Unlike the previous books I’ve read for this project, which focus on how churches communicate through many different mediums, Mark Stephenson’s 209 page Web-Empowered Ministry: Connecting With People through Websites, Social Media, and More
Internet Ministry
Beyond having just an internet presence, I loved Stephenson’s emphasis on having an internet ministry, as opposed to just a good church website. Using language like “website development” implies a project to be completed, where the term internet ministry emphasizes the reality that an online presence is an ongoing project. As he says, “The only thing worse than not having a church website is having a website that is obviously out of date. An incorrect website is not only misleading, it is a negative reflection on your organization.” (Pg. 8)
As part of treating the website as a ministry, Stephenson also focuses on the need for a team to run the ministry. He goes through all the different team roles involved in a church website ministry, discussing how to find volunteers, and sharing mistakes and lessons from his own church’s experience.
Copyright, Accessibility, Web Design
Some of the other parts of the book that I found potentially useful were the section on potential copyright and legal issues, as well as a discussion of accessibility issues, areas that many churches could pay much more attention to. Stephenson also includes some good discussion of church website design considerations, navigation, and promotion. Unfortunately, some parts of the book feel somewhat like an advertisement for the author’s Web-Empowered Church software, a paid service for churches. This is natural, since that’s what he’s familiar with, but it still feels a bit pushy at times.
Technical Difficulties
Two chapters focus on different technologies that may be used in good church websites. These chapters bog down a bit, with tons of acronyms (some of which, but not all, are explained). If this section is targeted at readers with little or no technical experience, it will probably go over their heads, and there are simpler books available to learn from. If it is targeted at more advanced readers, then they most likely already know these terms and technologies in far more detail than Stephenson goes into. I fear that these two chapters add no real value for readers who either already know what they are talking about, or will be scared off by the very techno-babble Stephenson is attempting to explain. A church website can be made without much of any understanding of any of the technologies he talks about, using something like WordPress
The chapter on “Constructing Your Website” covers topics like looking at server features and choosing a web host. This information is valuable, but again, it conveniently feels a bit like an advertisement for the Web-Empowered Church hosting service. Of course, this isn’t really surprising, since naturally the author’s product includes the features he considers valuable. I just suggest recognizing that the advice in these sections may not be completely unbiased.
Practical Suggestions
The last couple chapters have some good, inspiring anecdotes about different ways ministry can happen through the internet, as well as a variety of ideas of features for an internet ministry. Many of these features seem obvious to me, like an online newsletter, mission trip photo gallery, and event notifications, but since many churches don’t seem to do very well at using these, the information is valuable. Most churches cannot and should not be doing all of these, but there’s something here for any church of any size.
Overall, Web-Empowered Ministry is the most comprehensive book I’ve read thus far about church websites. If your church doesn’t have a website, this book will be useful to you as you’re thinking about what to include, but don’t be overwhelmed by everything that’s in it. If your church currently has a website but you’re looking to expand your online ministry, you’ll find a lot of good ideas here for expansion. Just be willing to skim over the parts that don’t apply to your situation.