Church Websites


Book Description

Church leaders today are far too busy to waste precious time and money on ineffective websites and fruitless online activity. Church Websites is a book for those ministers which explains how things work in the online world in simple language. This book explains the "why" behind the various online activities so ministers can focus their resources on the right things for maximum effectiveness. It doesn't matter that you are doing things right if you aren't doing the right things. Once you know the right things to do, figuring out how to do those things right is much easier. Church Websites will help you know the right things. The tools change. But the principles stay consistent. Specific techniques come and go. But the general strategies that work are still the same as they have always been. When it comes to building an audience online, the same overarching principles are true now that were true when I wrote my first blog post back in 2005. This book lays out a proven strategy for your church or ministry to reach more people online through both your website and social media based on my first-hand experience working with a wide variety of clients for more than a decade. My first freelance client was a parachurch ministry. Over the years I've worked with everything from small churches up through large corporate clients and major universities. Not only do these concepts work for all of those types of organizations, but they are also exactly how we continue to reach more people with our own international ministry. Church Websites will help you be more successful by showing you the important stuff to focus on so you don't waste a lot of time.







Catechism of the Catholic Church


Book Description

Over 3 million copies sold! Essential reading for Catholics of all walks of life. Here it is - the first new Catechism of the Catholic Church in more than 400 years, a complete summary of what Catholics around the world commonly believe. The Catechism draws on the Bible, the Mass, the Sacraments, Church tradition and teaching, and the lives of saints. It comes with a complete index, footnotes and cross-references for a fuller understanding of every subject. The word catechism means "instruction" - this book will serve as the standard for all future catechisms. Using the tradition of explaining what the Church believes (the Creed), what she celebrates (the Sacraments), what she lives (the Commandments), and what she prays (the Lord's Prayer), the Catechism of the Catholic Church offers challenges for believers and answers for all those interested in learning about the mystery of the Catholic faith. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is a positive, coherent and contemporary map for our spiritual journey toward transformation.




The IChurch Method


Book Description

The purpose of this book is simple: to help churches and businesses advance online. What is the iChurch Method? It's a five part approach to taking your ministry online and reaching the world: Part 1: Websites - A Great Website that is Easy-to-Use. Part 2: Multimedia - Interactive Multimedia with online video, podcasting and online streaming Part 3: Ecommerce - Online Stores/Online Donations. Part 4: Social Media - Engage and Connect with facebook, twitter Part 5: Mobile - The Future of Technology and Ministry with mobile websites




What Is a Healthy Church?


Book Description

Guides both pastors and members to recognize key characteristics of a healthy church and then challenge each person to do his or her part in developing those characteristics in the local church body.




The Church and New Media


Book Description

Engaging the digital Revolution We're experiencing the biggest communication shift since the printing press. Millions have adopted Facebook, YouTube, blogs, and Twitter. What does this mean for the Church? How can Christians harness these new tools to reach out, teach, cultivate community, and change the world? Following Pope Benedict's call to evangelize the "digital continent," The Church and New Media explores the power and risks of New Media while guiding Christians through this new environment. Foreword by Cardinal Sean O'Malley, O.F.M. Cap. Afterword by Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan Expert contributors include: Father Robert Barron Lisa Hendey Jennifer Fulwiler Father Dwight Longenecker Thomas Peters Mark Shea Matt Warner "The Church and New Media is the best kind of reading: timely, vivid, and rich in valuable information. For anyone seeking to understand and use today's new techologies in advancing the Catholic Faith, this book is an unsurpassed resource." -- Archbishop Charles Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., Archdiocese of Denver




Church of the Wild


Book Description

2024 Nautilus Book Awards Silver Winner in "Religion / Spirituality of Western Thought" CategoryWinner of the Living Now Book Award, Church of the Wild reminds us that once upon a time, humans lived in an intimate relationship with nature. Whether disillusioned by the dominant church or unfulfilled by traditional expressions of faith, many of us long for a deeper spirituality. Victoria Loorz certainly did. Coping with an unraveling vocation, identity, and planet, Loorz turned to the wanderings of spiritual leaders and the sanctuary of the natural world, eventually cofounding the Wild Church Network and Seminary of the Wild. With an ecospiritual lens on biblical narratives and a fresh look at a community larger than our own species, Church of the Wild uncovers the wild roots of faith and helps us deepen our commitment to a suffering earth by falling in love with it--and calling it church. Through mystical encounters with wild deer, whispers from a scrubby oak tree, wordless conversation with a cougar, and more, Loorz helps us connect to a love that literally holds the world together--a love that calls us into communion with all creatures.




