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The Methodist Church of Great Britain | Getting a website for your church

Getting a website for your church

ictWHY HAVE A WEBSITE?

The Internet is the fastest growing communications medium in history. For Methodist local churches with a Gospel to proclaim, it represents an exciting new opportunity to tell their story.

Christians in every age have been at the forefront of the development of new media for communications. Many of the early pioneers of printing, radio and television were Christians, enthused with a desire to tell others about the Christian Good News.

About 700 million people world-wide have access to the internet - and the number is still growing fast. In Britain in 2004, more than half of households are on-line.

Regularly the most popular area of www.methodist.org.uk is the Other Websites section, where thousands of people go to look for the websites of districts, circuits or local churches. They may be looking for contact details, or maybe they are new to an area and want to find what the local Methodist Church has to offer. Maybe they are just making tentative steps in investigating the Christian faith...

For churches with something to say, the internet is an opportunity to say it, in their own words.

Many churches who have ventured onto the internet have reported that some of the biggest benefits have been in focusing their mission and helping them to assess where they are and where they want to go. The first step in designing a local church website is to ask the question, "What about our church is interesting and meaningful to others?" Of such thoughts is the beginning of effective mission...

Browsing through these pages you will also read the experiences of some local churches. They are all listed in the Other Websites section of www.methodist.org.uk and have volunteered their stories to help encourage others to get a website. It could be less difficult, and more worthwhile than you think...

www.eastingtonmethodists.org.uk

Eastington Methodist Church website "People are clearly reading the website and finding it using search engines, as we receive a number of e-mails from those that do. We also know that young people in the village look at it...

I think the key thing is for people to have a go at doing a church website and they may be able to involve and make contact with non-church people within their community in the process."

ken.burgin@EastingtonMethodists.org.uk