In the July/August 2011 edition of Presbyterians Today, Joelle Anderson and Ida Smith-Williams wrote an article about trends in how Presbyterian congregations communicate digitally. They reported on research that shows a significant increase, between 2001 and 2008, in the percentage of congregations who use e-mail and websites to communicate with members.
So What?
While congregations have moved toward websites, perhaps congregants have moved beyond them. More specifically, while 63% of congregations surveyed used websites (and 88% of those featured a calendar of church activities) only 37% of “web-using Presbyterian attendees visit their congregation’s website at least monthly.” The authors believe this disconnect may be the result of the shift toward the use of e-mail, social media and texting as preferred communication channels with members.
- Who visits your congregation’s website? (primarily those who have no affiliation but are looking for data, those who have visited or participate but are not members, or members) How often? How do you know?
- How has your congregation updated its website to make it more useful to members, including greater integration with social media, in recent years? Should efforts be made toward this end or do you believe websites should be viewed primarily as an outreach tool?