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A church needs an effective website as a vital element of its communication strategy. Without a website, a church is still making a statement, especially to the younger generation which relies on the Internet for news and information. They use e-mail and instant messaging to contact friends and colleagues around the world. They effortlessly use websites to quickly and conveniently access more information than has ever before been available.

Over the last decade, the Internet has created incredible changes in the way we communicate, in much the same way the telephone did in the years after its acceptance. In my opinion, having a website today is just as important as having a telephone.

To reach its full potential as an effective communication tool, a website must be regarded by church leadership as necessary and important. My own church is an example of what typically happens with church websites. Five years ago, one forward-thinking individual in our church took it upon himself to get a Web address and create a simple website for the church. Some church leaders knew of the website, but none took any responsibility for it. The website sat unchanged for a year and a half. Without up-to-date or timely information, there was no reason for anyone to come back to our site.

To get around the problem of a stale website, or to get one started, your church needs to (if it hasn't done so already) establish a website committee. The committee's job is to define the purpose and goals of a website and establish procedures for managing its content. The committee is responsible for the content, design, and development of the website. It chooses who will design the website, and defines the technology and process that will be used to manage the content. These choices will, of course, be influenced by the budget available for website development and maintenance. A few of the most common options will be discussed later in this article.

This committee can be just one person, but it's better to involve several people who have expertise in different areas—and not just technological. You'll want someone with good writing skills to oversee the content. It's important that this committee be accountable to a paid staff member or the church board, in order to keep the website an ongoing focus of the church. Relying on volunteers with no official recognition or integration into the business structure of the church is not a long-term strategy. From my experience, it will always end up with an out-of-date website.

Understanding some basics about website design will help shape your committee's direction. A website's design includes the church's visual identity, the graphical look of the website, and the site's navigation. These three work together to create the user experience.

A website should present a professional look while giving the user a sense of the personality of your church. If you have any established graphical standards, like a logo and colors, these should be reflected in the website design. Design is a whole process unto itself which cannot be covered here. But to get that professional look, don't settle for clip art thrown together with your church logo.

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