I know someone who is starting at a secular college this year and was thinking through what a good church might be for them. In other words, I tried to put myself in the mindset of an 18 year old Christian going to college, but as someone who knows a little something about college and about churches.
So I was looking for a church that would be engaging, that would provide a community of Christian peers. I was looking for a church that would be warm-hearted, generous and inviting, one that was engaged with the needs of its community and the world. I knew a "preachy" church would not keep them coming--sorry, that's just the way it is for good or ill. A church with people who looked different from everyone else would not fit the bill. Again, we can say "should, should, should" till we're blue in the face... and you can watch the youth from your church stop going to church when they go off to college.
So, understandably, I did a web search to see if there might be a Wesleyan Church in the area that would fit the bill. I found more than one listed in maps, listed in local church listings, even in district information. I could even see pictures of them in Google maps. What I couldn't find was a webpage.
And so here's reality. I doubt very seriously that my friend will be attending a Wesleyan church there. Shoulds don't hack it. Reality doesn't care. Get a webpage. A church without a webpage in the twenty-first century is a church without a future, I predict, for all the things that lack of a webpage say about it. This of course is to say nothing about the godliness of the church, only about its destiny.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
We had a similar conversation at my church before we were able to go forward with a web site renovation. My opinion is that the web site has replaced the yellow page and newspaper ads. I still believe the number one way people come to a church is being invited by a friend, but the web site is probably the number one way people (at least Gen X and younger) will prescreen a church.
I manage a web/blog page as well as a facebook page for our church. I post pictures, goings on at church, as well as news of interest from around the world.I have a feedjit tool which shows that we have have hits from literally around the world.They may never visit our church, but might receive the Gospel.
Post a Comment