We need all hands on board. There’s a raging battle out there for lost souls, and having a soul-winning team on the same page matters today more than ever. Church website design is at the forefront of differentiating your message from the competition, and having the right team / person in place has never been more important.
1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Church website design shouldn’t be delegated to unsaved website designers who pander to worldly interests as a means to promote interest in your church. Does your designer understand your Doctrinal Statement? Do they understand that everything they publish about your church needs to be in harmony with that statement?
To focus your website on inviting the lost to Christ, you need an experienced web designer who understands the Gospel. That Christ died, was buried and rose again so that we who believe in Him through faith are saved.
Understanding content in all forms — verbiage, video, audio, visual — means understanding the context for branding your church’s purpose and contrasting it with those around you. This is critical for search engine ranking. It’s not an easy feat for an unsaved web designer who may only see an apples-to-apples comparison because he doesn’t understand the key points differentiating your church from the one down the road.
All Are Welcome But It's Not a Popularity Contest
I’ve seen church websites designed by liberal web designers. The sites run amok from overt religion to casual, seeker-friendly religion with a broad stroke of worldliness in one form or another. Nearly every one of them could use a good proof-reading by a rock-solid Christian editor, to ensure a clear Gospel message.
It’s not about including social buttons or music videos or popularity testimonials. Nor is it about highlighting a church’s victory or achievement in counting likes and upvotes. Rather, it’s about bringing honor, praise and glory to God. Inviting the public to experience true joy in Christ, or showing them the way to salvation. Or sharing precious resources and tools to help them on their journey.
Good church website design focuses on its own flock as well. It’s about edifying one another through hymns, prayer, worship, fellowship and giving of thanks to the One Whose perfect work at Calvary made it all possible. This edification is the bedrock for a foundation that promotes fellowship, growth and maturity to all manner of believers.
A church website designer should have an interest in promoting, clarifying, improving and developing solid content that corresponds to the church’s mission while ensuring the efficacy of the Gospel as it’s presented to the world.