Before we go any further discussing your online community, let's stop and take a look at your physical community.

In personal communication, we get clues our message has been received - a nod of the head, a sound of acknowledgment, or a reply. Imagine a world where no communication could ever be confirmed.

We also are lifted up when people participate in service, engage others in conversation, or reach out to someone new. These conditions are also true on the web. Begin making a list of actions visitors can make when visiting your web site - can they post, comment, ask, upload, edit, vote or share? Or, are they limited to click, read, download, watch and listen?

A quick question - if you got as much participation in worship as you do on your web site, what would your worship time be like?

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19)

This commission has some definite actions - 'Go', 'make' and 'baptize'. Christ is instructing us in our duties as Christians. Activity is a universal sign of life and our faith life also manifests itself in activity. The web is no different, there are just different actions to take.

The actions are important for creating dialog and community on your web site. It may seem a little scary to allow for the general public to post content to your web site, but with a little planning and the proper tools, it is quite simple and the rewards can be quite amazing. It does require some dedicated people to monitor the contributions and assist with keeping the content focused.