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Is your church’s (website) light under a bushel?

Jan Paxton

Hide it under a bushel? No! I’m going to let it shine. That’s the song we sing, and when we think of our church’s website we intend for it to be a shining light. We know that our church is a friendly, welcoming place and that our focus is following in the way of Jesus. But does our website really reflect that?

It is really easy to say that all of our church’s activities are in the calendar and that all are welcome – but think of the way things are written and announced from the viewpoint of a newcomer or of someone “church shopping” on the web. If the announcement for the upcoming book club meeting says just “meeting at Carol’s home” and does not include the book title, Carol’s last name or any idea of who to contact if a new person wants to attend, only the “in crowd” is really being welcomed.

When the information about youth activities on the website is “we have an active youth group” with no mention of when or where the next meeting might be or what activities will be included, a seeker might infer that either there really is no youth group, or that no one new is welcome.

Does your congregation support a local food pantry? Does a group cook for a shelter or Family Promise? Do you host the homeless? Do you have an after-school program? Did your youth group go on a mission trip? Is your Sunday School working on an outreach project? Do you have a group that knits for Seaman’s Church Institute? All of these are special ministries and say that you are more than a museum church that meets for an hour on Sunday morning. If there is no evidence of continuing activity along with clear instructions about how to become a part of that ministry, your light is under a bushel!

What can you do?

  • Add captioned photos of group activities– often a picture really is worth a thousand words!
  • Include contact information, complete names, and details to all announcements of activities.
  • Highlight the meetings of even the “regular” groups.
  • Always assume that you are inviting a total stranger to come on this journey with you.

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