Hi! Welcome to GoodChurchWebsite.com, a site exploring how to more effectively use technology in ministry.
Have you ever asked:
- What are visitors looking for on a church website?
- Why do I even need to deal with a website? Don’t I have enough to do at church already?
- How can I use social media for ministry without wasting my time?
- Who should I be trying to reach online?
Or if you just haven’t been sure how to get started with your church website or you’re looking for ways to improve it, then you’re in the right place!
At Good Church Website, you’ll find resources to help you, no matter what level of comfort you have with web technology. Whether your church’s current site is a custom designed full modern site, a Facebook page, a single page in a denominational directory, or even currently nonexistent, you can find information here to help you improve it.
Who am I?
I’m Daniel Flucke. I graduated from Luther College in 2012 with a double major in the unusual combination of Computer Science and Religion, and I’m a student at Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa. After completing a year-long pastoral internship at St. Peter Lutheran Church in Dubuque, Iowa, I now serve as Pastor at St. Peter Lutheran Church in Greene, Iowa since July, 2016. I’m in a unique place to explore the intersections between technology and ministry.
I’ve been involved in church all my life, and I started discerning a call to professional pastoral ministry back in high school. You can read a lot more about my call story in my candidacy essay. I’ve also had a passion for websites and the internet’s potential to affect people’s lives for a long time. I registered my first domain name when I was 16 years old, and I went on to get a computer science degree and do a programming summer internship before I decided to go to seminary.
When my wife and I moved to Dubuque for seminary, we began looking for a church, and I realized just how much of an impression a church’s website makes. You can read more of that story here, but basically, I believe visitors often pick a church based on its website.
I also realized that many pastors and church leaders have no idea how to develop or maintain a website. While there are some truly great church sites, there are many that are appalling bad. There are even many churches that still don’t have any online presence. I want to do my part to help change that reality. Improving a church website doesn’t have to be complicated!
Personally, I come from an ELCA Lutheran background, but nearly all of the challenges of online ministry are common to churches across denominational boundaries. All of us have room to learn and grow.
I spent my first seminary January term doing an independent study on what makes a church website effective. Here’s my original project description:
The website is the first encounter many people have with a congregation. Yet, many church websites are outdated, unhelpful, and flat-out ugly. Through this project, I intend to examine a variety of church websites, both Lutheran and non-Lutheran, looking for the common characteristics of effective church websites. I will produce an internet-based resource with guidelines and best practices for effective church websites, containing suggestions to include on a church website, things to avoid, and simple resources to use in creating and maintaining a church website.
This site is that “internet-based resource.” Since that J-Term class ended, I’m continuing to improve this website to help churches and pastors more effectively use websites and social media tools for ministry. For some more on my goals and plan for this site, read my Site Goals Six Month Re-focus post.
Again, thanks for visiting Good Church Website! Be sure to follow me on Twitter at @danielflucke for lots of practical tips. Blessings on your ministry, and I hope you find this site helpful to you and your church.
Are you interested in contributing? Check my policy on guest posts. I want to answer your questions, so please get in touch and let me know how I can help, or what articles you want to see.
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