CHURCH TECHNOLOGY: Lewisville church finds value in website

LEWISVILLE–“Welcome to Trinity, a congregation in North Central Texas centered on Jesus, focused on the Bible, supportive of missions, and seeking the ancient paths.”

This is the opening “blurb” on the website of Trinity Baptist Church of Lewisville, one of many SBTC church sites that prove smaller congregations can maintain helpful and well-designed Internet locations.

David Sparks, deacon at Trinity and webmaster of the church’s website, said that the site simply meets the needs of modern churchgoers. “I would say we’ve had the site online for more than four years,” he said. “Those who managed the site back then knew that one day everyone would have Internet access, and that the Internet would be how most folks did research on something. They were right.

Although the design and layout have drastically changed since then, the basic content remains the same, but now in an expanded form. “We’ve always wanted the first-time site guest to discover basic information about the church,” he said.

Despite Sparks’ claim that the site he maintains is “nothing fancy,” Trinity’s Internet location (www.trinitybaptist.com) provides a wide range of creative and helpful features, beyond the usual site areas displaying a church’s staff, ministries and history. For instance, Trinity’s “Missions” page contains helpful links to information about the church’s many outreach activities. A special “Video Clips” page allows members and visitors alike to view recent church video displays, from a Mother’s Day tribute film to seven minutes of highlights from a recent children’s “Mini-Camp.” Likewise, Sunday worship bulletins from the last several weeks are available directly from the site’s front page.

Yet even with all these aspects, the information is presented in an organized, eye-pleasing way. “There are many excellent church sites that have more advanced design tools while keeping content clear and easy,” Sparks said. “We took the approach that the more simple and clear a site is, the more people want to return to it. [A visitor’s] senses are not assaulted while enjoying the site. In today’s busy world, messages need to be simple, clear, and understandable, especially when conveying the gospel.”

Sparks said his job involves more than simply placing information in people’s hands. “My passion as webmaster revolves around my strong desire to honor God with all the excellence I can bring forth in my role,” he said. “That’s why I try to make the site as clean, professional looking, and full of helpful content as I possibly can.”

Sparks said he aims for the site to mirror the ministry of the church, including the church’s “paramount importance [on] Bible exposition” and its “tribute given to theologians and preachers who have gone before us.” To do that, Trinity’s site includes an extensive online sermon archive. Not only does this include audio messages from Sunday services dating to the beginning of the year, but it also includes key sermons from J.I. Packer, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, A.W. Tozer and others.

How does a church begin building its online presence? After determining the site’s purpose, “a commitment must be made by all involved,” Sparks said. “It’s a big commitment, and no one without passion to help with the site should volunteer.”

John Bell, associate pastor at the church, encourages designers to “Check your own church for resident geeks” to help with the process. “It’s the best way to keep control of your website. They do have to be committed, because it is a hard job keeping the site updated.”

Sparks recommends creating an Internet “subcommittee” at the church, which could report to the church’s outreach ministry. After creating “trial” sites, the webmaster should seek a consensus about the site’s design and functions. “But be prepared to make recommendations if you are the webmaster,” he said, “especially if you have the trust of your staff and committee members.”

Finally, Sparks said “make an announcement that you’re looking for members from each ministry to help keep the site current, and move forward from there.”

As you proceed, those involved in maintaining the site must “communicate well with the church staff.”

The site has been helpful for the congregation and an online presence has helped bring those from the community to the congregation as well.

“I am amazed by the number of guests who show up and mention they found us because of our website,” Bell remarked.

“We are using the site to attract guests to our church, by finding out as much about our church as they would like-from activities to beliers,” Bell said. “I can’t say I’ve been surprised by much of anything” when it comes to the website, “except possibly the number of hits”—80,000 visitors to the site per month.

To illustrate, Sparks recalled a family who recently visited the church after viewing several of the church’s online features. “The father found our website and downloaded several of Pastor Bandy’s sermons,” he said.  “He also downloaded the online sermon notes, and, using both, evaluated us.  He then found our AWANA page, since his kids were involved [in that ministry] in their previous church.  As a result, the family visited our church on Sunday morning.”