There are two groups of people who will visit the church website:
The first is people who are checking out the church to see if they might want to visit or attend. They may be new to the area, etc… and are trying to get a feel for what the church is like. In my opinion, a front page video loop of worship, the preaching pastor, the kids areas, and the general vibe/feel of the church is great for this – in 15 seconds, you can give people a very good idea of who you are.
The second group is people from your congregation who are looking for info regarding some upcoming event. A front page link to an events page will help people to find what they need quickly. Minimize the amount of clicking that people need to do to get to where they are going, and make registration forms easy to fill out and understand.
That’s it. There really is no other purpose to go there. As much as we’d like to think that the congregation are regularly exploring the church website looking for updates and inspiration, it just doesn’t happen in real life. Think of your own experiences with restaurant websites, for example – the only times you would go there is to see what it looks like or read reviews before your first visit, or to check the menu before a lunch stop. You’re not hanging out on the site daily just for fun. Having a realistic view helps you to prioritize and provide simple solutions for guests and the congregation.
Hmmm - well, let's see...
I'm a Christian, a husband, a dad, a son, a pastor, a consultant, a musician, a writer, and bits and pieces of a bunch of other things. My work life has followed three main phases - business to teaching to church. I was the Weekend Services Pastor for nine years at Northview Church, an awesome church in the Indianapolis suburbs. I used to work for Willow Creek, another awesome church in the Chicago area. Plus I've written for various magazines and websites, and other freelancy sorts of things... My life mission is to help the church be as excellent as it can be.
Oh yeah - the name's Greg. Greg Wallace. But not the race car driver or the major league pitcher or the British celebrity chef. Just the creative worship guy. Hi.
It's my hope that these ideas, musings, rants, raves, etc... will inspire you. They're just my opinions - but again, I hope that they'll help to inspire you. Because the church really, really needs inspired creative types. If you're a creative type (and most people are, deep-down), ask God for help. Then take any ideas that are useful to you - borrow them, nab them, use them, adapt them - and make them into something greater...
You can head over to my Instagram site for an abundance of shorter posts: creativeworshipideas. If you're looking for consulting - especially on weekend services, team leadership or multi-site strategies - I'd love to help. Just message me here, and I'll be in touch - Greg
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