I am not sure but I am really interested to learn because I am going to be designing/building a new site for my Church. So far I think less flash and more clean cut/straightforward is what it needed. nice CSS based layout. Just like anything else, we want to get the viewers the essential information quick without it being a task.

Josh, thanks for the post. We're looking forward to the feedback, and hope all churches can benefit from it.

Cool. They were on the conference call we did speaking about the future of the church & websites with 100's of churches participating.

http://www.goodmanson.com/2009-03/04/the-truth-about-church-websites-and-effective-online-outreach/

The future church websites will be built for viewing on phones. The phone, is going to be the technology choice of most of the upcoming generation church goers.

I predict that, like corporate Web sites, church sites will allow for more personalization. Church-goers will be able to cusomize their church's home page so it contains news and features they are most interested in. (Mine would contain a sermon schedule - with speakers so I can avoid the pastor with a monotone voice, list of children's events, and the latest posts from my break-out-group's message board.) Better yet, my church would create google widgets so I can plug their stuff right into my current home page. (I'm such a Googlephyte!)

Two ideas...
1. Something like Zondervan's 'The City'
2. Mini-sites for each series.

At some point I think churches will need to develop a reason for the next generation to be on their site. Student/Youth ministries are designed to develop our kids to have a love for Christ, but also a love for the church. If we expect our websites to have any future value at all, we need to spend our web efforts making church sites a place where they want to be as well.

More personalization helps, as Stacy mentioned. I'd love to see content be personalized (rather than the same content put in different sections of a site).

I think we will reach a point soon when having a designer who can do some web design won't be enough to engage our audience.

I would like to see it go to what Dentyne gum has done. It allows you 30 seconds on the web site and then kicks you off so you can have more "face time" with real people instead of getting on the internet for hours upon end.

@Matt Holley: I hadn't heard of the Dentyne Gum idea before I read your comment, but I like it. What a different thought process.

I think the new church website will be aimed more at its members than the nonmembers that so many are focused on right now. I am in the process of redesigning ours and we are leaving a section on one page to display the artistic talents of our members and a new game each week on the childrens page. If the children want to be on the site, then the parents will be on it with them!