Digital Divide in GA

[JackWolfgang]

I was just looking at David's list of Church web sites in Georgia (mine's not on there because it isn't built yet, the same time constraints that have kept me off the site have kept me from building the site), and I noticed (and somewhat expected) a big digital divide in Georgia. Notice that most of the churches are from the Atlanta area, with some from the Augusta and Savannah areas. When I came to my church, only three families had internet service, and my wife and I were one of them.

The Pew Internet and American Life Study found that 64% of wired Americans have used the internet for religious/spiritual purposes. So the question I am hoping to get some input to is: How does a church (and in particular a small church) overcome the digital divide? Can you turn them into bloggers? Anyone have any experience with this?

[David Gillaspey]

Hi Jack,

I have to say, don't read too much into the location of the churches in my Georgia list. It mostly reflects the limitations of the online list I used of Georgia churches. To supplement that, I also used the list of megachurches in Georgia that's to be found on the Hartford Institute's website (http://hirr.hartsem.edu/org/faith_megachurches_database_pickastate.html).

If I had had the money, I would have purchased a list of churches with websites from a name broker, but there was no money for that. Such a list would have resulted in a better, more accurate distribution of churches for Georgia or any state.

After looking at 10,000 church websites, I can say that church size doesn't matter. I've seen big churches with poorly designed sites, and small churches with fabulous sites. What's most striking is that church plants (new churches) almost always have great looking sites. They get it. Big churches that have historically achieved their growth through traditional means (Sunday school programs, bus programs, etc.) don't always get it. Not all of them understand how important a well-designed and implemented website can be to a church.

That's not to say that a digital divide doesn't exist. You may very well be right about that, and it's important issue to discuss.

Sincerely,

David Gillaspey
President
Great Church Websites

[JackWolfgang]

After looking at 10,000 church websites, I can say that church size doesn't matter. I've seen big churches with poorly designed sites, and small churches with fabulous sites. What's most striking is that church plants (new churches) almost always have great looking sites. They get it. Big churches that have historically achieved their growth through traditional means (Sunday school programs, bus programs, etc.) don't always get it. Not all of them understand how important a well-designed and implemented website can be to a church.

You're right, church plants do get it, and they usually come to the table with good sound and good technology. They may be meeting in a school or a movie theater (e.g. http://www.crossbridgechristian.com), but good church plants spend the money on technology and multi-media.

That's not to say that a digital divide doesn't exist. You may very well be right about that, and it's important issue to discuss.

In Georgia, there is a general divide between Atlanta and the rest of the state (somewhat like the Northern California/Southern California thing). However, I think we need to bridge this digital divide.

[wbcderek]

The Pew Internet and American Life Study found that 64% of wired Americans have used the internet for religious/spiritual purposes. So the question I am hoping to get some input to is: How does a church (and in particular a small church) overcome the digital divide? Can you turn them into bloggers? Anyone have any experience with this?

To start off with I'm in a little different set-up almost everyone in our church is online and we would probably at least be considered a medium church(not sure what sizes change your definition, I'm sure that depends on location), we run about 1300 a weekend.

Our biggest challenge was that our past website was old information and that caused a loss of useage of the site. But to get people back we started targeting those we know who use the internet, the youth. We purchased a domain name for them separate from our big church site, but it just took you to their site on the regular site. After that we did a survey and got a listing of all members with email addresses, obviously if they have email they're getting online. We then began, with somewhat limited success, an enewsletter.

After getting all those in place we kept the concentration and the content up-to-date and released our new domain name. I realize alot of this individualized but I think the key is to focus on one segment of your church at a time, and add others when that blitz has finished.

[flutem3]

I was just looking at David's list of Church web sites in Georgia (mine's not on there because it isn't built yet, the same time constraints that have kept me off the site have kept me from building the site), and I noticed (and somewhat expected) a big digital divide in Georgia. Notice that most of the churches are from the Atlanta area, with some from the Augusta and Savannah areas. When I came to my church, only three families had internet service, and my wife and I were one of them.

The Pew Internet and American Life Study found that 64% of wired Americans have used the internet for religious/spiritual purposes. So the question I am hoping to get some input to is: How does a church (and in particular a small church) overcome the digital divide? Can you turn them into bloggers? Anyone have any experience with this?

Hi,

We are a church of about 500 members. About one third of them have internet access with the majority being dialup. We have had the website since 2/1/04 so it is relatively new. This time last year we averaged 1 1/2 people a day. I am physically unable to get to church so I was not able to do the kind of PR work that a website takes. Had I been there I would have been "selling" like crazy. The membership is not one, in general, that uses the internet a lot...at least that is my sense of things. I may be way off. However, as I have tried different ideas, and have talked to as many people as I can, we have picked up more people who regularly visit the site. I am sure that this sounds familiar to many "out there." Now, I am pleased that I now have a couple of people who are doing more active PR work for me. And it is helping. I am still learning what people find useful...what will bring them back so that the Good News can be spread. I don't think anybody will be a digital blogger for years to come. The people are still skeptical about the privacy of our email Prayer Group. This is a tough but rewarding task we have. I know I have not answered your question. But I think our experiences are similar. By the way, we now average 20 visitors a day on the website which is a HUGE improvement!! Thank the Lord!

[David Gillaspey]

We would probably at least be considered a medium church(not sure what sizes change your definition, I'm sure that depends on location), we run about 1300 a weekend.Hi Derek,

(FYI for everyone)

The vast majority of churches in the United States have 75 members or less.

At 1,300 attenders on a weekend, your church is on the low end of "megachurch" status.

Nationwide, there are about:

* 22,000 churches with membership of 500 to 1,000;
* 13,000 churches with membership of 1,000 to 3,000;
* 2,500 churches with membership of 3,000 to 5,000;
* 1,700 churches with membership of 5,000 or more.

The rest of the 300,000 to 350,000 churches in the United States are under 500 members in size.

(I obtained these statistics by doing a quick search on American Church Lists (http://www.americanchurchlists.com).)

Sincerely,

David Gillaspey
President
Great Church Websites

[David Gillaspey]

I have tried different ideas, and have talked to as many people as I can...FYI to webmasters of small churches,

Sociologically speaking, in every small church, there are key people who wield great influence over other members, often behind the scenes. They are likely to have more influence over other congregants than even the pastor/minister or lay ministers.

Take these key people out for dinner or something. Get them excited about the website. They're your best sales force.

Just a suggestion.

(This probably won't work for churches larger than 200. That is the size at which it becomes largely impossible for everyone in a church to know each other. For church planters, that's signficant because it becomes a barrier to growth that can be hard to break through.)

Sincerely,

David Gillaspey
President
Great Church Websites