-Christians still look to a minister for help with problems of life), children's corner, games and competitions, humour, community news and activities, sermon summaries and Bible studies.

Let your visitors see the "bigger picture" of the Alliance by linking to specific pages on your district's website as well as the National Ministry Centre (www.cmacan.org). In this way, you will not have to design your own page on certain topics, but can take advantage of material already provided through your denomination.

There is a common misconception that a 'techie' is the ideal person to make a church website. But making a good website requires a range of skills including artistic design and technical abilities. In truth, few people have both, which is why there are so many truly ugly church websites.

Although overall control of the site may be in the hands of a committed administrator with an actual job description, that person does not need to do everything connected with the site. There could be many gifted people in the church who could take photos, provide videos, handle email advice, writing, etc.

If nobody in your church is technical enough to take on the webmaster role, you could use a pre-designed template system. A larger church site can benefit from Content Management - a system whereby different people have permission to update content within a site, without reference to the webmaster.

Make your website an important part of your ministry. Choose a simple, easy to remember domain name. Encourage your members to understand the relevance of the site, pray for its effective outreach, and make it known to others.

Those members who have blogs or other types of sites can use them to give your church a higher profile. And be sure your website address is included on all church stationery and publications.

With a well designed, interactive, functional website, you can clearly communicate your vision, activities, and, most importantly, the message of Jesus Christ 24/7 year-round.