A few years ago, I was updating our church web site after it had been allowed to get really, badly out of date. My idea was to do a rather generic site, on the theory that it was less embarassing to have too little information than to have out-of-date information, and I personally didn't have time to do the calendar each week. But our pastor at the time kept asking about a way to put current activities on the site.

So I tried setting up a blog, where all of our various department heads would have access to post their activities and announcements. Unfortunately, after a few experimental posts, everyone lost interest, and now the announcement blog is nearly empty.

In our case, I think the problem is not knowing who the market is for our web site. Most of our active members aren't yet interested in using the web to keep up with the church calendar, so our web site is primarily a brochure for potential visitors.

Our church website is 200+ pages, gets 500 page views daily and is updated regularly, sometimes multiple times each day. The staff, and the pastor in particular, say they love the website and are continually referring people to it.

The problem is that there's only one person to update it; anything new has to go through him. ("Him" is, of course, a euphemism for "me.")

A blog application would help to solve this potential bottleneck. But it would also shift some of the responsibility back to the staff, who already feels overburdened with duties.

Perceptive folks that they are, my past suggestions to consider a blog format for at least some of the content have gone unheeded.

Hi there. My church has a community blog where members of the church post thoughts etc. It's at http://thefathershouse.blogspot.com

It's been really successful, however only a few of the church members participate ...

our church is a relatively tech-savvy church with some of its members having blogs of their own. A few times we've tried an online community but they never usually take off. The blog has been the most successful. I think the key to the success is the fact that a) many members are Internet savvy b) it's a small church.

I like the idea of posting announcements on a blog. That would make it very easy to make changes without having to republish my page all the time.

i dont see it as a bandwagon. I think its here to stay.

I liked what i read in this releated article: http://bolsinger.blogs.com/weblog/2005/01/blog_for_christ.html

Stuart.

I think blogs are important for members. It will help post and share what God is doing in theri heart. Sometimes others need to hear people have the same opinions or have been touched in a deep profound way. Blogs are very healthy to church websites!

A Church blog creates a community and lets people know about upcoming events like a picnic, a charity drive, or even a Church Singles club where people can meet & find a connection.

Yes!
101 Ways to make a difference!

Ted

Jesus was really a drug pusher. That's why he had so many people following him around. They only used the words fish and bread on the mount when they really were terms for some types of hallucinagins.
Jesus was king pin.

Blogging here to stay...just like offering envelopes and donation baskets, it's here to stay. I hope churches in general capitalize off this so that events are posted and heated conversations and debates are had.

Churches are aplaces where peoples come to do fings and I like to drink the blud of jesus and eat the wrinkly mans bread.

Have to agree with your point, David; it's been getting on for 4 years since this post was written and blogs are an even bigger part of the internet than ever before. Using the internet to spread the Word and allow a wider audience access to what your church (any church) has to see is fantastic - I don't think it'll be too long before special collection envelopes having blog URL's written on them.

I keep getting comments from people that my company's online presentation tool (www.simonshows.com)would be great for churches to use to reach new audiences. Our tool was designed for non-technical users and allows them to compile text, photos, video, audio, etc into organized web-accessed presentations.

I have spoken with a few churches but they haven't used it yet but I figured I would mention it if anyone is interested. Its free, you can create a channel just for your church and build as many "Shows" as you want.

Hope it helps!

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Very True about blogging being one of the most effective ways of communicating online. I hope to empower people to do this, if they have a desire!

very cool information about churchs. i hope mankind should get the maximum benefit.

I am encouraged by churches that use blogs. I recently searched for a new church, and was most impressed by those churches whose staff blogged frequently. This gives you more insight into the church than the generic website. It can really let you know a lot more about the pastor's thoughts, convictions, and methodology.

Anything that promotes a church, should be used. Website blogs are a great idea for churches to expand to another medium. Take for example a site like ChurchTag.com. This site allows users to generate content on the church blog.