Church Growth strategies: 'Be IT Savvy: get a website - part three!'

So here we are with the final part of thinking about getting ourselves a web presence. As we do, Hauerwas' strapline reminds us to avoid the desperation that strategies can sometimes become:

Church growth strategies are the death rattle of a church that has lost its way.

Today was going to be purely about another Content Management System (CMS) approach to creating your own website using a product called Joomla - something I feel sits between the traditional web offering and the simplicity of using Wordpress but brings with it a little more power in the way things appear and the roles that can be passed out to contributors. It was, but I have been encouraged to take a look at something by the name of  WEEBLY, and it looks like something well worth considering because it is as simple a means of getting a web presence with CMS potential added as a bonus.

If you'd like to find out more about using Joomla - take a look at the web site below the video and think about what you might be able to do with Joomla (and the other products here - then either get someone from within your church who is techie to work with you or sign up for a demo site  at Joomlas and have a go at creating a test site yourself (which is a good idea as you'll have some understanding of what is going on.

Now, although I am looking to encourage people to become a little more IT aware, I don't have the time (or the inclination) to reinvent the wheel so instead, here's an outline on Joomla (and a church web site)

Here's a church site using Joomla

And a video (and web site) for Weebly:

and here's a church site built using it

And just to be egalitarian, here's the same agin for Wordpress too:

And a church site using wordpress

So there we go. Hopefully I have convinced some of you out there that being 'IT Savvy' and getting a web site is not the fear-filled task you thought it was.

If I can be of any assistance give me a call.

Thanks go to Catriona Baker, a designer who pointed me to Weebly - It is so very good to have people who will point us to new things and she does that on a regular basis :-)

Church Growth strategies: 'Be IT Savvy: get a website - part two!'

Hauerwas' strapline challenges us all to put off strategies and become authentic:

Church growth strategies are the death rattle of a church that has lost its way. 

And one of the ways in which we might make the 'way' found is to by being seen to be attractive, transparent and authentic. When people see integrity and attractive and compelling bundled together in open, honest, welcoming and engaged (and engaging), they want to know more and have a relationship (at best) and feel warmly (at worst) towards, and with, those people!

One of the shop windows on our hearts (apart from the eyes that is) is created by means of a well crafted, honest and attractive website. One of the simplest ways of getting a website can be found by using Wordpress. This is what we call a 'Content Management System' (CMS) - learn the language and you'll look like you're up there with the kids in no time (you can even buy yourself a hoodie and get a skateboard to complete the image). You can do it yourself or pay someone to set the whole thing up for you : The choice is (as always) yours:

What is a CMS all about then?
Exactly what it sounds like:

1. You find yourself a company who will do the web hosting and get yourself a server. Then you install Wordpress onto it (it's a simple process and you are guided on every step - it's a 'one click' process, so no need to panic).

2. You select the 'look and feel' (the Theme) of the site (and there are many to choose from already) and you start to build your site using it. Once you're happy with what you have as a start you upload* it to the server - this is easy too (there are so many guides and walk through available) and then you start to smooth the rough edges and add the features you want.

3. You 'plug in' any special features: members pages, images, photo albums, etc. (you can do this from you uploaded web page which means that once the site is loaded everything else is simply done by selecting the options and installing them by a click of the mouse) and customise the site to reflect your aims for it.

4. You add your content and assign 'rights' and 'roles' to people so that they can add, edit and generally tinker with the content (the words and images and stuff) but cannot change the look and feel or any of the major bits that make it what you want your site to look and feel like!

This is a completely quick and easy (and did I mention cheap) way of not only getting online but also making sure that you have a site that is contains up to date information from the people who own that area. The wardens write the 'from the Wardens' page -  the Vicar writes the 'from the Vicar' page and everyone who contributes to the site has their own little kingdom to keep relevant and worthwhile.

This is every web master's dream come true - currency of information without them having to sit and do the editing! (let me hear you say 'hallelujah!').

This is every church member's dream come true too because some of the biggest complaints I have regarding church websites are to do with being current too. ('Why isn't nnnn on the site' is no longer valid complaint when the members have access to a place for their area of interest to be featured).

