CHECK THIS OUT: BMG NEWSLETTER FOR CHURCH HOSPITALITY, TECHNOLOGY, and MEDIA Back

August 9. 2008

 August 7, 2008
 
 BMG Awesome Insight Newsletter
A Church Leader's Guide to Communications 
 
Greetings!
Will your church website reach people who do not have a church home? Each week I visit multiple church websites. Some are truly guest friendly and seeking to reach new people while some may struggle with how they communicate. As summer is a time to pause and catch our breath, it is a good time to plan how we can be more "guest friendly" and reach those who are yet to come. If your congregation has a website this question is for you. How easy is it for new folks to reach you?   As we strive to be faithful to the Great Commission, we may need to know that millions of people view the Internet daily seeking religious information. Some of these same people are trying to find a church home. Discovering how to reach out through the web can make a difference as you begin to communicate beyond the walls of your church. These next few weeks may be a good time to plan how you reach out. Gather a web team and begin to explore where you are being led. Summer is a great time to review, reflect and rebuild.

Welcome to this issue of BMG Awesome Insight Newsletter. Whether you are trying to grow a ministry or you want to hear "awesome" more, this issue shares a few tips to help reach out through the digital door.  As we continue to hang out at the pool, seek sun at the beach and enjoy summer fun, it is my hope that congregations continue to seek ways to reach the unchurched, share the Good News and make disciples. I urge you to share this issue of BMG Awesome Newsletter for Church Leaders with a colleague in ministry. Encourage them to sign up for the newsletter at www.awesomeinsight.com.

Will Unchurched People Feel Invited?
5 Questions To Ask As You Ponder A Welcoming Website
Ponder This: Brian recently graduated from college and has moved into your community. His new community is 400+ miles away from home. He was very active in his home church and hopes to find a new church right away. His first idea is to look on line to see the churches in the area. Will he find your church? Is the website easy to navigate and informative so he will seek to visit on Sunday?  Does your church have a web site? I guess that is the first question. If the answer is no, people like Brian will not be able to find you. The second article in this issue addresses how to get a website easily. The second question is for congregations with websites. When Brian looks at your website will it be engaging, inviting and get him to lean in to want to know more? Although Brian may not be a real name there are Brians and other young adults moving into your community as we speak.   Just like the Sunday morning experience, visiting a church website can be the first impression of your church. Often, congregations focus on having guests parking spaces, guest-friendly hallways and forget to pay attention to the web site. I know a young man that fits Brian's profile. He just moved from North Carolina to Iowa. When he showed me some of the websites of churches in his new city, it was hard to imagine the congregation as being "guest-ready" or "guest--friendly."  Sites that are guest friendly and welcoming show some signs. In other words, you may see a welcome message on the home page; photos of diverse people engaging in fellowship, a special section may be devoted to guests and the language sounds like they want you to come and see. As you or your web team get back in gear for fall, it may be time to take a fresh look at your website. Here are a few questions to ask your web team:
How often do we update our website information? (Events, activities, ministries, etc.)
Do we say anything that people from the outside would not understand? (i.e. Doxology)
Can people from out of town find our church?
Does it look like we are open to new people coming and being a part of the ministry?
Have we made room for new people?
Free Ministry Tools for Your Church Website
Visit Our Updated Website with Free Resource Ideas!

Let Us Know the Welcoming Church Websites

Does Your Church Exists to the Net Generation?
It's Time To Find A Way to Get on the Web!
Has your church opened the digital door? You may have an email account for the church and stopped at that. Well, I don't want to alarm you but I do want to know that research indicates millions are on the Internet everyday. There is a generation under 30 years old called the "net generation." This group grew up with technology. (cell phones, microwaves, the Internet, email, Playstation, gameboy games, etc.) For the most part their first thought is to "google" or search on the Internet for a church instead of taking a look at the gigantic yellow page directory. This net generation makes up a huge part of the unchurched population. I repeat the question, does your church exists to the net generation? One of the biggest hurdles for many smaller congregations is finding the resources to create a church website inexpensively. As you explore your options, here are a few ideas on how you can get a church website in an affordable way. We also have ponderpaks that speak to creating a web team.   Seek volunteers in your congregation that have experience with web. This may provide opportunity to invite a son or daughter back to church to assist.  Contact the local community college. Inquire about technology students who are looking for opportunity to apply their newly acquired skills on web design.  Check out the faith-based template web design companies that can build a web site easily that you can update regularly.  If possible, contact your denomination's communication or technology area. There may be people in neighboring congregations who are willing to help your church get a web presence.  Ask some of the larger churches in the area if they have people who can assist. You may be surprised that a volunteer will assist will help you. After all, we're all on the same team!

