Christian Web Resources - Blog

Lenten Practices for Church Webmasters

Sun, 31 Mar 2024 19:00:00 +0100

As we emerge from winter and move towards spring, we also move through the season of Lent - a time of reflection, prayer, and contemplation. In the time of the church, Lent is a time of preparation, of looking forward. We also look back on the sacrifice made for us. We bring this into the present - the here and now.

In the life of a Christian webmaster and our churches and ministries, Easter plans are being laid out. During this time, our intention is to strip away the things of this world and simplify. For some, it is a time of fasting - giving something up, maybe even some of your digital connections - a digital fast.

Let us not just put our technology aside for a while, let us think deeply about how these avenues and channels can have a positive impact on our lives and the lives of others. I suggest adding something more (giving something extra) to your practice during these 40 days - reflecting on your church website and social media accounts and their content.

Lord, give us knowledge, wisdom, insight, and discernment as we contemplate your Word and your work in this generation.

Lord, give us the gift to see ourselves as you see us, and others as you see them.

Facing New Challenges as a Church

Fri, 03 Jul 2020 18:00:00 +0100

As a group, churches are faced with 'new' challenges during these (and all past and future) disruptive times. We are accustomed to meeting together at least weekly - for worship, for fellowship, for spiritual nourishment, for sharing of the sacraments, and for doing the work of Jesus Christ. Now we are trying to find ways to do all of those without gathering together in one space. And we, as are many businesses in our communities, are also trying to find ways to stay financially viable and support our ministries.

Many see the web as a machine and very technical and transactional. It is far from it! The web was created to be relational and provide ways to connect with other people that were physically separated - perfect for the situation we are in. We live in a time when it only takes minutes to start sharing live video and it reaches people in our neighborhood and beyond. We can host virtual meetings and see and hear everyone, regardless of their location. Just how do we do what the apostle Paul did through his letters?

For everything you place on your website, ask "Is this how I would do it if I was face-to-face with a visitor who came to my church?". Consider this instance - "Would I greet them with an offering plate? ". "How and when do I encourage stewardship with the people who visit our space?".

There is a time and a place for this, once you have established a relationship with them. "Hi, my name is ___, what's yours? What brings you to our church today? How can we help you?".

There are a lot of things behind the question "How do I add a donate button to our site?". Some are transactional. Some are relational. Some are technical. Some are administrative. Some are financial. The first to address are the relational. To be good stewards, you also need to consider the technical, the administrative, and the financial (these are all part of the transactional aspects).

These are big questions to grapple with. As you do, continue to proclaim an unchanging Christ in an ever-changing world.

Content Isn't King

Thu, 21 Apr 2016 06:50:00 +0100

There are times I've felt misunderstood. I've written great posts, but they just don't get much response. I've posted on Facebook and Instagram and not gotten the likes and shares I thought the posts deserved. I get frustrated when I get interrupted. I've made observations many times, and then someone else has this "brilliant idea" - which is exactly what I've been saying all along. There are reasons for all these, and I've figured out why and what I can do to change them.

Why "Christian webmasters" and not simply "webmasters"?

Sat, 26 Dec 2015 19:00:00 +0000

A little over a year ago, a question was posed in the forums - What are the plans for this site? Then, as now, the hope for this site was to be a resource for people with a passion for Christ who wanted to share their stories online. Stories of faith, of struggles, of joy, and of pain. Stories that educate, equip, encourage, enable, and empower each other. It was a way to bring together the people with the technological knowledge and skills together with the people with the talents for witnessing, sharing and story telling.

Within that post was another question - why "Christian webmasters" and not simply "webmasters"? It may seem a bit narrow in appeal and that could limit its reach. I find boundaries are OK - they help you stay focused and on track. With too broad a definition, we drift into other areas rather than dive deeply into the topics. continue reading ...

Using Videos Effectively

Wed, 27 Aug 2014 03:50:00 +0100

Back on August 19, the ChSocM chat topics were centered around the rising use of videos on social media and websites, and during gatherings. Here are the questions that guided that conversation

Q1: Why should we use video in social media?

Q2: What’s a way you’ve seen video work really well in various ministry settings?

Q3: Where have you found good video for #ChSocM purposes?

