In 2011, 300 million websites were added to the Internet. The volume of digital data floating in the sea of the Internet is creating a tsunami of information that is completely overwhelming. The World Wide Web has seeped its way into our lives and taken root like no other piece of technology ever has before. We find it at home, work and play. It’s on our computers, tablets and smartphones.
It. Is. Everywhere.
So, should a church even bother adding to all of this noise with a blog of their own?
Heck, yeah!
Your Church Should Have a Blog
Even if your church has made its way onto Twitter, Facebook and has a dedicated website, my answer is still, “Yes, your church should have a blog.”
Jesus went to the masses and in case you haven’t noticed, the masses are online. That’s why your church should establish a solid online presence through Twitter, Facebook and a church website. We are in an age that if you’re not online, you don’t exist.
True story.
A blog is easily incorporated into a church website, so there really is no technical reason why you can’t add one. You don’t need unicorn horn dust to start a blog. In fact, the rumors are true, you can start one for free!
The church blog audience will more than likely be the congregation. It may be read and followed by those who are church shopping or generally interested, but that’s really just a great side effect and gives those not involved in your church community an idea of what your church is like.
So, don’t be boring!
Your Church Should Not Blog If …
If your church can’t pull-off at least one blog post per week, don’t even bother. Having a dead blog, a blog that hasn’t been updated in over a month, is worse than no blog at all.
Don’t be that church.
What Not to Blog About
First, let’s talk about what not to blog about, since that list is shorter and not nearly as fun as what you can blog about.
Do not blog about:
- Upcoming church functions
- Special event announcements
- Church news
- General information
See? This list wasn’t fun at all. Don’t blog about it!
A good rule of thumb is: If it goes in the church bulletin, then don’t blog about it.
Can you blog about attending a special event or function? Yes! Just remember that if you start using your church blog to spread general news and information, two things will happen:
- Readers will stop reading.
- You will get lazy and completely stop writing.
If you don’t use your church blog for actual blogging, your church blog will turn into an electronic bulletin. Put that kind of information somewhere else on your website or in the church bulletin that no one reads because it’s, well, boring.
What to Blog About
There are so many things you can blog about and there are so many benefits to be reaped! A church blog isn’t about web traffic, SEO and all those other buzz terms you hear about in the blogging world, it’s about building community, sparking conversations, creating interest and developing connections between church members.
There are also rumors that blogging can be fun.
Here’s just a few things you can post to your church blog:
- Testimonies
- Funny stories from church functions
- Deeper insight into Sunday’s sermon
- A re-cap of Sunday’s sermon
- Parenting ideas and tips
- Marriage pointers
- Awesome YouTube videos
- Helpful, insightful and fun links
- More!
So Who’s Going to Write this Stuff?
Pastors, elders, deacons, leadership and church staff are perfect for the task and it’s a great way for the congregation to get to know them. Make sure you have a few different dedicated writers who post regularly and manage content, and then reach out to the congregation for guest posts. Guest posting is always a good idea, plus, “many writers make blogging light.” Unless you have a real shortage of Internet users in your congregation, I guarantee that your church has more bloggers in it than you may even realize.
How Often Should There Be New Posts?
First, make a decision of how often you want new posts on the church blog.
- Once a week?
- Three times a week?
- Five times a week?
- Every day?
Make sure you keep it within reason, don’t overwhelm your writers or readership!
This is fun, remember?
You’re better off to plan for less and schedule posts for future dates. It’s better to be consistent, and you can always increase the frequency later. The excitement and newness of a blog will wear off over time.
Blogging is a marathon!
Just Get Started!
As you start your church blog or re-vitalize your current one, be sure you don’t overlook people. Bloggers come in all shapes, sizes, ages and personalities, all contributing with different voices in different ways. A funny YouTube video is just as suited for a church blog as a 1,500 word post on deep theological views.
Don’t be short sided, don’t give up, and start your church blog, today!
What are you waiting for? Get started and have fun!
[Editor’s Note: This originally appeared in the first issue of the ChurchMag Newsletter. When you subscribe, you’ll receive a link to download our free ebook, Church Tech for Mortals!]
Raoul Snyman says
The question is not, “Should my church have a blog?”, the question is, “If my church had a blog, would anyone post on it?” and the answer is an overwhelming, “no.” Which means that the answer to your question is, “no,” too.
Let’s face it, unless your pastor is a techno-head (few are) or you are in a large church with more than one paster and a dedicated church admin *team*, no one is going to have any time or any inclination to write any blog posts.
Far too many churches are trying to “keep up with the digital age” with web sites and blogs and Twitter and Facebook and Android apps, and wasting their time and resources, instead of focusing on what they’re actually there to do.
