New Advance for Church WebsitesA new online self-assessment tool from the Internet Evangelism Day team enables churches to develop and improve their websites.by Staff, Internet Evangelism DayInternet Evangelism Day is an initiative of the Internet Evangelism Coalition, an umbrella group of major interdenominational Christian groups involved in Web ministry. Internet Evangelism Day is also endorsed by the Global Christian Internet Alliance (GCIA). Christianity.ca is the Canadian representative of GCIA.
"Does your church's website communicate to outsiders as well as to the members?" asks a new web resource. A church site is the congregation's “shop window” to its community. To fulfill this function well, it must be enticing, people-centered and easily understood by outsiders. Unfortunately, many churches are unsure how to achieve this vital mix.
That’s where Internet Evangelism Day (IE Day) can help. The IE Day team has produced a new online self-assessment tool. It provides churches with a free 15-page evaluation report. Users assess their own website by answering 55 simple questions on the tool questionnaire. Their customized report is immediately displayed online, ready to print or save. Its recommendations are tailored with specific suggestions, based on the questions that were ticked. This questionnaire can also be easily added to other webpages using an insertion code.
A church site which has been prioritized for non-Christian visitors can be remarkably effective in reaching the community. According to one growing church in London, week in, week out, more visitors turn up at the church on a Sunday because of the website, than through any other source.
Church leaders therefore welcome this new resource:
“This competent evaluation tool and rating service provides a valuable service to churches and Christian ministries that will help them strengthen their effectiveness in outreach through the Internet,” says Dr. Sterling Huston, director of North American Ministries for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Dr. Bill Gordon of the Evangelism Response Center, NAMB, concurs. “Most church websites are not evangelistic. The new Church Website Design Tool can help rectify this problem. This is a wonderful tool.”
Gary McClue of LifeWay Ministries notes, however, “There is no silver bullet for a great ministry site,” but nevertheless adds, “This checklist is an invaluable tool to identify critical areas for improvement. Every church should study this regularly and act on it!”
Other web resources
This Evaluation Tool is just one of a range of pages at InternetEvangelismDay.com that help Christians learn to use the Web to reach the world. IE Day team also encourages churches to hold a web awareness focus day on or near April 27, 2008, to explore this huge potential. Their site offers free downloads (PowerPoint, video clips, drama scripts and handouts) so that churches can create a custom program as brief as a 2-minute spot within a worship time, or an entire themed church service, seminar, or midweek meeting.
The site also explains other types of online evangelism, such as outreach websites, video clips, blogging and podcasts. There is even a free 'conversation starter' screen-saver to download.
A Canadian church leader comments, "I used a ten-minute presentation that focused on how anyone can get involved in reaching out to the Internet community. I also added a section on using our church website as an evangelism tool, as some of our members have already had great success with it."
The IE Day team emphasizes that web evangelism is for anyone, not just the technically gifted. "There are many ways to share your faith online, without any technical background at all," says IE Day coordinator Tony Whittaker.
Originally published on the website of Internet Evangelism Day, January 2008.
Used with permission. Copyright © 2008 Christianity.ca.