A couple days ago, I made the accusation that most church Web sites flat-out stink, and I gave three tools to start the process of evaluating your church Web site and discovering God’s intent for your Web site. I know it sounds a bit cliché, but you better believe that God works through the Internet to reach lives.

I’m still not ready to talk about publishing platforms.  Most pastors that I talk to want me to jump past all the other stuff and head right to “what do I need to buy.”  The problem is that you can’t buy a successful Web presence - it’s an ongoing investment.  It’s a strategy.  For most, if not all, growing churches, the Web site is the central hub of information.

So, how do you de-stinkify your current church Web site.  By the way, if you scored under 10 on WebsiteGrader.com, take heart - so do most other church Web sites.  Now, do something about it.  Here are some action items for your consideration.

1. Determine your target audience.  You need to know who you’re marketing to before you throw stuff onto the Web.  Lifechurch.tv’s Tony Steward details this way better than I can in this post.
2. Plan out your site’s core content and navigation before you enlist any techie geeks.  Don’t just post every piece of information imaginable.  Bobby Gruenewald suggests that we design our mobile site first, before we do anything else.  This forces us to cut the fluff and stay on target.
3. Realize that while techie geeks are necessary for the technical aspects of a Web site, you cannot expect them to own the site and run solo with it.  The geek is not a skilled writer or marketer, he is a skilled designer or developer.  Here are some tips from Jason Reynolds.
4. View the Web as a central communication tool for your congregation and community.  It shouldn’t be a one-man-show or a place that’s neglected.  The Web is not your business card.  Allow it to be the hub that other sources pull from.  For instance, in the weekly bulletin, direct people to the Web for more information rather than giving a phone number.  This saves time for the person responsible for the event by not having to respond to so many calls about an event.  That time can be re-invested in their ministry.  The shift to the Web being the central hub of information will not happen overnight, but you must work to patiently make this ever-important shift.
5. Encourage the entire staff to have ownership.  Everyone should be a contributor.  Jason Reynold’s  post (above) encourages all ministerial staff to write three articles per week for the Web site.  Kevin McCord’s also weighs in here with his post on Web presence.
6. KISS - Don’t have a Web site developed that takes a rocket scientist to update.  Make Web maintenance easy enough for Betty Sue and Reverend Mike.  MeanDean’s got a list similar to mine concocted here.

That’s enough tips for now.  More to follow.  Bottom line, if your church Web site stinks, you need to fix it.  It’s time.

I was talking with a pastor on the phone today about disaster relief, and I asked him if his church had a Web site.  I had searched Google using a number of different phrases, but nothing could be found.  He gave me the address of the site, and it looks pretty enough, but so many SEO rules were broken on the home page alone.

It got me thinking - why do so many churches have cruddy Web sites?  Do we really not understand the Kingdom potential?  Do we really believe there aren’t people in our churches who can help us with this?  Are we overwhelmed by the number of advertisements that come in from people trying to pawn the latest, greatest Web product?

I assume it’s a combination of all of those things.

This post is intended for churches who don’t have the luxury of having a person on staff who knows the intricacies of Web design and SEO.  To you, here are some practical steps for evaluating and correcting your church Web site.

1. First, and I’m not joking, pray about your church Web site.  I believe God wants to work through it.  Pray for guidance.
2. Second, you need to subscribe to Heal Your Church Website.  Here and here are some good posts to get you started.  I’ve been following Dean for many years - he’s got some good, solid advice.
3. Third, run your site through WebsiteGrader.com.  It’s free, and it’s fast.  One warning… your site will get a grade from 0-100.  That number is merely a guide, a starting point.  They are trying to show you some of the glaring SEO issues with your site.  A high number doesn’t necessarily mean your site is any good.  However, a low number is a pretty good indication that your site is stinking up the Web… just sayin.
4. Finally, make some changes.  I’ll unpack this one a little more, but for now, get crackin on the first three steps.

She said it better than I ever could, “It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish.”  This woman was simply amazing with a heart as big as Texas and a dedication to the poor that would put any of us to shame.

While we’ll never have the same global impact as Mother Teresa, we can totally change the world for one child. You see, a simple sacrifice of $32 per month really does save a child’s life.  It releases that child from hopelessness, and it gives him a future.

So, realizing that it’s pretty cheap to save a life, why don’t we take heed to Mother Teresa’s warning.  I think it’s because we’re selfish.  Instead of caring for someone who has nothing, we decide that it’s more important for us to have:

• The iPhone data plan ($30/month)
• Satellite television with HD and DVR ($75/month)
• A $3 coffee every morning ($90/month)

See, I could make that list go on forever.  We just have to have the DVR and data plan.  Yet, somehow our conviction to answer God’s call to minister to the needs of the poor and oppressed are not quite as important.

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. (Proverbs 31:8)

Tomorrow is Blog Action Day 2008.  It’s not too late to get registered.  This year, the topic is near and dear to my heart - poverty.  I’m a major supporter of Compassion International.  I believe wholeheartedly in their approach to releasing children from their social, educational, physical and spiritual poverty.  Won’t you join me tomorrow for Blog Action Day?  Then, take action; change the world; let God use you in a special way; sponsor a child with Compassion.

Also, here’s 88 other ways to get you started in fighting poverty!

I’m going through a new book now. Hope Lives is a five-week journey of introspection and prayer.  Color me convicted already, on the third day in this journey.  There’s a simple chart on page 21, titled “Gross National Income per capita 2003.”

Did you know that in 2003, the average American made $37,610?*  We have this idea that that’s a somewhat meager American income, and we might even say that it is just scraping by.  I know that I’m somewhere close to that mark, and I’ve been personally guilty of thinking that I’m just scraping by.

Pair that knowledge with the bottom of the chart.  Ethiopia is at the bottom of the GNI chart.  According to the same information, the average Ethiopian made only $90 for the entire year of 2003.  That’s convicting.  The average American made more money than 417 Ethiopians put together.

What really got me was my wastefulness.  I worked out the math today, and I spend an average of $5.38 per DAY on beverages.  My typical beverage of choice is a Diet Coke.  I love them.  That number goes up dramatically when I pay Seattle’s Best or Starbucks a visit.  So, my $5.38 per day on beverages comes out to be $1,963 per year.  So, the bitter realization is that I spend more on beverages in any given year than 21 Ethiopians spend on EVERYTHING.

Action.  I know that I can do without Diet Coke and Starbucks.  Neither of those companies will wither and die.  21 Ethiopians might.  So, I’m going to fast from beverages for at least this week.  I’m hoping to make it permanent.  I will consciously put money that I would have spent on them into a fund for the work that Compassion International is doing.  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, Compassion is an organization you can put 100% of your trust in.  God is working in huge ways through them, and if you don’t already sponsor a child - do it today.

* Source: World Bank, “GNI per Capita 2003,” World Development Indicators database (New York: World Bank, 2004)