Some more thoughts on Bringing Clear Vision to the Organization You Lead

05Feb10

Clarify your Organization's Vision

Can you imagine deciding that you want to build a home on a piece of property that you have purchased?  So you begin to search out a builder who you can hire to build you the dream home of your life.  You find that individual  and you hire him on the spot.  A few days later, you are driving by your land and you see your builder beginning the process of building.  He hasn’t shown you any blueprints or architectural design.  You have not made any decisions on what the house will look like, how many rooms, how big the kitchen will be, what the entrance of the home will look like, not one decision has been made, he just starts building.

How crazy would that be?  To start building a home without having any plans.  No one in their right mind would ever do this.  Why would you attempt such an important task without any direction, plan or process?  We wouldn’t allow this in the building of our home, but we allow it in the building of our organization.  Many leaders are guilty of leading their organizations without any true blueprint or any clear plan or process.

A while back, we discussed the two major questions every organization must ask themselves:

a)    What is the purpose of this organization?
b)    What is the process?

Two very simple questions, yet uniquely profound.  What is the purpose of the organization you lead and what is the process.  If your company is a contractor, insurance agency or something in the mortgage industry, what is the purpose and what is the process?  Maybe your organization is a church, then the question is the same, what is the purpose and what is the process.  Is it clear?  Is it precise?  Is it easily understood by those who hear it?  Does your leadership know it?

I was recently consulting a church that was creating a purpose statement and they said “They existed to improve life.”  They wanted the purpose of the church to be about improving.  They wanted those who came to their church to experience improvement in every area of their life including: financial, spiritual, relational and emotional.  It was a clear and precise purpose that could easily be shared with someone.

Then they added to that purpose by creating a process.  They said we want three things to happen.  For people to “Connect, Grow and Serve.”  They wanted people to “Connect with God” during their worship services, to “Grow” by getting involved in what they called small groups and they wanted people to “Serve” in a volunteer role at their church.  They felt that this was a simple process that would accomplish their purpose.  If people would Connect, Grow and Serve then their life would improve.  Simple purpose and a simple process.

Can you do that?  Can you say in just a few words the purpose of your organization and the process by which you accomplish the purpose?  Work on that this week with your key leaders.  Discover your purpose and your process.  The clarity that will come from this could potentially change your organization forever.

Until next time,

Chris Sonksen

QUOTE FOR THE DAY:

“To be simple is to be great.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Tags: church growth, Communication, Leadership, mission statement, Planning for success, shared vision, take action, vision

Marketing Your Church

29Jan10

Marketing Helps Get the Word Out About your Church

Mark Batterson, one of our Celera group coaches and author of Wild Goose Chase, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, and Primal recently had this post on his blog http://evotional.com regarding church marketing.  I feel that the article needs no further introduction other than to say that I fully agree with Mark, and that we at South Hills also use many forms of marketing to reach our community.

The Greatest Marketing

I have a core conviction: the greatest message deserves the greatest marketing. It’s shameful that Madison Avenue and Hollywood are better at marketing their often meaningless messages than the church is at marketing the gospel.

I know “marketing” is a dirty word for some. So if you are offended by that word, insert compel as in “compel them to come in”–Luke 14:23. Let me put it in these terms: I don’t want anybody living near one of our locations to be able to deny our existence. Obviously, word of mouth is the best form of marketing. I think our last survey showed that 86% of NCCers came because a friend invited them. So it’s all about friends inviting friends. But I also think we’ve got to find creative ways to consistently let people know we exist.

Those different devices range from technology (radio) to social media (facebook) to good old fashion methods (mailers). I think we ought to be using any and every means available to us to invite people to church and invite people to Christ.

Until next time,

Chris Sonksen

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

“The world calls it marketing. The Bible calls it evangelism.”

- Mac Richard of Lake Hills Church, Texas

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Tags: church growth, Communication, Marketing, Planning for success, take action, vision

Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? Part 2

26Jan10

As leaders, are we smarter than a 5th grader?