Confronting Christianity


Book Description

Although many people suggest that Christianity is declining, research indicates that it continues to be the world's most popular worldview. But even so, the Christian faith includes many controversial beliefs that non-Christians find hard to accept. This book explores 12 issues that might cause someone to dismiss orthodox Christianity—issues such as the existence of suffering, the Bible's teaching on gender and sexuality, the reality of heaven and hell, the authority of the Bible, and more. Showing how the best research from sociology, science, and psychology doesn't disagree with but actually aligns with claims found in the Bible, these chapters help skeptics understand why these issues are signposts, rather than roadblocks, to faith in Christ.




Becoming a Welcoming Church


Book Description

Most church members don't see their churches clearly. In almost all of Thom S. Rainer's consultations, church members perceive their church to be friendly. But as he surveyed guests, he found that the guests typically saw church members as unfriendly. The perception chasm existed because the members were indeed friendly . . . to one another. The guests felt like they crashed a private party. Bestselling author Thom Rainer (I Am a Church Member, Autopsy of a Deceased Church) has a game plan for churches to become more hospitable. In a format that is suitable for church members to read individually or study together, Rainer guides readers toward a practical framework for making a difference for those who visit their church. Churches may use Becoming a Welcoming Church to assess and audit where they are on a spectrum between welcoming and wanting. Additionally, churches can use the companion book We Want You Here to send guests home with a compelling vision for what pastors want every guest to know when they visit.




Web-Empower Your Church


Book Description

A great church website is more about ministry than technology. Web-Empower Your Church offers step-by-step guidance to web implementers and other church leaders who are on the exciting journey to building an effective web ministry. Mark's engaging, conversational style makes technology accessible. He offers first-hand advice on every aspect of building an internet ministry: from assembling a team to designing and maintaining the website to adding powerful ministry features. "A first-hand account from one of the true pioneers of online ministry. Anyone interested in online ministry ought to read this book and learn from Mark's example." Andrew Careaga Author, eMinistry: Connecting with the Net Generation "A clear picture on the do's and don'ts of web ministry for churches. A must read for churches who want to effectively engage in web ministry." Walt Wilson Founder and Chairman, Global Media Outreach, a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ "Stephenson has truly unleashed the power of internet ministry for your church. If you're looking for a readable and educating book on web-empowered ministry, look no further. This book is it. I can't believe how much I learned from my first reading. I will be returning to the book over and over." Bill Easum President, Easum, Bandy & Associates Mark Stephenson is Director of CyberMinistry and Technology of Ginghamsburg Church, Tipp City, Ohio. He started the Ginghamsburg CyberMinistry back in 1996 as an unpaid servant. Over the years, as the ministry grew, Mark joined the Ginghamsburg staff, first part time and then full time. Currently, Ginghamsburg Church has one of the largest and most innovative church internet ministries in the world, and the ministry remains unpaid-servant based and “home grown” (no outside companies or consultants have been hired). The website has received national acclaim -- from write-ups in the Wall Street Journal to the Dallas Morning News to Christian Computing Magazine, and television stories by WBNS Channel 10 in Columbus, Ohio and on Fox News. Visionary leaders like Bill Easum and Len Sweet champion it as a must-see website. Mark, the “Church CyberGuy,” is also a well-known speaker on CyberMinistry as he conducts presentations and workshops around North America for such organizations as Leadership Network, United Methodist Communications, North American Christian Convention, Brethren in Christ Church of North America, and Miami University of Ohio. Mark has provided consulting support to numerous churches from around the world to help them develop their web ministries. His passion for helping churches led him to start and lead the Web-Empowered Church, a ministry of The Foundation for Evangelism, to develop free web-ministry software for churches and ministries worldwide.