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ELCA Web Works
Resources for enhancing your Web ministry
Thank you for your commitment to making Christ
known via the Web! We hope the ideas and resources on this page assist you
in your efforts. Share your best tips and resources with other
congregation, synod and agency Web volunteers and staff on the ELCA
Webstewards
Webboard. If you don't find the help you need on this page or on the
webboard, feel free to
contact us.
The Web Team, ELCA Department for Communication.
The Basics
Step One: Planning
See the "Getting Started" section below for
resources to help you describe your audience, define your purpose, prioritize
your needs, inventory your assets, and garner organizational support. Develop a
set of Web content guidelines that meet the needs
of your members for privacy and confidentiality, and also adher to copyright
law.
Step Two: Design Your Site
Define the content you'd like to start with, and design site navigation with
growth in mind. Do an inventory of site "features" (e.g. congregation
e-mail devotional, calendar with different views, private chat for youth, photo
albums for congregation events, blogs for reports from congregational trips,
private congregation directory, etc.). This will help when you approach
the next step.
Step Three: Select the Tools You'll Use
and a "Host" for Your Site
Most people use Web site management software or a "content management system" to
develop and maintain their site. Depending on the software or system you
select and the features you've described in step 2, there may be advantages of
one Web hosting plan over another. For example, sites developed with
Microsoft Frontpage seem to run best on Web servers that use a Microsoft
operating system.
Step Four: Maintain Your Site
Here's the liability with developing a congregation Web site: If you develop a
page and never update it, this can reflect poorly on your congregation. By
analyzing how communication flows in your congregation you can develop
procedures for getting the latest information and making sure outdated
information is removed. Maintenance also means promoting your site by
registering in search engines and publishing your Web address everywhere.
Don't forget to report
your Web address to the ELCA, so we can put it in the
congregation lookup system. Maintenance also means checking your site for broken links and missing images (most Web
software has reports for this). Return to step One, step back and review
your site periodically.
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Getting Started
Congregations and other organizations across the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America are discovering that the Web can be used effectively
to support their members, and to reach out to others in their communities
and around the world. When people ask for help designing and maintaining their
Web pages, we usually advise being specific about the goals they want to
accomplish with their site, and having someone with
professional design skills assist. Here are some selected resources you may find
helpful as you begin planning an effective Web
ministry:
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Creating a Congregational Web Site That is a
Venue for Mission, by Thomas H. Walker. An excellent
paper with sections on why churches create congregational Web sites; key
strategies for creating a church Web site; and maintaining a Web site that
serves.
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Web Site
Development for Religious Organizations. Managed by Susan
Brumbaugh of Aphid Communications, this helpful guide covers many of the
process and technical issues related to planning, publishing and maintaining a
Web site.
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Web Ministry FAQ.
This long, useful page by Jeff Wilkinson of Central Presbyterian Church
discusses many frequently asked questions, covering such topics as: advantages
of a church site; defining your site's purpose; interfacing with your church
leadership; and what you need to think about to get started.
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Designing Congregational Web Sites.
A helpful guide by Scott Thumma of Hartford Seminary, covers most planning and
organizational issues and includes a helpful section on
criteria for evaluating congregation Web sites (with sample evaluations),
and a survey of congregation Webmasters.
-
Web ministry beginners guide.
Developed by United Methodist Communications staffer Chuck Russell and others
based on Web ministry workshops.
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Pew Internet and American Life Project.
An ongoing program of research into how the Internet affects our lives.
Related reports include: Faith Online: 64% of wired Americans have used the
Internet for spiritual or religious purposes (4/2004),
CyberFaith: How Americans Pursue Religion Online (12/2001),
Online Communities: Networks that nurture long-distance relationships and
local ties (10/2001);
Wired Churches, Wired Temples: Taking congregations and missions into
cyberspace (12/2000).
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What to Include: Site Content
and Features
Here are some ideas for what to include in your Web site design, beginning with
the most essential. The examples are for a congregational site, but may be
adapted for other organizations:
- The full name, location, mailing address and phone
number for your congregation. Make this prominent on the home page and
available on every page, or easily accessible through a "Contact Us" link.
- E-mail connection to the pastor, or some responsible
congregation staff member or leader.
- A link or
button to the
ELCA home page: www.elca.org
- Take advantage of dynamic content, such as the
ELCA Web feeds, to place regularly
changing news headlines, prayers, and bible verses on your site.
This is fresh content, you don't have to maintain! Augsburg
Fortress also provides instant
Web page panels and RSS (content syndication) Feeds, including a Bible
Verse of the Day and Festivals and Commemorations.
- An e-mail link to the Websteward so visitors can report
errors or make suggestions.
- Prominent service schedule that is easy to understand.
- A congregation calendar or weekly event listing is a
helpful reference for members and a window into congregational life for
visitors.
- Features that welcome visitors to the congregation
(area map, driving directions, photo of the church, building map, frequently
asked questions, nursery information, links to information about the
community).
- Features that are evangelistic (devotional materials,
prayer request section, messages connecting faith to daily life).
- Descriptions of the ministry areas of your
congregation, with contact information for group leaders.
- Staff and volunteer leader profiles and a description
of who to go to for what.
- Congregational directory, in a password protected area.
- Forms to collect data to support the congregational
program and member needs: time and talent survey, professional services
directory, Sunday school and vacation Bible school registrations forms.
- Audio or video clips of sermons. Sermon
transcripts. Previews of
upcoming sermon topics.
- Improve communication in your congregation with e-mail
groups (e.g. a broadcast group for announcements and an electronic version of
your newsletter) or discussion groups (e.g. private groups for council
committees or a public online book discussion).
Ecunet.org offers a discussion groups
system for your congregation. Ecunet.org is also the service used to
host LutherLink, so your
congregation members have access to both local and national conversations.
A good way to get additional ideas for content for your
site is to browse the sites of
other congregations.
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Where to Put It:
Web
Hosting Services
Whether you are using Web development software like
FrontPage,
Dreamweaver, GoLive,
etc., or want to develop and maintain your site using a content management
system (where you edit and update Web pages through your browser), you'll need
to find a site hosting service. It is possible to set up your own Web
server, but that requires a high level of technical expertise, especially with
regard to Web security matters. Indexes such as
TheList,
HostingCatalog,
Tophosts and the
Registered FrontPage WPP index provide ways for you to shop for a Web
hosting service. Just take your list of features and compare that to the
specifications of hosting services in your price range. Internet hosting
services that offer free, installable applications (e.g. like the "Fantastico"
suite) offer good value. Most hosting
services will assist with registering your domain (e.g.
http://www.mychurch.org), or you can go to separate domain registrars like
Network Solutions or
FaithGroups.com. As a starting point, here is a list of hosting
services we have had experience with:
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LutheransOnline.com - build and maintain your own church, church school,
camp or family Web site just using your Web browser for site editing.
This is a free service from Thrivent
Financial for Lutherans.
-
Forministry.com - create a free congregation Web site using a Web-based
content management system. A free service from
American Bible Society.
- MemberConnect
- a congregation "Intranet" product of particular interest to users of
Shepherd's Staff church management software. Also supports the display
of "public" pages, so it could serve as your primary site host. Marketed
and supported by Concordia Publishing House.
- Luther95.org
- offers free, limited Web hosting, and a range of paid plans starting at
$9.95/month.
- FaithGroups.com
- offers Linux or Windows hosting plans at a range of levels, starting at
$3.95/month.
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