Our church is using Church Plant Media to design a new website for us. I’ll link to it when it’s done. They recently designed the new Acts 29 Network website, the new Coral Ridge website, and the new Master’s College Undergrad website.
I asked them if they would consider doing a free website design giveaway to a pastor who reads Between Two Worlds. They were happy to do this, and offered to answer some questions for those who want to know more about them and their vision. Stay tuned for details on the website giveaway.
Here’s the interview:
Tell us a little bit about Church Plant Media. Who are you, what do you do, when did you start?
We are a team of ten people who want to expand the reach of the Gospel via the Internet. We consider ourselves first and foremost a Gospel company, and secondly, a web design company. Our partnership base is made up of church plants, existing churches, church planting organizations, and a few church-related conferences. We design websites for them that look great, are easy to navigate, and very simple to maintain. We started out in 1998 by initially working with churches, companies, and non-profit organizations. As we began to work with more and more church planters, we felt God was directing us to serve them specifically. So we created a service that would give churches the high quality they needed at an affordable price.
Do you design websites for any church that asks?
We do not serve all churches. Many churches have departed from the biblical Gospel found in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. Since this Gospel is the foundation of everything we do as a company, we view the websites that we provide as a stewarded partnership in the Gospel. Therefore, every church and church planting organization we partner with must agree to and sign our Statement of Belief. This statement includes 5 simple truths about the authority of the Bible, the Trinity, the sinlessness of Jesus, the sinfulness of man, and the death of Jesus for sinners. Pretty standard teaching for Bible-believing churches, but unfortunately, many churches teach a corrupted Gospel. In the past we had a few of these churches approach us for work, so we decided to draw a line in the sand and only work with churches who proclaim a biblical Gospel.
Since churches are called to be good stewards of their resources, why do you guys think it’s worth investing in a quality website?
We believe a great website will position a church to serve more people with the Gospel. Since the vast majority of all people in the U.S. frequently use the Internet, the church website is the first impression that most people will have of the church. This is especially true with portable church plants who do not own a building or have a physical presence in the community. The website should be viewed as the literal front door of the church and a critical tool for ongoing discipleship (via podcasts and blogs). Another aspect to keep in mind are the people that move to your community. The majority of these folks will try to find a church in their new community by using Google. Websites that display in the first 20 or so listings will have the best shot of grabbing their attention. Our websites are built to address all of these needs, and our Content Management System makes it easy for any church secretary, pastor, or volunteer to update.
For those out there thinking about a redesign, what are some good principles for them to keep in mind?
Usability is huge. We make sure the user interface in all of our designs is perfectly clear, so a visitor will know how to quickly find all of the content they are looking for. We put a visual emphasis on sermons, events and general information about where the church meets or what a visitor can expect. We also believe a good design should reflect who the church is, not how cool the church wants to be. If there is a cowboy church that meets in the heart of Seattle, then their site should reflect their internal, cowboy culture, not urban Seattle. Know who you are, and go with a design that reflects the vibe of your church. You should also remember that something isn’t always better than nothing. A pastor would never step into the pulpit and only say “this sermon is still under construction, content coming soon.” In the same way, it is never a good idea to write that anywhere on the website. A good habit to get into is to always under-promise and over-deliver.
What are some common mistaken assumptions or practices that are often made when thinking about a church website?
Churches often make the mistake that they think need to load up their website with as much “bling” as possible. But the opposite is true. Churches should take a hard look at their website and remove anything that distracts from what their website visitors need. People are primarily looking for two things when they come to the church website: (1) Does this church feel like a place I would be comfortable visiting? and (2) Where, when, and why should I visit? So it is very important that the design of the site accurately reflects the honest vibe of the church. Once a visitor decides to visit the church, they will be asking questions like: Does this place truly feel as friendly, warm, personal, and authentic as the website showed me? We maintain a wide variety of design styles to serve these individual church needs, preferences, and cultural differences.
If you want to learn more about Church Plant Media, visit their Frequently Asked Questions page or their Statement of Belief page to learn more. I’m excited and grateful that a church will get a new website through this. Again, stay tuned!
[FYI: This isn’t a paid ad or sponsored post for Church Plant Media.]