I’m not saying that churches should shy away from technology, quite contrarily, I am very much pro technology in churches, I just think that churches spend far too much time focusing on stuff that does not really matter in their specific circumstances.
It’s great that Mark Driscoll’s sermons are all on Mar Hill’s site to watch for free, but he is one of a team of pastors, with full-time technical staff. But your church doesn’t necessarily need to do that as well.
Brendan says
I would agree that this requires thought beforehand for each circumstance. You should always start with by asking why. If a blog would help your church with achieve its mission, maybe its would be a good thing.
To me, this post was highlighting reasons why it may be helpful to start a church blog, and the fact that the resources exist for churches large and small to do so with relative ease.
If a blog might be the right thing for your church, it can be free and a few volunteers can begin and manage the thing!
One great thing for the church—about websites, podcasts, blogs and social media—is that all of these tools are accessible and inexpensive for every size church.
Eric Dye says
Good points, Brendan. The age demographic of a church, no matter the size, is a huge factor, too.
Eric Dye says
Exactly. That’s why I took a moment and talked about why “Your Church Should Not Blog If …” 🙂
Philip says
Probably good advice, because when you are the staff member that is working on events and excited about them, they seems like the most interesting things in the world…to you.
But truth is, you aren’t probably going to get very many readers hanging on every detail of church event plans.
Eric Dye says
You got it!
Jon Stieglitz says
One of the biggest reasons every church should have a blog in my opinion is for SEO. I will probably differ with even Eric in that I don’t think it needs to even be all that good. Search engines love regular posts especially from blogs. As a church trying to reach the unsaved and unchurched we want our church to be easily found. The statistics show more and more people are turning to online methods for discovery and the church on the whole is lacking in the methods businesses use to capitalize on the ability of Search Engines to index and rank content. Surely the better the content, as Eric illustrates, the more subscribers, the more user engagement and the higher ranking in search engines will follow. The adage “Content is king” still is crucial, but in my opinion the first part of the content is having a blog as a “Content type”. The second part is populating the content type with valuable content. There is much to discuss on the matter of SEO and churches but in a nutshell. Every church should have a blog.
Raoul Snyman says
Blogs do not equal SEO, you can achieve good SEO with a brochure site too.
But as per my point above, the big problem is that you get the pastor excited for a week, he posts 1 blog post, and then he doesn’t have time for more. Every church should NOT have a blog.
andrea says
I think it also depends upon not only the skills and abilities of the people putting the website together, but upon the pastor’s support – if the pastor is not 100% behind his or her church creating a website in the FIRST place….
Eric Dye says
True. Having leadership in support can make all the difference.
Eric Dye says
The issue of SEO is hardly a science and there are numerous ways to execute it well. I think you’re both correct on this matter.
Jon Stieglitz says
Raoul, You are correct. Not every church should have a blog. Some churches are dead or dying. These are often the ones with a website that is static or unchanging. However if a church is desiring to be reaching the lost and appealing to the unchurched they will be striving to be relevant in every area, the internet included. When I say every church should have a blog, I really mean every church that is wanting to be effective and taking every advantage of spreading the Gospel of Christ. It should not stop with a blog however, they should be into social networking as well. To be the most effective it should be done well, however some leaders believe if it is anything less that perfect it brings dishonor. There is a fine line but if a church wants to communicate their vision, their passion, and who they are, a blog is an effective method to reach people looking for a church.
Eric Dye says
You are right, Jon. The stuff seen in the community is far more important than what’s seen on the church’s blog. Also, every church is a little bit different part of the Body of Christ. There are going to be those churches that a blog just isn’t their thing. However, being active in the community should ALWAYS be their thing 😉
Eric Dye says
Agreed, Jon. I think what I was thinking in saying this was, don’t start with too high of expectations, don’t think you need to have EPIC posts, this isn’t about being a pro blogger.
Content is king … so true.
andrea says
TIMELY and PERFECT article – we are just starting a website in our church (as you can see from the URL….. :D) – this makes a LOT of sense for me – bookmarking it for sure….. 😀
Eric Dye says
Cool! Thanks!
Dan & Laurie Neumann says
Good article, Eric. I feel the same as some of the others here who have voiced their opinion that a blog does not work for every church. We have suggested the idea to our pastor, and even of having a team of writers so the responsibility does not all fall on him, but so far, it hasn’t happened. And that’s ok. He uses his time elsewhere, so every pastor/church will have their priorities.
That said, I do think a blog is an awesome way to share your message with your community and even the world. And I agree, it does need to be updated on a regular basis. A stale blog is worse than none at all.