Our New Website
Our new website is finally up and running! I have been looking forward to having this tool in our arsenal of ministry. Someone in our church referred to our website as almost an extension of our building facilities - it is a place of information, a place of learning, and a place of connection (in a metaphysical sort of way!). And I think that is true. So I think it is important to put effort into the presentation of our church from our website. Not just from and aesthetic standpoint but also from a substantive standpoint.
I have prayed for wisdom from the Lord in the presentation and use of our church website. The way I see it, the base-level use of a website is to announce or advertise your presence. That's not a bad use but that is not nearly enough in effectively using a website. The next level up would be to give helpful information to and about functions and philosophies of our church. That is a much more effective use of a website, but my desire is to see our website used for so much more.
Advertisement and information is just not enough when it comes to God's plan for a church. Which brings us to the discussion we have been having as a church lately. God's end purpose for a church is certainly not aesthetics. His end purpose is not even the effective dissemination of information (though this is important, to stop at good education is to commit the sin of the Pharisees). God's end purpose for His people is mission - the advancement of the Kingdom of God (the free rule of God) in this world. I want to see that expectation extended to every aspect of the ministry of C3: the nursery, the children's ministry, the music teams, the preaching, the community involvement......and the website.
A while ago I saw Leonard Sweet, in his book SoulTsunami, call the internet the new cathedral of a community. His thought was that in the middle ages (even all the way up to the beginning of the last century in Europe and America), towns were literally built around church buildings and cathedrals. The courtyard or town square in the center of a city was at the doorstep of the church buildings. The church was the center of, among many other things, the social activity and community contact of the city. It was the gathering place. It was the place of celebrations and festivals. It was the place for meetings and forums. The modernization and secularization of society has made it so that the community no longer meets at the church. Sweet's idea is that the internet has taken that place. People "gather" around the internet for information, ideas, entertainment and, increasingly, for education.
I guess the reason that has stuck with me is that I have always dreamed of website for our church that could function as a kind of "cathedral" site for our us and our community. I would love for our C3 website to be more than just announcements and information but also a place of education, encouragement, connection and worship. So what does that actually look like? I have some ideas, but I think it will be fun, and much more effective (and in keeping with God's design for the function of a church) to dream and implement these things as a church.
What an amazing and exciting time to live and minister. I love being a part of the information age. I love the tools and resources we have available to us. And I don't want to squander anything we have within our reach that could be used for the mission God has called us to.
Blessings
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