WEB EVANGELISM BULLETIN
. . . learning from each other
W-E-B Issue 153 ~ October 07
Every 3 or 4 weeks ISSN 471-0323
CHURCH WEBSITE EVALUATIONS
Our church website self-assessment tool has been upgraded, and now provides a ready-made 15-page report, based on the answers that users provide. Its purpose is to help churches pinpoint areas that can be modified in order to more effectively reach outsiders: InternetEvangelismDay.com/designPlease can you make this known as widely as possible using the news release below - in blogs, online newsletters, print magazines, site links, etc.
The tool can also be syndicated into any Christian resource site using several methods: http://www.internetevangelismday.com/churchdesign-syndicate.php
The news release is also available nicely formatted in RTF format at: http://www.internetevangelismday.com/latestnews
Your feedback and ideas for improving it will be gratefully received. In addition, if you are a PHP expert, and have experience of converting HTML into PDF on the fly, please write. The report page can currently be saved manually into PDF, but I would like to offer a one-click button for this: http://www.internetevangelismday.com/feedback
It would be good to see it translated into other languages as a resource within non-English Christian sites.
NEW ADVANCE FOR CHURCH WEBSITES
Free Church Site Evaluations Now Available Online
"How can our church website help us reach out into our community?" Churches often find it difficult to know how to build sites that will engage with outsiders in their area.A new online tool has been released by Internet Evangelism Day, which provides churches with a free 15-page evaluation report. Users assess their own websites by answering 55 simple questions in the tool questionnaire. A customized report is immediately displayed online, ready to print or save. Its recommendations are tailored with specific suggestions, based on the questions that were ticked. Visit www.InternetEvangelismDay.com/design to use this tool.
Church leaders have warmly welcomed this new resource:
"Most church websites are not evangelistic. The new Church Website Design Tool can help rectify this problem. This is a wonderful tool." Dr. Bill Gordon, Evangelism Response Center, NAMB.
"There is no silver bullet for a great ministry site. However, this checklist is an invaluable tool to identify critical areas for improvement. Every church should study this regularly and act on it!" - Gary McClure, LifeWay Ministries.
A church site which has been prioritized for non-Christian visitors can be remarkably effective in reaching the community. "Week in, week out, more visitors turn up at our church on a Sunday because of the website, than anything else," writes one growing church in London UK.
This Evaluation Tool is just one of a range of pages at InternetEvangelismDay.com that help Christians learn to use the Web to reach the world. Internet Evangelism Day also encourages churches to hold a web awareness focus day on or near 27 April 2008, to explore this huge potential. Their site offers free downloads (PowerPoint, video clips, drama scripts and handouts) so that churches can create a custom program of any length from two minutes to an hour. "I am glad to commend Internet Evangelism Day," says Dr John Stott.
Internet Evangelism Day is a project of the Internet Evangelism Coalition, a group of major ministries involved in web ministry, based at the Billy Graham Center, Wheaton.
Website: www.InternetEvangelismDay.com
OTHER NEWS IN BRIEF
IEC NEWS
Internet Evangelism Coalition October newsletter available online: http://www.webevangelism.com/index.php?id=99
DAMARIS
UK-based culturewatch ministry Damaris are looking for a managing director, as well as media interns: http://www.damaris.org/jobs
FRENCH OUTREACH WEBSITE FINED
On September 27, 2007, Top Chrétien, the largest French internet ministry in the world, was sentenced to pay $12,000 (8,500 Euros) to the Palestinian support organization Committee for Charity and Support for the Palestinians (CBSP): http://www.ccfof.org/ministrypartnerships/TopChretienPRAYER.html
Contact us