Are you smarter than a 5th grader?  A game show produced by the Fox network in which adult contestants attempt to answer questions that are found in the textbooks of elementary age students (1st–5th grade).  The game show has a humorous approach as adults realize that they are usually “not” smarter than a 5th grader.

In leadership this idea can be humorously approached as well.  Are we smarter than a 5th grader?  Do we find ourselves making foolish mistakes and unwise choices that shouldn’t be made?  Do we not understand basic principles that all leaders should know?  Like the adults in the game show, are we realizing that we have forgotten some “Leadership Basics?”

In our last article we discovered that if you are smarter than a 5th grader you will:

Focus on more than yourself
Praise publicly and reprimand privately
Be clear about the process and purpose of your organization

Here are some more leadership basics that will help you to be smarter than a 5th grader:

1)  Leaders never stop learning
As individuals our learning curve comes to a stop or at least to a very slow crawl when we stop attending high school or college.  This is a big mistake if you are a leader.  Leaders should never stop learning.  You must continue to learn and grow from every resource possible.  I am continually “discouraged” as a motivational speaker and life coach to discover that many leaders have not made it a priority to continue their leadership development.  How can you stay on the cutting edge and expect your organization to grow, if you don’t grow yourself?

2)  Leaders are strategic about the future, not just reactive
Most leaders make the mistake of becoming more reactive than strategic.  They enter their day or week reacting to the problems and situations that come their way.  Although this is part of being a leader, it is not the only part.  A leader must also be strategic.  They must lead by being strategic in their thinking and planning.  True leadership sets the course!  Ask yourself, “do I know where the organization is headed in the next 2-5 years?”  Then ask yourself, “do I know what kind of resources and staff I will need?”

3)   Leaders work hard at connecting
John C. Maxwell writes in his book, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, “a leader touches a heart before they ask for a hand.”  In other words a true leader realizes the value of connecting with people.  If leadership is influence, than the only way to gain influence is to connect with people.  As a leader you have to be smart enough to know that people are your greatest asset and that connecting with them is how you gain influence and build your team.  Love on people, encourage people, lift people, seek the best for them, make them better than they are and you will begin to earn a voice  in their life and connect with them at a much deeper level.

Until next time,

Chris Sonksen

QUOTE FOR THE DAY:

“You have achieved excellence as a leader when people will follow
you everywhere if only out of curiosity.”
- Colin Powell

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Tags: continued learning, Effective Leader, Habits, Human Relations, Leadership, Planning for success, Techniques of effective leaders

Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? Part 1

22Jan10

How often do we make mistakes that are not much smarter than 5th graders?

The Fox Network has a T.V. game show titled “Are you smarter than a 5th grader?”  The game is hosted by comedian Jeff Foxworthy and the game works like this.  Adult contestants have to answer a series of questions that are found in the text books of elementary age students ranging from 1st- 5th grade.  The more questions they can answer the more money they can win.  There is also a small panel of actual 5th graders that the adult contestant can call upon (only 3 times during the game) for help.  The humor of the show is that the 5th graders have the correct answer more often than the adults.  A matter of fact, the 5th graders rarely miss a question.  When the contestant doesn’t reach the million dollar prize, he or she must look into the camera and say “I am not smarter than a 5th grader.”

While watching the show recently I began to think about the title in the context of leadership.  How often do we make mistakes that are not much smarter than 5th graders?  As I talk to leaders everywhere, I am amazed by some of their stories of foolish decisions and actions made in the corporate world.  These foolish mistakes have been made by all of us, including me.  I have listed some things you can do to help you avoid the most common leadership blunders.

