Our Answer: An Internet presence, or website, offers a great potential to both your congregation and to your church or ministry. Here are just a few of the clear benefits you may derive from a ministry website.

Through your website, you can:

• Strengthen your other communication efforts

  Whether it is advertising your Easter or Christmas service, or letting people know about your upcoming sermon series, you can integrate your website with your other traditional communications efforts.

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  Be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

  Your website is always available, even when you're not. This allows people to find, interact and even listen to messages anytime of the day or night, when it is convenient for them. This holds great potential as a tool for evangelism and the attraction of new congregants.

• Communicate God's truth in multiple ways

  Your website can be used to communicate your ministry vision, doctrinal position and efforts in many different ways. Not only can you include text, but you can also communicate via pictures, images, audio and video in creative and relevant ways that really drive home the gospel message and communicate God's truth.

• Reach a wider audience

  Many people may hesitate to step into a church door, but would eagerly visit a website. Not only can you reach people in your community that would not ordinarily visit a church, but you can also reach people around the world.

• Create a sense of community

  A website is a great way to help build and develop a greater sense of community for your ministry or church. Through your website, members, people in the community, and people around the world can come together and discuss topics of interest, whether it is this week's message, various biblical topics of relevance, or current issues that affect their daily lives. Your website can also be used to help keep members and past members up-to-date with what is happening via Newsletters, online calendars, and event announcements.

• Communicate your message in a way that is always up-to-date and relevant

  Unlike traditional print media or radio and TV, your website can be updated within minutes and become immediately available to your audience. You don't have to worry about out-of-date material floating around, or re-record your information mediums. Your website can be the place that is always relevant and current.

• Reduce your overall expenses

  Compared with other media, having a website is significantly less expensive to both maintain and to update. Not only is it much less expensive to produce, it can also replace a lot of your printed materials and reduce your printing and mailing expenses.

So maybe, the question isn't "How Will a Website Benefit Your Church?" but rather "Why don't you already have one?"