This is every church site reader's dream too. I recently visited a site which spoke about a visit to the place from a band I like. 'Coming next Sunday' the front page proclaimed. So I rang about tickets and getting in to the event and was told, 'Oh yeah, that was last week, we need to change the web!'

Too flipping right (wonder who was daft enough to just turn up assuming the information to be current?).

So that's the 'How' sorted for this one - let's take a look at a site I made earlier. It's the site for Tamworth Street Angels and it's a simple site with a few pages and a private area where members can log in to get documents, leave and see reports from nights on the streets and see roots and the like. The whole thing took a couple of hours to select, get a server (and URL) and upload and it's run seamlessly and painlessly for a couple of years now. This is the sort of site that would serve some of the churches who at the moment have music and unnecessary bells, whistles and stuff, extremely well:

Here's the front page:

Click here to visit site

You can see the menu bar which has the almost mandatory 'About us' link and then there are newsletter, two members only areas - users have a password to access them - and a means of being contacted via the site.

Here's a link to the Wordpress site where you will find some of their 'popular' themes on display. Why not click HERE and have a look at the demos to see what you like. (If you type 'church' into the search box you'll find some other ideas. You can also just type 'church web sites Wordpress' into your search engine and have a play with the offerings there (some are free and others are 'paid for' - agin, you're choice: Find what you like and put a copy onto your machine:

1. find a theme

2. download it to your machine (create a folder and download into to that)

3. get a host (you'll need to tell them you want to host a Wordpress site on it because it needs some techie bits running,

4. upload - add plug ins - add content - assign roles - sit back with brew of choice (mine's tea) and await comments (praying that they are all good).

Simple!





*Uploading - this means putting the stuff onto the server, usually using and FTP (File Transfer Protocol) utility. You put your user name, password and web name into the thing and this connects to your site and lets you push the information onto the server. Using Wordpress there are upload processes which can be activated and used without the need to purchase additional software though.

Church Growth strategies: 'Be IT Savvy: get a website - part one!'

As always we start with a reminder of Hauerwas' comment: 

Church growth strategies are the death rattle of a church that has lost its way.  

Whilst social media is one of the quick and easy ways of getting your church, projects and/or special events noticed where you are (and even further afield), the pinnacle of being 'IT savvy' has to be found in websites. There are a number of ways of getting a 'web presence' (good to learn the language innit?) - but we'll look at three:

A 'traditional' website

Using Wordpress to create a website

A 'content management' website

The traditional model has pages that live on a computer somewhere and can be accessed by anyone who wishes to view them. Generally the site is managed by a 'web master' (who says us techies don't crave power?) and access to change things is very limited.

The Wordpress website is a cost effective and simple way of creating a website, it can have as many pages as you like and authority can be distributed so that people can edit and add information like news and images without having access to the whole (so limiting the ability to burn the thing down when they make a mistake).

A content management site looks like a normal site to those who visit but once the format is done then sections can be owned and edited by others. Some like to keep the main sections controlled by the web master whilst allowing church groups, wardens and  others to change their content as and when the need arises. This is an extremely powerful way of doing stuff when there are many who have sections that need keeping up to date as it pushes the work to those who have the local knowledge. One of the best products for this is Joomla.

So, all you need to do is find the URL (uniform resource locator - the www.name.whatever) you want to use, and you're sorted (the web hosting company will usually be more than happy to sort one for you once you know what you want).

GETTING YOURSELF A ''TRADITIONAL' WEBSITE

There are a number of ways of doing this and regardless of which you choose, here are some things you need to consider:

MANAGED PACKAGES - The easiest option because you find a layout that you like and have it tailored for so it becomes yours and then the same company 'host' it (this means that they keep all the techie bits on one of their computers (we call them servers) for you. This means that they do the backup (very important) and will forward mail to you (equally important because websites have to have ears to listen as well as mouths to proclaim). All you need to do is keep the content up to date.

This is the most expensive route but it is quick and simple and avoids some of the pitfalls that doing it yourself or finding an enthusiast in the church can sometimes present (more about that later).


