Whether you’re the leader or not in your church, I want to ask you one question: what’s the next big thing for your church?
I’m not talking about doubling your worship service or something like that. But what’s the next significant step you would like to see your church take? What do you think is the next thing your church needs to work on?
[image by mr pins]
In this post I wrote about some website options for your church or ministry. I mentioned several companies out there that are offering very high quality templates that your church can use. They’re systems that you can begin using almost immediately.
One of them was Bridge Element. I just got word from them that they want to offer a $100 discount to readers of Modern Ekklesia when you purchase their $499 website system. The offer is good for the next 90 days. Just tell them we sent you.
Seems like a pretty nice offer to me.
So if you don’t currently have a website or are looking to implement one soon, the clock is ticking. 90 days. Tick…tock…tick…
Easter is just a few days away. So here’s the question: will you be ready to receive guests that want to come?
I recently read a fascinating report by Bob Franquiz called How To Think Like an Unchurched Person. You can download the pdf by clicking on that link. In the document he details his experience of what it was like being a first-time guest at a synagogue.
And the following are four pieces of information that an unchurched person will be looking for on your church website before they come:
1. Service Times. This probably sounds like a no-brainer, but many don’t have that info on their website. Someone should be able to find your service times quickly and without too much hassle. Do you have two service times? Do you start at 10:30am? Do you start at 11:30am? List the times.
2. Directions. Not only should you have the full address listed clearly, but you should also have a link where they can receive turn-by-turn direction through a google map. It’s quite easy these days to insert the Google map of your church address onto your website. For more info on how to do that click here. You should also include clear signage on the inside of your church to help them get around to where they need to go. There’s nothing worse than walking into a new place and having that lost feeling.
3. Service Length. You may list your service times on your website, but do you list how long the service actually lasts? People want to know if they’re going to be sitting there. If you don’t list the times, people may assume the service is three hours long. So share if it’s a 60, 75, or 90 minute service.
4. Dress Code. This is important. What’s the personality of your church like? Do people mostly dress in suits there? Do they mostly dress in jeans and shorts? If it is a more laid back atmosphere, but they come in a suit, they’ll feel quite out of place.
So how are you doing with those? This definitely made me do a double check on our church website. And I found things that I could tweak to make more clear. So if you found anything you need to change, jump on it now. Be ready to receive guests in your church this Easter weekend. So what do you need to add or change?
[image by guarsan]
So this blog is still in transition as you can see. Quite a lot of guts and wires are exposed. And I’ll let the discussion concerning the design continue for another day or two.
But in the meantime I’m jumping back in. There’s been a lot on my mind that I have to get out. So as we continue ignore the rough stuff around the edges. I’ll let you know when it’s ready for a proper viewing.
The official debut is coming soon. I promise. I think.
[image by Keystone IT]
So Modern Ekklesia is in transition at the moment. I’ll tell the full story a little later.
I’ve moved over to WordPress from Blogger and I’m currently using a different theme than I originally thought of using. So far I’m really liking it.
So here’s where I need your help. I’m trying to decide between two possible looks: between the white color scheme as below or with the current scheme (second image). Both will have the logo from the white scheme.
Which one do you prefer so far? Like I said, this one is in transition. It doesn’t even have my title up there, yet. But concerning the overall look which should we go for? The full release will happen next week. I just couldn’t wait to jump back in and post.
Let me know what you think!
Well, this blog is anyway.
ModernEkklesia.com is finally moving to a different home!
I’ve been on Blogger now for almost 1.5 years and I feel it’s finally time to move to a different blogging platform. We’ll be able to add lots of other features that we haven’t been able to have on Blogger. To make a long story short, it’s going to make your user experience much better.
I wanted to let you know because things might not be working right for the next few days as we make our way over. Things might look messy. You’ll see boxes laying around. You might see some toys in the hallway. The garage will be open.
But don’t mind the mess. In a few days we’ll be cleaned up and hopefully better than ever.
Pray the the move goes well. This will be my last post until we move into the new WordPress house.
Love you all!
[image by 7deuce]
It seems that this coming weekend, March 19-20 is the National Day of Unplugging. A group called the “Rebooters” has been promoting the idea of people practicing the ancient custom of the Sabbath. They actually wrote a document called The Sabbath Manifesto in which they detail ten principles that they’re encouraging people to follow on the Sabbath.
