Archive for July, 2006
A Job Description for Your Church’s Web Site: 6 Essential Tasks
Posted by: | CommentsWith an estimated 145 million-plus people surfing the Internet in the United States alone, churches have an excellent opportunity to fulfill their mission and share their message through their Web sites.Most, though, are not fully taking advantage of this valuable resource. They may have a presence on the Internet, but their sites are weak and ineffective, at best, in helping them accomplish their mission.
Your church’s Web site can –? and SHOULD –? do a number of things. It should:
1. Be a communications vehicle for the congregation — use it to keep your members informed with calendars, email newsletters, event information and fresh, up-to-date content
2. Be a 24/7 interactive brochure – it’s the equivalent of a retail store’s street display, so show off your church’s finest “benefits”
3. Be a tool for your members to invite others — give them something they can use to help bring their friends, coworkers, neighbors to church
4. Be a welcome mat for guests – allow them to Â?look through the windows before buyingÂ? and find all the relevant information they need to feel comfortable
5. Be a hub for spiritual resources — provide solid links to resources that will equip your people
6. Be another way for your church to share the Gospel — communicate the life-changing message of Christ with your site (there are dozens of solid Gospel presentations on the web to link to … for example, www.needhim.org.)
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Capitalize on Your Strengths
Posted by: | CommentsOver the weekend, I bought “Now, Discover Your Strengths,” the best-selling book based on a huge research project by Gallup.
It was incredibly enlightening as well as confirming to say the least.
I’ve taken the Myers-Briggs test (one of my favorites) and others, but this one rocks. It focuses on your strengths rather than your weaknesses (obviously).
The premise is: All of us have a core set of strenghts — things we consistently excel at — and we should therefore major on those things. These are also the areas you derive the most satisfaction from.
The authors tell us we should find opportunities that play to our strengths, that allow you to focus on the things you do excellently without much effort.
I found my top five strengths were:
- Learner — why I have 8 books on my nightstand and five others around the house, and constantly have to be reading something
- Individualization — recognizing others strengths
- Maximizer — taking good to great
- Futuristic — vision casting; seeing “over the horizon”
- Intellection — always thinkingWhy is all this important to churches? Understanding each other, our strengths, and how we work, we can become more efficient and effective for the Kingdom.
Here are some other links:
- The author — good audio and video clips, along with free PDF downloads
- Gallup’s Book Center for “Discover Your Strength — more free articlesAmazon has the book for $18 … it includes a serial number in the book cover for the online test. It takes about 40 minutes and you have a report ready for you at the end detailing your top five strengths.
If you buy it and take the test, please share your strengths with me!