1)  Focus on more than yourself

Often leaders make the mistake (consciously or sub-consciously) of focusing on their personal gain and what is best for them.  A true leader is not only concerned about their well being but also shows great concern about the individuals and organization they lead.  William Rando, who runs the Office of Teaching Fellow Preparation and Development,” at Yale University said that you must always ask, “What are my students going to do today?”  He was simply expressing his intelligent opinion that if you are going to lead you must be concerned about the life of those you are responsible to lead.

2)  Praise publicly and reprimand privately

Sometimes a weak leader will attempt to flex his or her authority muscle by reprimanding publicly rather then privately.  Don’t make this mistake.  You don’t want to degrade the people on your team.  Make it a practice to praise them publicly.  Be generous about your praise.  It doesn’t cost you anything and the pay back is great.  Also, when reprimanding, do it privately.  There is no need to make a spectacle of the person in whom you are dealing with.

3)  Be clear about the process and purpose of your organization

On a recent trip to Disneyland with my family, I was once again, impressed with this incredible company.  The cleanliness is outstanding, the atmosphere is wonderful but above all I am impressed with the clarity of purpose and of process.  The purpose of Disney is for families to come and enjoy a clean, safe environment, but the processes are obviously clear as well.  The entire organization from parking, to trams, to the entering and exiting of the lines is all a process designed to support the purpose.  What a lesson for all of us who hold the position of a leader.  Make your purpose and process clear so that the entire organization can follow.  You want everyone to repeat that purpose and process in a matter of seconds and to keep the leaders and the organization focused on them.  Failing to do this is a mistake that many leaders make.  They make the assumption that because it may be clear in their head that it is clear and simple to everyone else.  Try this out right now.  Take a small napkin and pretend that you are explaining your purpose and process of the organization to someone who has never seen it.  Can it fit on a napkin?  Can you articulate it in a matter of seconds?  If your answer is, “No” to any of these questions then you probably need to re-think your purpose and process through.  It must be clear and simple.

Until next time,

Chris Sonksen

QUOTE FOR THE DAY:
“You don’t know anything clearly unless you can state it in writing.”
S.I. Hayakawa

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Tags: Communication, Effective Leader, Planning for success, Techniques of effective leaders, vision

Biblical Church Growth

18Jan10

The New Testament Church set the Precedent for Church Growth

In my years of ministry I have frequently met church attenders and pastors of smaller churches who are content with the size of their church, and have no interest in expanding.  Some to the point of being anti-church growth. And while I do not promote seeking church growth for church growth sake, true growth that comes from reaching the community for Christ is clearly demonstrated in the New Testament church.  Below is an article from Brian Tubbs found at http://protestantism.suite101.com/article.cfm/what_is_biblical_church_growth , that clearly demonstrates this principle.

What Is Biblical Church Growth?

Lessons from the Life of Christ and the Book of Acts
Jan 22, 2008 Brian Tubbs

There are numerous books, articles, videos, and audios available today on the subject of church growth. Pastors and church leaders are bombarded with a large array of resources and models that promise “rapid” church growth, “easy” church growth, “massive” church growth, and the like. How should a pastor and church sort through church growth ideas and church growth models? Should pastors and churches even be concerned with church growth?

Jesus Drew Crowds

A historical look at the birth of Christianity should make something pretty clear: Jesus drew crowds. It is hard to justify a ’small church’ mentality when looking at the example of Jesus. Of course, Jesus did surround himself with a smaller group of devoted followers, with whom he spent the most time. Yet Jesus didn’t remain in this small group setting. On the contrary, he continually reached out — speaking with and ministering to as many people as he could in Judeo-Palestine.

The Jerusalem Church: From 120 to 3,120

Following the ascension of Jesus, the remaining eleven of his primary disciples and those in Jesus’ extended circle of confidantes and followers gathered together in an “upper room” (Acts 1:12-13) to pray.
When the day of Pentecost came, the writer of Acts records that the Holy Spirit descended on the followers of Christ in “tongues of fire” and with a “mighty wind” (Acts 2:1-3). When this incredible and supernatural event happened, it attracted quite a crowd – and gave the apostle Peter a dramatic opportunity to stand up publicly and be counted as a follower of Christ (an opportunity he failed to take on the night of Jesus’ trial).
Following Peter’s sermon, the writer of Acts reports that “about 3,000 souls” were incorporated into the new Jerusalem church – the “church” being the fellowship of believers in and followers of Jesus Christ.

