Bishop James Brown, also know as Bishop I Feel God, serves as the Founder and Senior Pastor of Victory International Church in the southwest section of Fort Worth, Texas. Along with his partner for life Pastor Linda Brown the powerful duo minister to the "up and out", as well as, "the down and out".
Believing that the church must be innovative and creative in order to reach this end time generation, Bishop Brown is active in utilizing and implementing technology for the spread of the Gospel. Having attended Michigan State University, he applies his expertise as a software engineer for the kingdom of God. From internet web sites to CD duplication to print publications, Bishop Brown stands at the forefront of technological innovation for the kingdom of God.
5 Features That A Church Website Shouldnt Be Without
Collins Internet Designs blog had an interesting post about important information for church websites. In his post titled 5 Features That A Church Website Shouldn’t Be Without Allan Collins lists the following must haves:
Driving Directions
Service Times
Sunday School
Events Calendar
Pictures
While this list is good there are several other things that may surpass some of the listed items. How about the telephone number to the church? If the directions listed read like mush (and many do) wouldn’t it be great to be able to call the church after you get lost?
Many church have plenty of pictures (which are a must have - the net IS a graphical medium) but also fail to tell us what CITY they are located in. The internet is a global medium and you would be stunned by the number of sites that just assume you will know where they are if you have arrived on their website.
Additionally, tell the world who you are and how you worship in addition to stating your service times and sunday school availability. Fact, unsaved and unchurched folks don’t give a dribble about our sunday school but are very interested in dress requirements and music styles.
Always answer the question, “what makes your church special”? Sell Sell Sell - use the pictures, tell the times, give good directions but none of that is selling. Use your website to Pre-SELL your church to your potential visitors. Give them a reason to come. Then … give them a reason to stay!
A good church website needs to be informative, visually appealing and have a bit of interaction with the visitor. After all shouldn’t your church’s website inspire people to visit your church physically? It can be easy to forget that people not in your local community may be searching for a church to attend a worship service. What features do you look for when you are looking at a church website?
Driving Directions
How do you get there? Sure an address is great, but a map or written directions would be better. Make it as easy as possible for the website visitor to locate your church.
Service Times
When do you worship? Often more times than not the service times are not listed on most church websites. Be sure to place your worship times prominently on the homepage of the site.
Sunday School
Let’s say that your visitors have children. What do you suppose they would like to know about your church? Make it well known that you offer a Sunday school service to avoid any confusion with new guests to your church.
Events Calendar
What if a member of your congregation misses a Sunday, but would like to know about the youth soccer game in the park? By having an up-to-date events calendar you can let your church members know what is going on.
Pictures
Sure stock photography is great in some cases, but what about those great pictures from your church’s mission trip? Be sure to include real pictures of your church and congregation. This will give your site a more realistic and personal touch.
And there you have it five features that a church website shouldn’t be without. Do you have any suggestions regarding church website features? Post a comment below…
