How should churches evaluate the effectiveness of mass communication tools?
Churches should evaluate the effectiveness of mass communication tools by recognizing their historical role and current impact, alongside face-to-face communication. God is at work building the church, and communication is necessary. While face-to-face remains paramount, mass communication tools like stone tablets, papyrus, the printing press, and now the web, have always played an important role in transcending time and space with the message. Church leaders have a sacred responsibility to regularly assess these tools to ensure they are effectively advancing the gospel.
You as a church leader have the the sacred responsibility of evaluating the effectiveness of the communication tools you are using. Face-to-face communication is still as powerful as it has always been, but mass communication tools continue to provide new ways to transcend time and space with your message.
The web is the most powerful mass communication tool of our time
We live in a “digital age.” According to Dr. David Bourgeois, Associate Professor of Information Systems at Biola University, the digital age began in the 1960s with the invention of ARPAnet and email. In the 1990s, it matured with the widespread availability of personal computers and the invention of the first web browsers. Today, over 56% of North Americans can access the web anytime and anywhere from pocket-sized devices called “smartphones.”
How can church leaders use websites to build the church for God's glory?
Church leaders can use websites to build the church for God's glory by recognizing them as a tool for ministry, not a substitute, and by designing them to reflect God's truth and beauty. Most church leaders are resistant to "man-centered" theology, but the use of church websites is not inherently man-centered; rather, it has great potential for advancing the gospel, as demonstrated by thousands of vibrant local churches. A church's website often serves as the primary means for outsiders to learn what it stands for, when and where it meets, making a well-designed and maintained site crucial. Therefore, ensure your church website reflects God’s truth and beauty in its content, design, and functionality.
Is the use of church websites in ministry an inherently man-centered methodology? No, of course not! Rather, it is our conviction that the web has great potential as a tool for building the church. Indeed, thousands of vibrant local churches throughout North America and the world are already demonstrating how the web can be used to advance the gospel.
In Planting an Orthodox Presbyterian Church, Rev. Ross Graham writes:
A church’s website often serves as the primary means by which those outside the church learn what it stands for and when and where it meets. For these reasons, a church’s website must be well designed and maintained in order to make it a useful tool.
Outsiders often judge your church by its website. Is your church website well designed and maintained? Does it reflect God’s truth and beauty in its content, design, and functionality?
How then can you use your church website as an effective tool for building the church? First, by recognizing that it is merely a tool for ministry, not a substitute for ministry. Second, by building your church website to reflect God’s truth and beauty.
Photo by Domenico Loia on Unsplash.
