Most of the traditional congregations with which I am familiar are still more print based than Internet oriented. When you arrive for worship a greeter hands you a bulletin with details for the service and coming events. One of the features of the congregation that is often either not represented at all or buried away somewhere in volumes of text is the URL for the congregational website. The weekly church bulletin should highlight the address for the church website so that anyone who gives it even a passing look is sure to notice it. After all, the website is the one thing that will remain current even after everything else in the bulletin is outdated. Since the bulletin is handed to people who, for the most part, have already found their way to the church building the URL for the church website is actually far more important than the church street address (which is almost always highlighted).
Similarly, when the congregation sends out e-mail it often fails to include the website address in the signature. In fact, in contrast with the business community, church e-mails often don't include any signature contact information at all. In the same vein, the business cards of the clergy or key staff members often fail to include the congregational website. What a missed opportunity!
It is not surprising that congregational website statistics often remain discouraging. Of course, some people in the congregation may visit it regularly and people who are church shopping or planning to attend a special event at the church can probably locate the church website on Google. But it seems that we could do so much more to promote the church's only available 24/7 information desk.
