I know what you are thinking. A designer talking about paying tithes. Don’t we get enough of this at church?

What exactly does stewardship mean? To many it means paying the bills, keeping up with your tithes and offerings, and basically not throwing money away. However, the true meaning in a nutshell is: Stewardship is using God’s Human Resources with Wisdom.

Okay that sounds a bit confusing to some people. It means taking care of what God has provided and using it to the best of our ability that it might promote His Kingdom.

James 1:22 says, ‘Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only.’ That pretty much sums it up for being a steward as well.

So, why am I talking about stewardship on a design blog?

You Asked For It

Wait! We didn’t ask! Sure you did. But how? By not using wisdom in the resources God has given you to build the kingdom. But what are you talking about?

The last few years there has been a lot of changes in our world. Environmentalists talk a lot about saving the environment, global warming, climate change. Let’s get real. They do not care about the world or climate change. They are using it as a gimmick to raise money and have their own agenda become the laws that we live by. They could care less about what really happens to our world.

Even if every American did exactly what they are told: conserve water, reduce emissions, build green, it would do nothing to change the outcome on the global scale. There will still be countries that could care less about what the pollution does to the environment, and they will not cut back on manufacturing, etc.. but I digress…

How does this apply to me? To my stewardship that you claim I am lacking in? I pay my tithes. I provide for my family. And why on a design blog?

Because…

Earlier this morning I tried to go to a website that had been touted on Facebook about having one of my favorite preachers speaking today.  It was difficult to find, even their Facebook page has disappeared. So I searched and google couldn’t find it. What?

Then I went to a district website and found the link to their site. Went to the site, and it said…

We are taking a maintenance break. Please visit back soon!

That is all. No date as to when they expected to be back; No further information as to the reasons behind the break; not even basic information to give an address or phone number to their church. No contact information providing anyone, even sinners, or backsliders, directions to finding the church.

I am shocked and appalled. Not just because I am a web developer, but because I am a Christian who believes that we should always be reaching for souls. Jesus never started up the hill to die on the cross and decided to take a ‘maintenance break.’

Yeah, I know. Sometimes churches really do have to update their sites. And sometimes the person in charge really has no idea what they are doing and it can take time. For me the problem is that I tried to go to this same site almost 9 months ago and at that same time it was taking the same break. So what seems to be the problem?

Failing Stewardship Tests

Trying to give them the benefit of the doubt, I went back to the Facebook page of the church that had posted the information about the preacher being at this church. I went to their About tab, and clicked on the link to their website. They had a link.. cool.

Guess what? They had allowed their hosting to expire and now you go to the hosting site.

The sad part about this, is this was a church I had built a website for previously. It was a smaller church and so I worked them out a very affordable deal. I even did monthly updates to the calendar, added new graphics monthly to the site if they had something special going on, and kept their site looking fresh…for $35 a month. But when the new pastor came in, he told me he felt he was paying too much for a website; that they had people who could do that in the church and keep it updated and more modern, and I had to eat the cost of the site design, and lost a client that I was trying to help spread the message.

And now their domain points to a hosting page and they have no site. Again, another church that is not using the resources they have been given by God to reach their community, and the world. And the thing is, I am very affordable. I make decisions on cost based on what you need, and the size of your congregation. I donate (or you could call it tithing, or good stewardship) to a lot of smaller churches simply because I feel the message is that important.  I am reminded of the parable of the talents, but you should already know that story.. so I will stay on point.

What Are You Doing?

To freshen up my own design skills, many times I browse the web and find other churches and business websites to see what looks good, fresh, current, and would be good and useful for the websites I create for my clients. I want you to be the best and present the message quickly and in the best possible light. We are the light of the world, after all.

I want your site in its ‘Sunday Best!’

It is sad though how many Apostolic or Pentecostal churches do not keep up with their sites. Or they made one in 1999 and have not updated it since, even some with new pastors, and buildings.  I mean come on, you cannot take a few minutes a month to update? Or hire me, or anyone you want, to keep your site updated?

There are such simple ways to do it. Why are we stuck? Or is it that we really do not think its important to reach the lost? Because face it 1 in 10 of your church members might view your website one time a month, but 9 out of 10 who are invited to your church, or feel a hunger for God.. will go to your church website first before they ever darken your door. And if you do not have a website? Or your website is out of date, or on ‘maintenance?’  Let the lost and hungry be lost, I guess?

