Many Churches either go for the blog or article section on their website or they throw it into the to hard basket, as find they don’t have the resources, time or energy to keep this section active.
With blogs/articles, Churches can directly publish any type of writing, article, event, or text onto their website. They can produce numerous pieces and express their views and beliefs.
Blogs and articles create help create an online community. Publishing online allows the audience who reads these articles to submit their opinions or questions directly onto the blogs and articles page, through comments, that get the attention of the author (and other readers), creating a form of two-way communication and discussions. This also benefits the author, since it gives them the chance to openly speak with their audience and learn more about their views and ideas. Allowing them to ask questions, or provide their input, not only expands the author’s views and ideas, but it also makes the readers feel more included and can lead them to want to follow more of the author’s work/website in the future. The comments on the blog/article include some form of ownership, such as leaving a username when commenting.
There are two types of posts/articles. Just like with open and closed questions, some you will publish and the information does not change, such as a single edition dictionary or the bible. Others will be defined as a “living” document that may be continually edited, revised, or updated, either by one appointed person or by a selective group.
If you struggle with writing a blog/article, turn your sermon into a piece of material that you can publish. This is something you can do or someone who is gifted in writing in your Church can do. You will find online that there are tools and apps to use to turn audio files into transcripts. So go back a few months, find audio of your sermon that you did and transcribe it into a document. Edit and shorten the document and then you have a blog/article ready to go!
If the blog/article section is to have articles from other members and leaders within your Church, create a blog/article policy and guidelines, so all know what can and cannot be shared. The authors or admin can follow up on the comments left at the bottom of the blogs/articles, and at the same time, know the rules set in place eg show respect, think before you comment, be honest etc. Reading members comments allows you to better know the needs of your members.
Encourage Church members and leaders to share the blog/article posts via their own personal social media as it will help draw people back to your Church website. Add great SEO to attract people to your website. Your Church website may hold the answers to the questions many people are looking for.
Share your blogs and article links below!
