Well its no Dog with a Blog and I really can not say that
this blog has changed the world or has been widely read, but it does give me an
avenue within the context of my pastoral ministry and leadership to offer those
within my life and ministry to gain a greater glimpse into how their faith
interacts with the world in which we all live.
This week the new website for the church with which I serve
goes live! The church is The Episcopal Church of St. Luke & St. Peter’s and
the website is www.lukeandpeter.org.
This new website replaces a perfectly adequate website which
has served our church for many years. This new site however does some things
the old site does not. First, it connects potential visitors and our current
members with pictures and videos of happenings at our church. Second, it also
connects visitors and members with online Calendars, social media, sermons and my
pastors blog. This will allow visitors to gain a much fuller grasp of who we
are, what we do and what we believe. It will also connect current members to
the life of the church in a more comprehensive fashion.
I love what a Barna group survey from the late 1990’s (yes
eon’s ago) indicated of visitors to churches who were looking for a new home. This
survey posited from a study it did on persons searching for new churches that
visitors to our church will know within five minutes of walking through our
doors whether or not they would ever come back. Visitors first impressions of
how they are welcomed as well as the ‘curb appeal’ which shows that the church
has resources for ministry is vitally important if we ever want a visitor to
remain.
Churches took this information and started welcome ministries
that began the greeting process on Sunday mornings from the moment a person’s
car come onto their property. They also made sure that their campuses were well
maintained and beautiful as a mark of ministry. I think anyone in business
understands the principle that making people feel welcome is truly tremendously
important to inviting and maintaining clientele.
However we no longer live in the 1990’s when visitors found us
in the phone book or with a print ad without any knowledge of what the church
is really like. Their first impression of a church was when they stepped onto
the church campus and how they are greeted once they arrived. Today, potential
visitors will take their first steps into our church by finding us online. In
today’s world, potential visitors will judge whether or not they will even set
foot on our church campus based on what they find via our website and social
media. This means online welcoming and online ‘curb appeal’ which allows
visitors to easily find us and explore who we are is of the utmost importance.I would be surprised if you disagreed with this assessment because you are most likely reading it on my Blog. Anyone who takes the time to read a blog understands that in our world today we first search online for everything in order to determine what we will search it out in person. Our new Website attempts to bridge this gap by creating a website which will mirror the welcome and family friendly nature of our Church. We hope that by searching us out online, you would be a church which desires to warmly welcome you as a part of that family whether you have found us for the first time or have been a member for years.
The Church of St. Luke & St. Peter's Has two new websites one for our church and one for our preschool, both of which we believe are reflections of what you will find when you visit us in person.
Church website: www.lukeandpeter.org
Preschool website www.lukeandpeterpreschool.org
Fr. Rob+
