Elizabeth Church of Christ

Ellizabeth Church of Christ in Australia, offers visitors a jargon-free experience. Webmaster Rupert Lineage explains the ethos and ministry of the site.

After looking at many church websites, we realised that most of them suffered from a language barrier. So possibly the most important thing for our site was that it was written using words that anyone would understand. The only page where Christian jargon is used is on the Jargon Explained page. We hope that people will be more inclined to stay a little longer if they can understand the words!

It was also fairly clear that a layout/colour scheme which was lacking could really affect the perception of the quality of a site. So we spent time trying to come up with a good colour scheme and layout. However, the most important quality of the site, which everyone agreed on, was that the information on the site should be top quality. It should be written well, and relevant to people, with as few errors as possible.

Ultimately, we want the site to be an effective evangelistic tool. The church already had a weekly bulletin, written for church-goers, and it was important that the site not be simply a glorified bulletin. There is actually quite a large section on the site for the members – but it's not obvious, it's not upfront, and all the emphasis on the home page is towards people who don't go to church.

The site also touches people not in the area. One person replied to our pastor's initial response to a first email:

"I know it must be hard to comment when you only have limited information. Thank you for taking the time to respond to my concern. I have been contacting other churches via email for weeks . . . you are the only one who has bothered to reach out. I will visit your website often."

• Analyze the effectiveness - look at this site in depth
• Making church sites evangelistic – a resource guide full of ideas

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