| Seminar promotes Web ministry in local churches BY JOHN W. COLEMAN JR.UMCONNECTION STAFF 
At a Baltimore-Washington Conference seminar on developing church Web sites, March 20, the correct answer to the question, When should your church develop its Web site? was As soon as possible. A better answer, according to trainer Jorge Obando, might be Yesterday. Im open for anything that will help me get a site launched by June 2004, said Paula Jankowski-Davis, who serves on the communications committee of Emory UMC in Upperco. Thats my churchs goal. Whats the rush? Maybe the fact that every six seconds a new Web site is added to the Internet, said Obando, who manages the Web site of the denominations General Board of Global Ministries. Or maybe its that the Pew Internet and American Life Project in 2001 projected that 28 million Americans use the Internet to find religious and spiritual information and to connect with each other on their faith journeys. That number is higher today. Its time to harness the power of the Web in the church and to start forming online Christian communities, said Obando. Churches must be on the World Wide Web, he added, if they want to reach a broader audience more effectively with their message and their invitation to visit and join their communities of faith. Nearly 70 lay and clergy participants mostly Web neophytes but also several veterans attended the daylong seminar sponsored by United Methodist Communications. It was the second of more than 40 regional seminars scheduled for 2004. Your Church Online: the Web as Ministry covered the basics of Web site planning, strategy and development. Participants critiqued and learned from model Web sites. They also learned how to involve stakeholders in determining and delivering content for a church Web site and how to develop a team of Web servants that combines a variety of useful skills and interests. Much of the seminars focus was on reaching and serving the information needs of non-church members in ways that can promote a churchs ministry of worship, evangelism, discipleship and outreach. Also recommended was the use of interactive features, such as surveys, site search engines, online videos and message boards. Know who youre talking to, advised Obando, urging his students to understand and appeal to the characteristics and interests of their key demographic audiences and to develop an end-user perspective. That marketing-oriented approach appealed to Dave Lambert, Web manager for Faith UMC in Rockville. He has led expansion of the churchs site, www.faithworkshere.com, from five pages to 500 since 1998; but he said his 35 years of working with computer technology makes it challenging to focus on the subtle needs of the end user. Obando introduced free and low-cost resources available on several sites, including the denominations Web site, www.umc.org, where churches can find discounted computer hardware and software, free graphics, and online content that can be used and changed daily to keep their sites fresh. Also promoted was E-zekiel, a Web site development tool that offers designed templates and hosting services so that churches can build and create content for their sites using only basic word processing skills. E-zekiel offers discounts to United Methodist churches through its partnership with UMCom. While the wide-ranging seminar delved into some technical areas, most participants evaluations expressed a desire for more technical instruction, covering software applications, Web hosting and other areas. We use the Web site www.web.umc.org to direct people to resources for basic technical training, said Chuck Russell, UMCom Internet resource consultant, who designed the seminar program. What is most important, however, is to help church leaders understand what elements are important on a quality Web site, how to organize the site so it will be used regularly, and how to build a team of Web ministers, which will prevent the site from quickly becoming out of date. | 
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