The Spread of Christianity

The remainder of Acts lays out the rapid spread of Christianity from Jerusalem through Judea and Samaria and into the Graeco-Roman world. This spread was powered by Jesus’ primary disciples, especially Peter and John, and Jesus’ half-brother, James, who became the leader of the Jerusalem church. And then came Paul, the most prolific pen of the first century Christian community and one of the most committed missionaries in the history of Christianity.

Lesson in Growth

The clear lesson from the life of Christ and the book of Acts (a lesson fueled by the epistles) is that the church is to be constantly expanding – constantly on the move. And that its impact should not be restricted to formal church services, but rather to the community itself, even to the point of reaching families “house to house.”
A local church that withdraws into closed-door legalism, “Comfort Zone” complacency, or elitist judgmentalism is a church outside of God’s will. This is not to suggest that a church shouldn’t stand for truth or practice sound doctrine. Both are clearly part of God’s mandate for the church.
The biblical model for a church is a church that actively and passionately ministers to both the physical and spiritual needs of those around it — especially, of course, the spiritual needs. Such a church should desire to grow — not for its own glory or satisfaction, but because of its love for God and the people within its reach.
So, how is your church doing?

Until Next Time,

Chris Sonksen

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.  Acts 2:46 – 47 (NIV)

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Tags: church growth, criticism, New Testament Church, vision

What is Your Performance Lacking?

10Jan10

Victoria's performance inprovedwhen she learned she would one day be Queen.

When Queen Victoria was a child, she did not know she was in line for the throne of England.  Her instructors, trying to prepare her for the future, were frustrated because they couldn’t motivate her.  She didn’t take her studies seriously and was not doing well at all.  Finally, her teachers decided to tell her that one day she would become the Queen of England.  Upon hearing this, Victoria quietly said, “Then I will be good.”  The realization that she had inherited this high calling gave her a sense of responsibility that profoundly affected her conduct from then on.

We all have several areas of our lives where we want to perform well.  We want to be a good parent, spouse, friend, boss, employee, leader and whatever other hat we may be currently wearing.  As a child, Queen Victoria was not aware of the great responsibility she would one day bear.  Fortunately for her, she was told before it was tool late for her to alter her performance.  That is not a luxury that the rest of us usually have.  Performing to your potential as best as you can in every area of your life is important because you may one day be faced with a responsibility you did not know would be yours.  Don’t wait to start performing when your responsibility grows, perform at your best now.  Become the person that other people would say “you can count on them, they always deliver and when they do something they do it right.”

Here is some questions that you can ask yourself that may help reveal to you if your performance is lacking or not:

1. Do I wait until the last minute?
If you find yourself falling into the unhealthy pattern of waiting until the last minute you may be sabotaging your performance.  Last minute work may be good compared to your colleagues, but it is still not your personal best.  If you wait to the last minute try to break this habit.  Plan your time out in such a way that you give each task the unrushed time it needs.

2. Do I settle for good when better is possible?
This is a definite trait among average or low performers.  They do what is necessary to get by, but not get ahead.  They look for the minimum work load that will get them approval by those they work with, meanwhile robbing themselves of their personal potential.  Soon good isn’t necessary if average will do and before you know it, you are one step away from mediocrity.

3. Have I stopped seeking ways to improve?
Performance is a never-ending pursuit of becoming better than you already are.  Think of technology, it continues to improve.  Cars continue to run more efficient, planes become safer, computers become faster, virtually all of technology, science and modern medicine continues to improve.  How about you?  Are you continually seeking to improve, to become better then you already are?  Top performers look for ways to improve, to grow in their area of expertise and to become more effective and efficient.

4. Am I growing?
Abraham Lincoln said “Leaders are learners and learners are leaders.”  That is true of leaders and true of peak performers.  They desire to keep growing.  They meet with others for growth, seek life coaches, read great books, visit great places, talk with experts and attend great events.  If you want to perform at a higher level, then you must set yourself on a growth plan.  Make growing a habit and top performance will be sure to follow.

Until next time,

Chris Sonksen

QUOTE FOR THE DAY:

“Never confuse activity with results.”
- Lou Gerstner, CEO IBM

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Tags: Effective Leader, Habits, Leadership, performance, Personal Growth, Planning for success, Unlock Potential

Making a great S.T.A.R.T. in 2010

03Jan10

Create leadership and life goals and a plan to follow them in 2010

A few years ago I saw an article in USA Today that illustrated a person’s life span by using a clock.  Here’s how it worked:

•    22 years old – 8:20 a.m.
•    32 years old – 11:20 a.m.
•    42 years old – 3:20 p.m.
•    52 years old – 6:20 p.m.

The point of the illustration that USA Today was trying to make was that our lives go by so quickly and if we don’t plan for success we are sure to fail!  Maybe last year was not what you had hoped for it to be or maybe you did not accomplish all you had set out to do.  But the New Year can be a great one if you’re willing to take the necessary steps!

Here’s a few ways to help you make a great S.T.A.R.T. for the New Year!

1)  Stop making excuses
In our society we love to blame everyone and everything for why we are where we are!  We blame circumstances, upbringing, employers, surroundings and anything else that will alleviate us from taking responsibility.  If you’re going to accomplish great goals and fulfill worthwhile projects you’re going to have to take the first step and stop making excuses.  Take responsibility for where you’re at and for where you are going!

2)  Take charge
Decide right now that you are going to take charge and do something about your life and future.  You cannot approach your future with a half hearted attempt.  You must be on the offense not the defense and get serious about the year to come.  If you want great results you have to be willing to give a great effort.  Take charge and make this a year like no other!

3)  Adapt a plan
I love what Zig Ziglar talks about in his book “See you at the top.”  He shares how people get more done the day before vacation then any other day.  WHY?  Because they have a goal in front of them and a plan on how to get it done!  If you think about it, we put more planning into our vacations then we do our lives.  STOP DOING THAT!  Decide right now that you are going to create a plan for your goals in 2010 and put it into action.

4)  Report to an accountability partner
If you’re serious about making the upcoming year the best ever your going to need help.  Write out your plans and goals and give them to an accountability partner.  Have this partner hold you accountable on a monthly basis. They need to be checking on your progress and keeping you accountable to complete the goals you have set out.  Obtaining an accountability partner is one of the best moves you can make in 2010.

5)  Try hard
We have all heard the saying “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”  Maybe this past year wasn’t the best for you, but the upcoming New Year can be.  Decide that you are going to try harder then you have ever tried before.  That you are going to wake up in the morning with the best attitude, approach each day with joy and do your absolute best!  Don’t let fear, failure or fatigue get in your way!  Take the steps necessary and set yourself up for success!

Until next time,

Chris Sonksen

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

“Until you commit your goals to paper, you have intentions that are seeds without soil.”

- Anonymous

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Tags: Effective Leader, Habits, new year, Personal Growth, Planning for success, Techniques of effective leaders

A leader’s “Cushion of the Sea”

23Dec09

This Christmas seek refuge from the Storms of Life in "The Cushion of the Sea"

Just for fun I am starting this post with some fun and/or warm and fuzzy Christmas Quotes…

‘Top 10′ List of Favorite Christmas Quotes:

Favorite Christmas Quotes #1
The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree is the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.
-Burton Hillis

Favorite Christmas Quotes #2
The only blind person at Christmastime is he who has not Christmas in his heart.
-Helen Keller

Favorite Christmas Quotes #3
Once again we find ourselves enmeshed in the Holiday Season, that very special time of year when we join with our loved ones in sharing centuries-old traditions such as trying to find a parking space at the mall. We traditionally do this in my family by driving around the parking lot until we see a shopper emerge from the mall, then we follow her, in very much the same spirit as the Three Wise Men, who 2,000 years ago followed a star, week after week, until it led them to a parking space.
-Dave Barry

Favorite Christmas Quotes #4
Christmas, my child, is love in action. Every time we love, every time we give, it’s Christmas.
-Dale Evans Rogers

Favorite Christmas Quotes #5
This, the spirit of Christmas, that forever and ever endures. May it leave its richest blessing in the hearts of you and yours.
-Author Unknown

Favorite Christmas Quotes #6
Santa Claus has the right idea. Visit people once a year.
-Victor Borge

Favorite Christmas Quotes #7
Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall.
-Larry Wilde

Favorite Christmas Quotes #8
From home to home, and heart to heart, from one place to another. The warmth and joy of Christmas brings us closer to each other.
-Emily Matthews

Favorite Christmas Quotes #9
The joy of brightening other lives, bearing each others’ burdens, easing other’s loads and supplanting empty hearts and lives with generous gifts becomes for us the magic of Christmas.
-WC Jones

Favorite Christmas Quotes #10
Perhaps the best Yuletide decoration is being wreathed in smiles.
-Unknown

www.famous-quotes-and-quotations.com/christmas-quotes.html

On a more serious note, as leaders we are faced with tremendous “storms”. In addition to our own personal storms, we often are called on to weather the storms of the people under our leadership (our team) and the company itself.  And so often at Christmastime these storms seem to escalate.
I recently learned of a term that submarine commanders use.  It is called the “cushion of the sea”.   The “cushion of the Sea” is when a submarine dives to a certain depth in the ocean and it no longer matters what is happening up top. You could have a tsunami.  You could have a hurricane.  You could have a horrible typhoon, but there’s a certain depth that once you get there, you don’t even feel the storm anymore.  There is this same depth in God that if I would just dive into who he is, and let him be my anchor, that I could get so deep into Him, that when the storm comes, I don’t drift.  I don’t fall away.  I don’t despair.  I don’t get discouraged.  I don’t get all wrecked up, because I’m so deep in who he is, that no matter what storm comes my way, I’m going to make it.

That’s my challenge to you.  Dive into God who as Jesus came to this earth 2000 years ago.  He removes what shouldn’t be on your shoulders… anxiety, disappointment, discouragement, fear, worry, stress, and he exchanges that for His peace, but you have got to make that choice.  I’ve got to make that choice.  As a leader, as a husband, as a father, as a friend I need to dive deep enough into who he is that when a storm comes, I just don’t feel it like other people do, because I’m so deep in Him.

Have a very Merry Christmas!

Until next time,

Chris Sonksen

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
- The Bible – Isaiah 9:6 (New King James Version)

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Tags: choices, Christmas, cushion of the sea, Habits, Leadership, Personal Growth, Storms of life, Techniques of effective leaders

“20 Traits of a Great Leader”

14Dec09

Reflect on yourself as a leader

The following is a snapshot of a great leader. I give these to you with no detail or explanation, but for you to reflect on them and be challenged. Take these twenty traits and use them as a sounding board to indicate your current status as a leader. Copy the list and give it to your team members and let it be a starting point for a much deeper discussion.

1. A leader is always full of praise.

2. A leader learns to use the phrases “thank you” and “please” on his/her way to the top.

3. A leader is always growing.

4. A leader is possessed with his/her dreams.

5. A leader launches forth before success is certain.

6. A leader is not afraid of confrontation.

7. A leader talks about his/her own mistakes before talking about someone else’s.

8. A leader is a person of honesty and integrity.

9. A leader has a good name.

10. A leader makes others better.

11. A leader is quick to praise and encourages the smallest amount of improvement.

12. A leader is genuinely interested in others.

13. A leader looks for opportunities to find someone doing something right.

14. A leader takes others up the ladder with them.

15. A leader responds to his/her own failures and acknowledges them before others have to discover and reveal them.

16. A leader never allows murmuring – from himself or others.

17. A leader is specific in their expectations of others.

18. A leader holds accountable those who work with them.

19. A leader does what is right rather than what is popular.

20. A leader is a servant.

Until Next Week,

Chris Sonksen

QUOTE OF THE DAY
“When a gifted team dedicates itself to unselfish trust and combines instinct with boldness and effort – it is ready to climb.”

- Pat Riley

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Tags: Effective Leader, Leadership, Personal Growth, Techniques of effective leaders

The Importance of Having a Good Website

13Dec09

Realize the potential of a good website

Early in the life of South Hills we realized the need to have a good website, and as our church has grown, so has our website adapted to meet our needs.  Our website is a priority to us at both South Hills and Celera Group, as a website will often be someones first impression of your organization.  If you have a poor web presence (or none at all) it could be a huge detriment to your church.  The following is an excerpt from an article found at www.internetevangelismday.com/church-growth.php I encourage you to visit their website, as you will find much more detailed information there.

Making church sites into evangelistic tools

1.Most church websites are designed entirely for their members, or unwittingly exclude non-Christians because of their choice of language and content.
2.A good church site must communicate with three very different target groups:
3.This ‘three-way stretch’ is a challenge, but can be achieved.
4.Take time to consider the needs and viewpoints of non-Christians.
5.Avoid all ‘churchy’ jargon and ‘Christianese’ language throughout the site, especially on the homepage.
6.Non-Christians may have negative images of Christians: boring, killjoys, judgmental, etc.
7.Christian outreach often fails because Christians do ‘megaphone proclamation’ from behind the protecting walls of their ‘ghetto’.
8.A primary task of the website is to convince non-Christians of these four things:
9.Do not think of your church site in isolation, merely as a stand-alone online brochure.
10.Church is people: the home page should have at least one photo of a church member. This is absolutely foundational to good communication, yet infrequently done.
11.Internal pages on the site can include photos of both outside and inside of the church building.
12.Include some ‘meet our members’ pages.
13.All links, page titles, and sub-headings should sound enticing.
14.If testimonies are used, they should be completely free of religious jargon, exaggeration and sentimentality.
15.Consider a ‘New to this site?’ visitors link on your homepage. This enables you to offer a particular welcome to an outsider.
16.Games and fun stuff are attractive and make a site sticky.
17.Consider adding some ‘bridging’ pages to the site.
18.Involve your church members in praying and supporting the web design team, and ‘owning’ the site.
19.Demonstrate a specific welcome for people with disability.
20.Summing up: the overall impression of the site must of a gentle, loving, enticing welcome. But…
21.Sadly, it is this issue of welcome and assimilation that frequently breaks down.
22.The context of your country, area and culture may lead you to apply these principles in different ways.
23.Church websites are not the only form of web evangelism.

Design

24.Your church site will be the first point of contact for many people in your community. First impressions count.
25.Do not place too much information on your homepage.
26.And all important information should be ‘above the fold’.
27.Avoid ‘churchy’ graphics – open Bibles, stained glass windows, doves, candles. And appeals for money.
28.Use at least one graphic of a person’s face on the homepage.
29.A 3-column layout is often the most suitable for a church site.
30.Never use an introductory ‘splash page’.
31.Every page should display the same overall appearance, with the same navigation options in the same place.
32.All links, menu options and buttons should be clearly identified as ‘active’ – they should change color when hovered.
33.If you use Javeascript for any effects, ensure everything on the site still works for those with Javascript disabled.
34.Don’t use frames for site design.
35.Learn how to use ‘include’ files – a great time-saver.
36.Also learn how to use CSS.
37.Use colors correctly: understand how to choose a color scheme, how colors relate to each other, and what mood they communicate.
38.Don’t use patterned graphic backgrounds behind body text.
39.Consider a ‘liquid’ page design: the content should flow naturally and fit together, at any screen resolution (i.e. size of the monitor screen measured in pixels) or reasonable font resize by a user.
40.And don’t put ‘best viewed at resolution’ or ‘best viewed in browser Y’ on your website.
41.Don’t include ‘mailto’ email addresses in plain coding on the site.
42.Your site need not be large or complex.
43.Don’t leave out-of-date content online.
44.Use several people to proof-read for typos and poor grammar.
45.Make your pages printer-friendly.
46.Take time to assess your target audience, their interests, needs and circumstances.
47.Not least, pray – both for planning and implementation.

Your church webmaster/team

48.A church webmaster or team needs a clear job description.
49.What if there is no-one technical in your church, to take on the webmaster role? You can use a pre-designed template system. These also answer the problem of what to do if the only technical person in the church moves on, leaving a website that no-one really knows how to update. Follow ‘Extra’ for a listing of providers and how to assess the features they offer.
50.A larger church site can benefit from ‘CMS’ – Content Manegment which enables multiple users to keep the site updated.
51.Learn from others. Help is only a mouse-click away.

Readability

52.For normal body text, use black font on a white or near-white background.
53.Do not used fixed font size in your coding.

54.Therefore make all font sizes relative, so that users can resize text if they wish.
55.Choice of fonts is important. The Verdana font is designed for computer monitors, and is widely perceived as the most readable for body text.
56.Understand how to make your site user-friendly to color-blind and visually-impaired visitors.
Testing
57.Test your site from a technical viewpoint in different browsers, and at different screen resolutions.
58.Also test your site with real first-time users. Remember, you know your site backwards. They do not.
59.Find non-Christians to critique your site. Yes, non-Christians! They are your primary target audience.

Navigation and usability

60.Good navigation allows a first-time non-technical visitor to move round your site easily.
61.Good navigation gives visitors constant clues to fulfill the vital requirements: ‘Where am I, where have I been, and where can I go’. Many websites, of all types, fail to be effective because they lack a good intuitive navigation system.

62.Do not offer too many links in your navigation menu.

63.You can use ‘paper prototyping’ to plan different ways of structuring links within the site.
-evangelism.com/resources/starting.php]
64.Make sure your pages download quickly.
Being found – online and physically
65.The title tages  in the head of your homepage, which should contain the full name of the church, plus town, state and country.
66.Your church name, street, town, area/state, country and phone number should also appear in unabbreviated form in a small font in the footer of your homepage (or preferably every page).
67.Submit your church site to main search engines and secular directories.
68.Make every page of your site a logical entry point to your site.
69.Framed Pages present problems to being listed in search engines.

70.Ensure the church URL is easy to remember. Take every opportunity to give it a high profile.

71.Make full use of press releases to local newspapers and radio stations. These should always include your URL. Larger churches can consider publishing regular news using an ‘RSS’ feed.

72.Include clear directions for finding the church. Give details of parking, public transport links, and a map.

Responding to emails

73.Ensure that every day, someone reads incoming emails to the church.
74.Some people may be emailing for help on serious life issues.
75.It need not necessarily be the pastor or pastor’s secretary that does this, especially out of hours.

One last thought… A good website does not have to cost a fortune. A good website can be very simple,and there are great website templates out there, and designers who will give a church a break. Remember, since it is the web, you don’t have to limit yourself to designers in your area.

Until next time,

Chris Sonksen

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

“Visitors are increasingly checking out churches online before walking into a service.”
– Tom Harper of ChurchCentral.com

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