Comments on: 5 Church Design Myths That You Need to Know

By: klreed189

klreed189 — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 21:44:21 +0000

Myth number #6 We have a guy in the church who can do our website
Wrong, you need to hire someone to make your site for you. Sure it would be nice to give someone in your church an opportunity to serve with their gifts, but I have talked/helped many friends that are church leaders get their sites changed/updated/or launched because the guy in the church that says he can do web design has been working on the website for the last 7 months. I am sure the church member has great intentions, but usually this never ends good and cost more money that if you would have just shelled it out in the beginning.

Good list John

By: Vince

Vince — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 21:07:39 +0000

#3 // the people that really matter and are your target don't read 'all that stuff'. But the loud and squeaky high maintenance people do.

…and they send you long emails to tell you how they feel about it.

By: Jim

Jim — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 18:51:46 +0000

"It's just a fad."

By: Jim

Jim — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 18:50:43 +0000

i don't think that everyone needs a web-presence. Without purpose or intent, why do it? If there's no buy-in from your existing members, will it work?

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 18:18:28 +0000

um, might stir the pot a little, but how about this for a church website myth:

“we need a great web presence!”

Yes, web presence is more important than it used to be, but most churches have 100 or so attendees, not 1000s (mega-churches won’t apply to 90% of what i’m about to say). Ministry can be supplemented online, but for smaller and midsize churches, it should not be a drive and a focus in most cases. Now, if the culture of your particular church is very web-saavy, social network-y, etc, then of course you want to reflect that… But i’ve seen a lot of churches try really hard, spend money, and focus too much energy on a web presence that gets maybe 100 hits a month…

Don’t get me wrong, I think churches should have pretty decent, up-to-date, relevantly designed websites that are functional. And they shouldn’t completely ignore their web presence… but let’s not overemphasize a supplemental piece of the puzzle in ministry.

By: Steve Manatt

Steve Manatt — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 18:17:54 +0000

While there is something to be said about the differences in designing for a church and a secular company (audience primarily), the same tried and true guiding principles about design and usability should be followed. Ignoring these is a huge mistake as people are trained with certain behaviors online – uniqueness can actually hurt you if you're not fundamentally core with the basics.

Good post!

By: chrishill

chrishill — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:57:12 +0000

"I can do it myself and it'll be good enough."

By: @joshua_w_hunt

@joshua_w_hunt — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:52:41 +0000

Thank you for this. I needed to be reminded of #4. I have been that designer who has made originality an idol. This was a great post and humbled me. Thank you!
If I had to add another myth…
#6 There is no such thing as "This won't take you very long"
-Usually there is only a one or two people who actually know how much you already have on your plate and how far behind you might be in design work……When someone pops their head into your office and say, "I need something designed…and i needed it yesterday…and it won't take you very long at all since you're an expert at this design stuff". When I was presented with a project to design, I was asked numerous times if I could have it done that afternoon of that same day! It just so happened that I was the first graphic designer the ministry I worked for had ever had.