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The Christian Side of Cyberspace

It's been a year of massive growth for the Internet, and the World Wide Web has taken the Christian side of the Net by storm. We've seen the establishment of mega-sites like GospelCom (Gospel Communications Network - http://www.gospelcom.net) and GOSHEN (Global Online Service Helping Evangelize Nations - http://www.goshen.net/) that enable hundreds of Christian ministries and businesses to step into cyberspace. We've also seen a huge increase in the number of churches and denominations taking advantage of the new communication possibilities the Internet has to offer. It's difficult to accurately predict where the Christian Net is heading and how it will eventually be used for the spread of the Gospel. We can, however, take a look at what is being done now and see what the next steps may be. The number of churches and denominations that have established a presence on the World Wide Web has grown substantially over the past year--estimates are that there are over 2,000 individual churches with Web sites. How did they get there, and what exactly are they doing there?

Churches on the Web
A church on the Web is fast becoming as common as seeing a listing in the Yellow Pages. The difference is that the Web is much more than an advertising medium--it is a communications medium. Why make a distinction? With the Web, you can do more than give the address, phone number, service ties, and denominational affiliation; you have the opportunity to take seekers and visitors on a virtual tour of your Christian community, making them aware of everything that is available. Specifics on worship, meetings, support groups, outreach ministries, history, vision, and purpose can be provided with as much detail and presentation as you like. Even pictures, movies and sound clips from special programs can be made available to give potential visitors a complete look (and listen) into the life of your Body. With proper planning and maintenance, your church's site can also become "information central" for your members. Meeting times, sermon archives, Sunday School lesson archives and schedules, online courses and e-mail lists can all be made available via the Web, expanding and improving the way you communicate as more of your members "get online." And you can do all this at little or no monetary cost! Does this all sound too good to be true? It may be if you don't even know where to start or, whether or not you have the proper organization tools. Let's take a look at some steps you can take put your church into cyberspace.

On the Road to the Web
The first thing you'll need to do is find someone to take the responsibility for the creation and maintenance of the project...the key being that this person be computer savvy, and preferably online savvy. This coordinator is generally called the church's Webmaster. Once you've found a willing Webmaster, you'll need to get a bunch of people together to first determine what should be on your Web site and then actually produce the content. This can be a project that utilizes the talents of people who may have no other way to do the Lord's work! The beauty of the Web is that, (unlike producing printed products or video), what you decide to develop is not set in stone. Everything you produce can, and should, be changed as the project evolves. One of the best ways to decide what you should do online is to look at other Web sites. This leads to the next step getting online. Along with the Webmaster, the church itself should have an account with a local Internet Service Provider (ISP) that can be shared with the Web design team. You should be able to locate a good provider in your area or find a national provider in any of the computer magazines on the market. To maintain an account with an ISP, you can expect to pay between $15-35 per month, depending on where you're located and how much online time you need. This will enable you to cruise the Net and look around to see what other churches are doing. Some starting points are the Churches & Denominations section on GOSHEN (http://www.goshen.net/) or you can search the database of churches at NetChurch (http://www.netchurch.com/). You can even see how those churches did what they did by looking at the source for their pages. (Most WWW browsers have this function).
Once your team has their ideas organized and you've cruised the Net a little, you're almost ready to take the plunge and set up your Web site. The next step you'll need to take is finding space for your Web information. Your ISP will have rates for how much it will cost for this space. But, wait! Before you go back to your committees and request even more money from the budget, there are ways to get your pages up without adding to your monthly ISP bill. The first option is to see if your ISP will donate Web space. Many ISPs are providing free Web space to non-profit organizations in exchange for a brief mention of them on your pages. If your ISP does not have such a policy, then contact the staff at GOSHEN (e-mail: dking@goshen.net) they provide free Web space to Christian organizations. (If you intend to upload the pages yourself, there will be a small setup fee for establishing your account.)
Once you've got your ideas down, an initial design figured out and have reserved some Web space, you're ready to create the pages and put them into cyberspace. Find a good book on HTML or use the resources on the Net to learn as much about it as you can. Grab some good clip-art and/or scan in your team's artwork. If your budget and expertise allow, digitize some videos and sound clips. Compile the designs and ideas and put together your pages! Most of all, while you're putting everything together, keep in mind some of the possible goals of your site: