Odd as it may sound, one of the scariest places to go is church. When a visitor – especially one that hasn’t been in a church for years – takes that first step inside a church building, they often are filled with numerous anxieties and questions.
What door should I go in? Am I dressed appropriately? Will people be nice to me? Will they be “too nice” and try to push me into something I’m not ready for? What are the escape routes in case my experience goes horribly wrong?
These are just some of the questions many visitors have when they come to your church.
But Google has offered a way to calm many of those fears and provide a safe and easy way for people to get the answers. Last month, Google unveiled a new feature to Google Maps – interior photos for local businesses. It’s the perfect way to give a virtual tour to people wanting to check out your church or organization.
To promote the new feature, Google has created this snazzy advertisement going out in select areas. Check it out:
[tentblogger-youtube kMWxBpM-MSA]
To get started, you’ll first need to make sure your church or organization is already listed on Google Maps and associated with a user account. Then you need to get hooked up with a certified Google photographer. Fortunately, doing so is relatively easy. You can find a photographer in your area and they will work with you to set up a time and negotiate a fee.
Think of it as part of your outreach/evangelism budget. Then leave the rest up to Google! It’s an easy way to get yourself out there in just one more way.
And if you’ve already participated in this new feature or have used a certified Google photographer in the past for other services, let us know about it!
Jonathan gardner says
From the Google Business Photos FAQ:
“Are there any restrictions on what type of businesses can participate?
Currently, we are not photographing legal, medical, corporate, religious or large chain establishments.”
Chris says
Good catch Jonathan. I missed that. Hopefully they will offer support to churches soon.
Gordon says
And they don’t have photographers in any location that isn’t in the continental US either.
Chris Brooks (@Chris2Brooks) says
That’s a totally insane awesome video! 🙂
Would love to have this for my church, but Google isn’t offering this yet in South Africa.
(Probably because Google South Africa is more of a data center than a community partner – but they’ll beg to differ. lol)
Clay Kitchens says
I have a public safety background and the issue that comes to my mind is church safety. While it is not an every day occurrence, crimes do happen in the church and I would not want to allow someone to plot their crime before they enter our doors. I would be cautious in publishing anything but the main room where the worship service occurs, from the back doors forward without publishing any access/egress locations.
Jonathan Gardner says
Agreed, but I also think some of it depends on the individual church. My church for example, runs well over 10,000; the church itself, and a lot of the people frequently post pics to Facebook/Twitter so having a few “official” pictures of the lobby, bookstore, etc. probably wouldn’t make much difference security wise.