WEB HOSTING - Here you have someone who designs the web site and then you upload it (put it onto the host company's server) so that it can be published on the internet. 

This is a simple method of getting in to the web business but because it splits design and hosting into two separate element, you will need to get involved with:


WEB DESIGN - A wonderful world of joy and fun when it works and a trip into the darkest places of existence when it all starts to unravel (makes sheol look like a holiday destination in fact). There are three options when it comes to web design:

i. Bring in an expert - someone who might cost you some money but will take the brief and produce something with a 'look and feel' that does what you want and makes you feel you have something to be proud of.

ii. Find an enthusiast in the church and get them to do the design with you. Now I have to say that this works well when it works well BUT there is often the problem with using someone 'in house' that they might take the brief but will often try to impose their own views or preferences and the like and so what if often found is an agreed design rather than a desired design. The second problem is that some of the sites I have had to go and rescue have been left locked when the member leaves or them and the dog collar, council or someone else in the church fall out with them! 

TOP TIP 1: Always get the username, password and any other relevant information that let's you access and control the site and store it behind a 'break glass in case of fire' panel. 

iii. Do it yourself - This is, for me, the most enjoyable bit of the whole thing but that's because I'm a techie type and enjoy 'hacking'* code but there's great pleasure to be found in getting a template and modifying it yourself using one of the proprietary software products out there and then uploading the finished item to your host. The problem here is that if you're the person who issues the brief, fulfils the brief and manages the site it can be something beautiful in your eyes and an abomination to those who come across it!

TOP TIP 2: Always get the opinion of others when it comes to the look and feel of a site, the content and the pages - you only need a few opinions (go for people you can trust) but you do need them!

So there you are, you have a web presence! But what are you going to put on it?

Deciding what you want to have will have an impact on the sort of hosting you require.

Sermons, audio files and other downloads

If you would like people to be able to access and listen too sermons then you will need to ensure that you have sufficient space on the server. If you have other download (like videos, docent and other stuff) this will take up space too. When contracting for a web hosting service it's always a great idea to go a little bigger than you need rather than to go for the smallest and find that you end up crashing because you've run out of space.

Bandwidth

If you think of the connection from the server to the people who want it as being like a road, the larger the road the more traffic can flow along it. If you're going to be a small site then a single track will accommodate those who travel along it, but as you get more visitors and the cars turn into lorries taking sermons and videos away with them, then you'll need more lanes until you need a motorway to allow people to travel at a decent speed/

TOP TIP 3: One of the surveys I read recently told me that people wait no more than three seconds before 'binning' a site. If your site runs on a dirt track then much of the traffic will look elsewhere for an A road or, better still, a motorway! Bandwidth is important.

Images
If you have poor quality images then people will soon tire of your site and you'll find yourself reaching no one and paying (in time and money) for the privilege of not doing so! Try to use your own images wherever possible and where you can't then make sure you use images that are really 'royalty free' because otherwise you can find yourself with a big bill for breaching someone's copyright!

Being current
I went to a diocesan website this morning and found the article I'd been pointed to spoke of an event in 2011. So I snorted and closed the page (probably never to return). If you have a website and you want to put calendars and events on it - make sure someone keeps them current. It's a killer for those who come and a pain for those who maintain the site. Be warned!

There's much more I could write about here, but there is enough to get you thinking about church sites here and so I'll draw stumps and let you think a bit.

_______________________

I'm happy to answer questions and point you in the right direction with this because it's important that we are out there and more important that we are out there with good sites (and in a cost and time efficient manner).

Pax

____________________

* Hacking used to mean writing software using machine code - the term was later hijacked to mean illegally accessing sites and systems - being a 'hacker' meant something very different in the early days of computing (we were people who could hold a conversation, grunted as a form of communication and slept under our desks!).

It's not promotion!

I've been running as the acting Vicar of the parish for six months now and it's generally been a time of challenge, joy and great blessing. To act as Vicar in a parish of four church buildings, and especially doing services in the marvellous centrepiece of the parish that is St Editha's, has been a one of the high spots of my ministry life. The blessing of Christmas and the many carol services and, of course, the midnight service - the challenge of having produced some twelve services to see me reach Easter Sunday evening (where at 6:30 we will have our final communion of the day) - the joy of being around so many people whom I see as friends and family rather than parishioners.