Before you do anything, seek understanding of how a church website can be a powerful evangelism tool.  Need to speak with Lynette? Call (336) 722-6270 or email info@awesomeinsight.com

Is Your Church Website Welcoming?
Let Us Know the Welcoming Sites!
We are seeking sites that are guest-friendly and guest- ready to share with our readers. If your church website is a welcoming site, please go to our website and submit the web address and name. We want to include your site in our list of friendly church websites.
Better yet, you may have visited a site that you see as being guest friendly and you to share that with others. Let us know. We are seeking to share the welcoming sites on our website.
What Makes a Site Welcoming?
Welcoming Home Page
Photos of Diverse People on the Site
Ways to Get in Touch at the Church
Worship Times & Complete Information
Invitations to Events and Ministries
Ways to Volunteer and Get Involved
A Dedicated Guests' Message or Special Section on the Site.
Let Us Know The Welcoming Sites!
Visit BMG Awesome Insight's Updated Site

Could Your Leadership Team Benefit From a Retreat?

Sometimes the best way to plan for the future is to take time out and plan a leadership retreat. I have had the opportunity to visit some beautiful locations for long range planning meetings. However, having a retreat does not have to be in a remote setting at a lodge. It can simply be at your sister church's location. The key is to get away. If your leadership team is pondering a leadership retreat, ponder these ideas.
Six Tips for More Focused Leadership Retreats
Be prayerful
Identify a comfortable, interruption-free place to meet
Plan to review where you are and where you have been.
Invite the right people. This may include pastors, staff, officers, ministry team leaders, or other volunteers.
Prepare an agenda that includes food, fun and fellowship time. After all this is a retreat!!
Have objective facilitation that can ask good questions, keep the group on task and allow the Holy Spirit to speak through the people.
Need to speak with Lynette? Call (336) 722-6270 or email info@awesomeinsight.com
Why Use An Outside Facilitator?

Are You on Facebook?
Join Our Facebook Friends Network

Facebook is social media that allows participants to connect, network and build relationships. To join my friends network you must have a profile on facebook. It's free. You'll probably find colleagues, members and friends you know already there. See you soon!!  Click hereto join Lynette's Friends on Facebook

Teleseminar Coming in Late August
Warm Welcomes Matter: Tuesday, August 26th @ Noon

Join Lynette Hawkins on Tuesday, August 26th for an engaging welcoming teleseminar. Learn why welcoming matters . We don't know who will come on Sunday. The question is: Will your members warmly welcome them? . Gather ministry leaders, hospitality teams, evangelism teams, usher and greeters around the speaker phone. Attendees Will Learn:
Why welcoming is a ministry
What worship guests notice
How to encourage a smile from parking lot to the pew.
5 Things Every Pew Greeter Needs to Know!
Cost is just $20 per location.
Reserve Your Space Now!
Read More About Our Teleseminars

email: info@awesomeinsight.com
phone: 888-834-7525
web: http://www.awesomeinsight.com

Lynette Hawkins is an insightful coach of BMG Awesome Insight with a passion for ministry and communication. She easily steps into the shoes of first time worship guests to give leaders a perspective of what Sunday morning is really like. Her insight on the guest's perspective is enhanced by the company's first impression research. Lynette is an author, national presenter and coach on communications and welcoming related topics.

To contact her, send an email to lynette@awesomeinsight.com or dial

(888) 834- 7525.