How Holston's Growing Churches Employ Technology - Part 6
(Part 1) statistics on general technology use in churches
(Part 2) statistics on local demographics
(Part 3) senior pastor demographics
(Part 4) senior pastor use of e-mail
(Part 5) senior pastor use of the Internet
We complete this report on technology/Internet use among our conference's growing churches. Dr. Brian Burch completed his dissertation this past year with a focus on technology/Internet use in Holston. 85.7% of our highest growth churches responded to his survey.
Wednesday on the Web continues this series to introduce findings from Dr. Burch's research. What do these statistics mean for your outreach to potential members?
This week covers local church web sites in our high growth churches.
How long has your congregation had a web site?
18.1% Less than one year
20.8% 1-2 years
22.2% 2-3 years
22.2% 3-4 years
16.7% More than five years
Which of the following does your church Web site contain?
| 84.7% |
Encouraging visitors to attend (providing directions, special sections for potential visitors, etc.) |
| 65.3% |
Post photos of congregational events |
| 62.5% |
Publish schedules, meeting minutes, building plans, or other internal communications of the congregation |
| 61.1% |
Provide youth group material and activities |
| 37.5% |
Post Newsletters |
| 36.1% |
Promote missionary/evangelical work |
| 26.4% |
Provide a space to post or respond to prayer needs |
| 11.1% |
Allow members to sign up for classes or programs |
| 8.3% |
Provide Web casts of services, ceremonies, or rites |
| 1.4% |
Provide live, online discussion space for study or prayer groups |
How many people do you know in the past year who have visited your church Web site before visiting your church?
| 36.9% |
None |
| 6.2% |
1 |
| 21.5% |
2 to 5 |
| 7.7% |
6 to 10 |
| 27.7% |
More than 10 |
Which of these statements describe your church Web site?
| 77.8% |
Written to be understood by churched and unchurched |
| 62.5% |
Gives a clear, clean, professional image |
| 55.6% |
Articles written in short quick format |
| 50.0% |
Pages load quickly, no multimedia shows |
| 38.9% |
Is well-maintained and up-to-date |
In terms of helping your church grow, your church Web site is effective.
| 9.9% |
Strongly agree |
| 31.0% |
Agree |
| 42.3% |
Neutral |
| 8.5% |
Disagree |
| 8.5% |
Strongly disagree |
In terms of supporting current church members, your church Web site is effective.
| 11.4% |
Strongly agree |
| 48.6% |
Agree |
| 21.4% |
Neutral |
| 12.9% |
Disagree |
| 5.7% |
Strongly disagree |
Our congregation continues actively to maintain a Web site because we want to provide information about church activities to members.
| 18.6% |
Strongly agree |
| 50.0% |
Agree |
| 17.1% |
Neutral |
| 7.1% |
Disagree |
| 7.1% |
Strongly disagree |
Our congregation continues actively to maintain a Web site because we want to keep the congregation updated constantly about prayer concerns. (Note--several surveys included notes from pastors saying that HIPAA laws affect this use of the Web)
| 10.0% |
Strongly agree |
| 24.3% |
Agree |
| 30.0% |
Neutral |
| 27.1% |
Disagree |
| 8.6% |
Strongly disagree |
Our congregation continues actively to maintain a Web site because we want to stay culturally relevant.
| 24.3% |
Strongly agree |
| 52.9% |
Agree |
| 10.0% |
Neutral |
| 7.1% |
Disagree |
| 5.7% |
Strongly disagree |
Our congregation continues to actively maintain a Web site because we want to share the good new of Jesus.
| 50.0% |
Strongly agree |
| 37.1% |
Agree |
| 7.1% |
Neutral |
| 1.4% |
Disagree |
| 4.3% |
Strongly disagree |
Our congregation continues actively to maintain a Web site because we want to provide information about own church to nonmembers.
| 51.4% |
Strongly agree |
| 44.3% |
Agree |
| 1.4% |
Neutral |
| 0.0% |
Disagree |
| 2.9% |
Strongly disagree |
We hope this series has been helpful. You may wan to also checkout our review of the Top 5 Web sites in Holston.
Dr. Burch is pastor of Rural Retreat UMC and Mt Olive UMC in the Wytheville District.
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