What if your website actually DID ministry?

Every nonprofit should have a website that actually furthers its mission — not just describes it.

In an article published today, on the Fundraising Success website, titled “Using the Web More Strategically“, author Abny Santicola quoted a powerful thought from a company called CharityFinders: Every nonprofit should have a Web site that actually furthers its mission — not just describes it.

Think about that.

Way too many of us still think about our website (and broader online presence) as a glorified brochure. As CharityFinders claims rightly, we spend a lot of time online DESCRIBING our nonprofit work. What if we spent more time online actually DOING that work?

This is relatively easy if you are a content-driven ministry (like Focus on the Family, etc.).

But if your nonprofit is focused on feeding children in Africa, you might ask “how can I DO that on my website?” I’d suggest all it takes is broadening your perspective to see the entire, holistic process for just how you accomplish feeding those children in Africa (or whatever your particular ministry does). Sure, the END of that process is that food is actually given to that child and they eat. But that isn’t the entirety of what you do. There is a whole journey that must happen that starts long before the food is shipped or purchased.

I’m working with my church to help them take their web presence to the next level, and this has been THE key insight for leadership and staff — that the website, the emails, the Facebook page, etc. can actually impact people, help them grow in their faith, connect with others, and draw them closer to Jesus. It isn’t just a fancy way to make sure people can find the church address (although that is important!).

Now no church could survive with just an online presence. That’s not what I’m suggesting — in-person connection and fellowship is the lifeblood of a church (just like it was in the 1st century). But what I am suggesting is that when people locally and all over the country can log on, watch a video, listen to a podcast, connect with a small group, etc., ministry happens!