Do You Need A Makeover?

No, God hasn’t changed. The message hasn’t changed. But we would not go to church wearing dirty underwear, and clothes that have not been washed in six months, would we? Same goes for your church website.

About a 1 1/2 years ago, maybe a bit more I posted about your website needing a makeover, and it still does.. perhaps you can take some time to read it.

Signs It is TIME For A Makeover

If you are ready for a makeover, or need a website for your church, contact us. We are very affordable and we update all the time to give you the best possible tools to reach your community and your world. It is good stewardship.

apostolicvision design services

It has been quite a summer. Sometimes we get so busy with life that we tend to neglect things that don’t seem as relevant to us at the moment.  I must apologize because I do believe that keeping updated on my design blog is important.

These past couple months I have went through some health battles,  started working for a radio station, updated my commercial website, and helped plan and celebrate my parents 50th anniversary.

With all that has happened, it would be easy to excuse not updating my blog and design website, but when we do that, we get caught in the trap of rationalization and before we know it, not only days have passed, but weeks, months, sometimes years. It is hard to catch up, and so rather than deal  with it, we just seem to forget it.

A lot of ministry websites are in serious need of updating. Some need completely redesigned. I have covered this topic before, but it bears repeating. It is one aspect of ministry that can be forgotten, but it is very important.

UPDATE YOUR LINKS!

Recently, I went to a website to check out their live stream video of a conference and while I enjoyed the services immensely, I was distracted a bit, because it was hard to find which link to click. Someone had taken the time to link to the videos, but they had forgotten to place those links on the front page of their website. Overall their website was decent, but its very important to make sure links work and are in proper places for people to be able to find them.

Your ministry website reaches places you might never be able to go. World wide, you may be touching souls, but if it is a difficult search to find where your message is, chances are they will give up looking. Its just a fact of life. We are willing to search, but many of us don’t dig too deep.

A FEW SUGGESTIONS

If your website is more than ten years old, chances are you need a new website or at least a redesign. Truthfully, if you have a website five years old, its probably only accessible to a few people.  Just as we update our wardrobe when it no longer fits, it is important to update the way people contact us. Our world is forever changing.

Here are a few suggestions for areas to update on your ministry website, that would not be too hard.

• DOMAIN If your domain is not reflect your current church name, then it needs to be changed. Many churches by a domain name once, and then change the name of their church, or their pastor, or have a domain that is not easy to remember. You can update your website simply by changing to a name that is easier to remember and more appropriate to your website. (You can keep your current domain pointed to the new one, just for the few stragglers that don’t like change.0
• TWITTER If you haven’t heard of Twitter by now, then perhaps the internet is not available in your area. And you probably do not have a cell phone. However, Twitter is a valuable asset for your ministry.  Your current church members can receive important updates, your church schedule,  special speakers,  and other information on their cell phones, Facebook, or own Twitter pages simply from you sending out one small 140 character paragraph. And, it can be embedded in your website to keep it up to date.
• PHOTOGRAPHS One of the areas churches really lack in, is updating the photos on their sites. Sometimes, the photo they have of the pastor is more than five years old, and you might even still have the former pastor’s photo on the page. Very important that people who visit your church are not greeted by someone that doesn’t match what is on your website. (PS. New Visitors will check out your website, before they ever step foot in your sanctuary.)
• CALENDAR It seems obvious, but many churches update their calendars for hand out, or in their announcements, but forget to keep it updated on their website. (While a calendar on your website might not seem important, it is a way for visitors to know that a special even is happening, or this coming Sunday we will be meeting at the park, or a concert is planned for this Tuesday.)
• VIDEO While it used to be very difficult or expensive to include video on your website, it has become relatively easy. Everyone knows about YouTube, and other websites that allow you to upload video to share with others. It is available on cell phones, Ipad, or on the web, and can be embedded directly in your website. it is a very accepted practice, and can help make your website more user friendly and approachable.

Today on a ministry website, I came across the following video. It was very stirring to me, and I hope it blesses you as well. GBU