New OBC Website Strategy

Who knows how to find the church website on the internet?  All together now: www.obc.org.  That’s right.  For any of you who have become associated with OBC in the last few years, I would venture to say that your first introduction to the church was through our website.  It has served us well in ministering to those inside the church, to those in our community, and to those around the world.  If you have visited the website in the last month or so, you might have noticed some changes.  We recently had the opportunity to do some strategic thinking about our website. 

What we have done is taken the OBC.org that you have known and focused it on our local community.  You can think of OBC.org as the front-door to our church.  It is the external view.  Here you will find focused information on who we are, what we believe, when and where we meet, and a brief overview of our ministries.  It is designed to bring visitors through our front door so that we can minister to them.

In turn, for those already inside OBC, or those wanting more in-depth information, we have established what is really a website within a website.  If OBC.org is our external view, then this is the inside view.  On the front page of OBC.org you will find a link “Inside OBC”.  Or, you can use this simple URL: inside.obc.org.

Inside OBC contains church announcements, events, and resources that serve as a tool for your work in the ministry.  Don’t think of this as a static display of information, but rather an area to collaborate in the ministry.   While anyone in the world can view and download information from this site, the real power comes when you are registered as a user.  Registered users can add events, add announcements, upload and share documents and pictures, edit content, and subscribe to email alerts, all based on their role in particular ministries.  You can register by clicking on the link at the top that says “Register Now”.  If you need to edit information on the website or configure your personal preferences, you will then be able to “sign-in” with this username & password

This is a team approach to doing ministry.  If you are in a leadership role in a ministry, you are now empowered to maintain your own internet presence. The capabilities of this tool in supporting your work in the ministry is really only limited by your imagination.  We are having training sessions on Sunday evenings.  If you wish to learn more, please come find me or contact me through the website. 

Over half of the first time visitors to our church say that our website was the main thing that brought them to our church.  We have “business cards” in the lobby that has our website address on it.  Let me encourage you to take some and give them to people as you go about your life.

I hope this blesses you in your service to Jesus.