Abstract:

Ministry is defined as putting one’s self aside and allowing God to work through us to touch the lives of other people. The act of serving God is the core of ministry. So then how exactly can this be accomplished through a website?

Since it is God who gives us the grace to serve Him (not claiming that God has gender, but merely emphasizing God’s relational intimacy with humans), all forms of ministry really come from God. And just like the Body of Christ, which consists of many different parts (Romans 12:3-8), holistic ministry is made up of different parts, working together for the glory of God. A website may be used in God’s service, and therefore may be considered part of a ministry.

The Philosophy of Web Ministry

A website might be used in conjunction with other forms of ministry to provide holistic ministry (a ministry that addresses the “whole”). By providing information (such as online transcripts of sermons or service times), and by collecting information (such as prayer requests), even an inanimate object such as a website may be used to bring people into a closer relationship with God. It doesn’t take a flash video intro or a professionally designed website to say “God loves you”. Unfortunately, it’s all too easy to loose focus of the mission when developing a professional website.

My personal philosophy is that there’s nothing wrong with having the best looking website on the net, and there’s also something to be said of simplicity. But regardless of the “professionality” of your website, my one and only question would be “does it accomplish its mission”? As redundant as it sounds, does your ministry website actually minister?

As you can imagine, there are multiple ways to build a ministry website. In future articles, I will attempt to present different ways in which your website may be used for ministry, and the technology that makes it possible.