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10 key ideas for proclaiming the Word from the browser tops
by Graeme J. Davidson, December 2000

"And then there's the regular postal service. It has the advantage that we don't have to change our ways."

How can a parish use the Internet more effectively?

The secret is providing the right content and making access easy for people.

For a parish in a developed country not to have a web site or be on email these days is like a parish not having a telephone in the 1940's or not having a fax in the 1990's. But unlike a telephone or a fax, an Internet presence is not enough. People are becoming more discerning. Why should they bother logging on to the parish site? They certainly don't want to waste time threshing through chaff in the hope that they will find wheat.

A good example of a very successful religious web site is The Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. The site gets millions of hits a month! It obviously provides content that people want. The site is also simple, clean and easy to navigate. How can you use these principles in creating your own church web site? Start with providing the content people want.

10 Key ideas for getting the right content

1. The Home Page is the street-front window to the parish. Many visitors won't bother to go beyond a glance into this window. So forget about huge graphics of stained glass windows and parish architecture. Cut to the chase and put up the essential information about who, what, when and maybe a little of the why — theological style, service times, baptisms, weddings, funerals, newcomers, Sunday school, after school care, study groups, clergy, contact numbers, names and addresses and email addresses.
   Keep it brief. Mission statements reflect what a meeting thought. They don't always depict reality or what people want to find on the first page.
   A postcard image of the church may help to identify it for newcomers. A map or directions as to how to get to the church may also be worthwhile.
   
   
2. If people are going to want to revisit the parish site, some of the contents of the home page will need to be changed regularly — at least once a week. Provide a section for announcements under a heading like, 'This week'. Don't forget to give dates, times and places for events.
   
   
3. Use the writing techniques of the tabloid press: brief sentences, active rather than passive words and present rather than past tense.
   Try using 'teasers' to other pages on the web site. 'Mount Sinai comes to the youth group …', or 'Apples, serpents, spare ribs and other biblical gender issues …' rather than 'The youth group will be examining the ten commandments this week', or 'There will be a Bible study on gender starting with the Book of Genesis'.
   
   
4. Provide key resources such as a daily devotional and study guide along with posting the weekly parish sermons or links to other sermons on the Internet. Theological Editions provides a choice of sites that can be linked to (check Sermons and Prayer among the list of resources in the left margin).
   
   
5. Make the site interactive. Offer an opportunity for visitors to send in prayer requests, seek counselling or send contributions for discussion topics.
   Consider using voting buttons to get feedback on ideas.
   A parish notice board for parishioners to post notices about lost pets, job opportunities, letters from past parishioners and so on could also be worthwhile.
   
   
6. Provide a calendar of events for the year highlighting key events and send out reminder emails through the parish email list.
   
   
7. Encourage special interest groups to be responsible for their special section. The 'Kids Page' could be the responsibility of the young people and the 'Music Page' the responsibility of the music group.
   
   
8. Provide a leaders page where ideas, programs and comments can be posted each week.
   
   
9. People are interested in people. Create a human interest page where the activities of parish members can be displayed. This may be the place for photos and personal statements. But make certain you have people's permission before displaying any information about them.
   
   
10. Provide the option to email members of the parish with regular information. Most people don't want to spend time searching the Net or going to a site, including the parish web site, in the off-chance that it will have what interests them. Emailing the key material on the web site saves them the bother.
    Obtain email addresses for families, including the kids' email addresses and send them information and point to interesting material on the Internet. But before doing this gain permission for the church to send email (to avoid accusations of spamming — unwanted bulk email) .
    The emails could also be tailored for specific interest groups like young people, the music group, shut-ins, Bible study groups and newcomers. Although this requires extra work it, could become a powerful tool for evangelism.

See also
A guide to religion in the 2004 US elections >> more

The new animal spirituality: Do all dogs go to heaven? >> more

Alpha Courses: A global franchise with slick packaging and dubious contents? >> more

Harry Potter's biggest battle: religion >> more

Clergy abuse: Legal fallout intensifies for Catholics, others >> more

Gambling now: vice, virtue or both? >> more

The Pentecost experience >> more

Best bible resources on the Net >> more

Are parish web sites worth the effort? >> more

10 key ideas for proclaiming the Word from the browser tops >> more

10 ways to improve parish web design >> more

Was Jesus a member of the Essenes? >> more

Copyright © 2000 Theological Editions

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