Why Your Church Needs a Private Space on its Web Site

by David Cassady

Most churches now have a website; in fact, it’s the rare church that doesn’t. However, the majority of church websites are designed to act as an online guest brochure and as an online newsletter. These are needed functions that are quite worthy of the time and energy needed to support them.

But churches are finding that they need additional online features. Rather than creating a new website for your church, this article will suggest a way to add these features to your existing site.

Public vs. Private

Most church websites are focused on “public” information. They do a great job of sharing information about church ministries, schedules, staff and location. Many also do a terrific job of publishing information about the life of the church, calendars, upcoming events and opportunities, and other announcements.

But there is an entire world of information and communication that churches wisely do not share on their public websites. The ongoing work of committees, councils, and teams; the details of those who are ill or home-bound; the planning of the church staff--all these areas of ministry have information which is needed, but can be sensitive. A public church website simply cannot provide the security needed to help committees and ministers work and minister. For this reason, few church websites help churches tap the power of the Internet to help do the work of ministry.

Getting Ministry Done

Churches are complex communications hubs, coordinating the efforts of a large number of volunteers who are only together a small portion of each month. Getting ministry done in the midst of such a scattered collection of people can be daunting. The good news is that new tools are available to help make the work of committees, councils, and teams easier, faster, and more effective.

Businesses learned years ago that shared communications tools can provide a significant boost to productivity by making communication faster, and by making it easier to access information. While church is about so much more than “productivity,” there is still a great deal of work that has to happen in order for ministry to be effective.

Until recently, it has been difficult for churches to access many of the tools businesses use to coordinate their work and speed communications. Such systems were expensive, often required technical expertise to set up and maintain, and relied on extensive user training to access and implement the system. Few churches can support such demands.

But times have changed. New tools are appearing that are uniquely designed to help churches work more effectively.

The Benefits of a Private Working Site

Imagine a church that employs a shared communication system. Each committee has a private site where only they (and the ministers, if appropriate) can participate and see information. They can brainstorm, share opinions, even point to other sites or resources…any time during the week that is convenient for them. Minutes from previous meetings are posted there, along with updated budget information. The committee is able to get more done and meet less.

Imagine being a minister at a church using such a system. In one screen, the minister can see a list of all committees of the church, and can visit any of these groups to view ongoing conversations, or to post a comment, suggestion, or question.

Because the system is private, the committee members can feel comfortable sharing ideas. Because the system is always available, they can participate whenever their schedules allow. For the minister involved with these committees, a large amount of time is saved that can be turned to other ministry efforts. The church benefits from committees that are more active and productive.

Imagine being a new member of a committee that has used such an online system for several years. You would be able to look over past meeting minutes, as well as conversations about how events or ministries have been handled in the past. As a new committee member, you would likely feel far more informed and able to contribute more quickly.

Committees and teams would still need to hold face-to-face meetings, but these meetings would be freed to focus on making decisions, since brainstorming, information-sharing, and even debates would have occurred outside of the meeting room, perhaps across several weeks. Committees could meet less, and get more done.

Adding Private Working Areas

Many churches would enjoy having a private working area online. However, most churches do not have an Internet technology staff handy. How can they get started with these emerging tools? In response to the changing needs of small groups in churches, Smyth & Helwys has created a new service designed to help churches use the power of new communication tools. There’s nothing to install, no training needed, and low cost (even free). The new service is called Caleb’s Cafe, and it is available now.

By creating private Caleb’s Cafe group sites for each committee, team, or council, your church will be able to add the private web area that will complement, but in no way replace your church’s existing public website. Groups can share private comments and information, exchange files, see a directory of their committee members, and even post photos or other images. Because the system is built with membership in multiple groups in mind, each person can see in one screen a list of all committees in which they are a member. With one click, each committee area can be visited. For ministers or church leaders who need to interact with multiple committees, this can be a real time-saver.

If your church has interest in seeing how this new service can enhance your church’s small group ministries, check out www.calebscafe.com.

Whether your church uses Caleb’s Cafe or some other system, implementing a centralized online communications system is a good idea that can benefit the ministries of any busy church.

David Cassady is the executive vice president and publisher of Smyth & Helwys Publishing.