Q4: For those who’ve created videos - any learnings, tips, tricks?

Q4A: How about good software/apps for managing and editing video?

Q5: Quick. Name a biblical story that could work really well (not corny) through the medium of video.

In response to Q1, the social cues and statistical evidence for using video are quite compelling.

We upload 100 hours of video to YouTube every minute, and watch 6 billion hours of video monthly just on that platform
Visual content is posted more, and shared more, that any other type of content. http://www.socialmediaexa ... -research/
Pinterest, Vine, and Instagram (three new fast-growing entries into SM that focus on visual content) all allow posting of videos. Vine is video only (albeit, each video is limited to 6 seconds)

Are those reason enough to foray into video for your ministry? Consider these points from traditional media studies continue reading ...

Are You a Digital Native, Digital Immigrant, or Digital Refugee?

Tue, 03 Jun 2014 17:40:00 +0100

"It wasn't like this when I was growing up."

Times change - instead of a single phone wired to the wall, we each now have cell phones. Instead of walking over to the television to change the channel or adjust the antenna, we use remote controls and cable TV. Our cars can give us directions without us having to figure out how to fold the map back up again or which way is north. Instead of going to a movie theater or drive-in, we queue up movies on Netflix and Hulu to watch on multiple devices. Instead of handwriting letters, we type out emails or tap out text messages.

The point in our life we get introduced to new technologies greatly impacts our reaction to them and our adoption of them, as does who introduces them to us and how. When is a phone not a phone? When it's a 'smart' phone in the hands of a digital native. When is a smart phone just a phone? In the hands of a digital refugee. It's not the technology, it's our view and use of technology.

Getting More Email Subscribers

Sun, 20 Apr 2014 05:00:00 +0100

Are you using email to communicate with your audience? You probably should be. One of the most effective ways of communicating with a group of people is with an email list, even in today's Twitter and Facebook culture. In order for your list to be effective, it first needs to exist, and then you'd like for it to grow. Just how do you let people know about it and get more email subscribers?

Typically, you'll have a sign up form somewhere on your website, possibly on your Facebook page and you might get some referrals from current subscribers. In order to get more attention for their email list, there are plenty of folks employing pop-ups and overlays to get people to sign up for their list. You may even already subscribe to this site's email updates, but you get the pop-up, just the same. I'm not sure this method is the best way to do that.

A Typical Saturday

Sun, 23 Mar 2014 07:00:00 +0000

Saturday is the one day I don't have anything else dictating my schedule: Monday through Friday is dominated with work, Sunday is dedicated to church and family. On Saturdays, I tend to spend a lot of time sifting through all the social media updates for the past week. I don't look at volume, or engagement, or other metrics commonly used. Instead, I look at the posts and how they relate to the stated mission of the account (the bio should reflect this). I also look at what hasn't been posted - what is missing?

Everyone needs some 'Quiet Time'. When's yours?

Tue, 25 Feb 2014 14:50:00 +0000

I have had several conversations with a friend of mine about the practice of silence (kind of ironic, right?) The practice of silence, as it relates to our digital lives, came more to the forefront as we dug deeper.

As communicators, we often fret over our next post - what will we say next? If you've disciplined yourself, you probably have developed an editorial calendar to keep track of upcoming events, deadlines and who will write the pieces.

We also get trapped into treating our online communication channels as soapboxes and stages to cast our net even farther, which heightens our anxiety over silence. Some have such an anxiety over silence, they begin to talking over other people. Pretty soon, they're the only ones talking. And no one is listening.

Do you incorporate silence into your schedule? Not just an absence of items to be written and posted, but scheduled blocks of time for listening.

What Was The Question?

Mon, 26 Aug 2013 03:30:00 +0100

This popular US game show turned the tables on the contestants, giving them the answers and they, in turn, needed to provide the questions. When contestants did not respond with a question, they were reminded to "please phrase that in the form of a question".

What is Jeopardy!?

A major part of your online strategy is being able to ask the right questions before you attempt to answer them. A fair number of Jeopardy! contestants jumped the buzzer and blurted out the question before hearing the complete answer, only to miss an important detail.

Do you know what questions are leading to your website? What are the answers they are seeking? How do you find out?