Yes, it's been a great six months.  BUT (has to be one doesn't there?)

I have had so many people who assume that 'promotion' into the Vicar's post permanently is something that should just happen as a fait accompli. The more I speak of finding the 'right person' the more people say, 'It's you!' and when play a game of (intellectual and emotional) seesaw. 'I'm looking for God's idea not good ideas,' I protest, but some will not hear of it.

As a minister of the Gospel, one of the greatest challenges when it comes to moving into a new ministry role is to know that you are the right person for that job (and that it is the right job for you and your family too). This is of paramount importance for to be the wrong person is to damage the work of God (and perhaps the members too) in that place, perhaps fatally!

So, to the many who have engaged me regarding the vacancy - first and foremost - Thank You for your interest and encouragement, it is always welcome, can I ask that you pray for the right person to take up that role. For as psalm 127 rightly states: 'Unless the Lord builds the house the labourers labour in vain.'

one of my favourite images

For those of you who don't know the parish of Tamworth and St Editha's, the parish church, take a look at the new presence (www.stedithas.org.uk)* and perhaps think about paying the town of Tamworth a visit - it is a fantastic town with a great history and a great future too.

And please, pray for the search for a new Vicar that the right person might be found and thank you for the support and encouragement :-)

Thanks

*I know there are still some glitches and some of the old site exists, I haven't quite finished writing it all yet (someone said Easter's coming!)

Say one for yourself!

One of the brilliant things that technology brings is the potential  to make things accessible and by virtue of this accessibility make them commonplace and one of the best areas this can be seen is in that of prayer.

Prayer is perhaps one of the most over-claimed and under-done areas in the lives of so many of those I encounter. I'm assuming that's a statement that will confuse and perhaps inflame some reading this, but it is the truth. Let me explain (yeah, you'd better I hear you mutter) ...

Whenever I talk about prayer, those in the conversation will nod sagely and agree that it's the oxygen of Christian living and that it is not only essential, but is a given that they do it. 'Of course we're praying,' they say. So I ask what they're praying at the moment and whether they pray alone or with partners or in triplets, prayer groups or something else. It's about now they shuffle a little more and mumble a bit and then tell me that they 'did it' , errrr, 'Last week (I think) ... ' Then it all goes quiet.

Now I don't ask to put people on the spot or to make them feel got at. I don't do it to tell them to pray, because I don't have to, they already know that conversation with the other party in a relationship is one of the ways of keeping thy relationship real and engaged. We all now we 'should' pray but we also have lives, families, things to do, televisions and so many other distractions that crowd in to stop us praying - and this is not an accident. I happen to believe that stuff getting in the way is part of a planned strategy that seeks to get in the way.

So how do we overcome this? Well part of the answer is immediacy and accessibility and this, coupled with desire, is ninety percent of the battle. The good news is that the immediacy and accessibility come in the shape of texts and Web presence, such as blogs).

One of the reasons this blog carries a shortened form of the daily office morning prayer is to make it available for those who find time during the day when they can read their Bibles and engage in prayer. Another thing that we have tried in our church is sending out by text the daily readings and the name (or names) of those who we are praying for that day. This helps those who want to pray have the passages directly or in a form they can use with their own Bibles as part of their daily devotional life.

There are so many ways we can use technology to help those who want to pray and study the word do so, and I've just come across another great system which uses QR codes (more on that over en next couple of days) and yet another which sends emails out every morning to subscribers.

I'd welcome any ways you have come across that work because at the end of the day, the more methods open to us, the more effective we can be in finding the way that works for someone and the reality is that I really do believe the desire is there in so many of us, it's just the opportunity and availability.

And prayer, although one of the main keys to revival and effective discipleship, is even more important as the primary means of communication in the relation that we have between us and God, for without it we are left with religion - and who wants rules you can't keep and confirmation that you need saving every day?