Boyink! - Spring Forward on the Web

Re-reading all the discussion on the idea of charging churches to develop websites, I’m still troubled.

A number of volunteer church webmasters responded in the comments (here and on other sites), saying how they felt God had gifted them with web development skills and how doing the church website was a way of “giving back”.

I want to make it perfectly clear - I honor that.  My personal thanks go out to anyone giving freely of their time to create and maintain a church website.  It’s painfully clear by looking around the internet, the Church needs desperately needs you.

The question I have, and this is really the core issue of what my previous post was about, is…

What happens when you leave?

And I do mean “when”, and not “if”.  I believe that just like there are seasons for everything else in life, there is a season to your time spent volunteering on the church website.  What I don’t want to see happen is all your hard work getting thrown away by the next person, who comes in and completely re-deploys the site on a different content management tool, or thinks it would be “cOOlR” if it were a completely Flash-based site, or just isn’t happy with the design.

What pains me about that situation is so often the biggest thing church websites are hurting for is good content, and the time spent redesigning or redeveloping the technical side of a site that’s in place and working would be better spent getting better content posted to it.

My previous post made the assertion that if the current site was more valued by the staff, sweeping changes would be harder for the new person.

But I’m thinking today that a highly-valued site is just part of the solution.  Another part of the equation is “succession planning” by the exiting webmaster.  In other words—as volunteer church webmasters, what can we do to plan for and execute a successful transition to the next webmaster?

Certianly there are times when people leave churches under less than ideal conditions - let’s set those aside.  Assuming that the split is an amicable one, what can we do to ensure that the site continues in the most efficient and effective manner?

Do we help identify our replacement?

Do we train them?

Do we provide documentation about the current design and development of the site?

Do we formalize a overarching internet evangelism strategy for the church, and map the current site into that strategy?

Do we form some kind of a governing structure for the site, so that the webmaster is but one person on a team, and less likely to be able to make sweeping changes unchecked?

I’ll be the first to admit— some my past experiences with church websites were due to my failure to do good succession planning.

I’d love to hear from church webmasters who have successfully transitioned themselves out of a church, and what worked to make that transition a smooth one.

Comments are closed, but you can read the comments other people left.

1. Mike Norton on June 13, 2005

   Mike, you have some very good questions which can contribute to the overall solution.  The issue does come down to a mind set; the “Volunteer” mindset compared to a “Corporate” mindset.  By volunteer I am not referring to the webmaster but an over arching structure.  In a volunteer heavy environment when one person leaves and another steps up with wild and crazy ideas, the leadership may be hesitant to say anything for fear of loosing all vested.

   I especially like and dislike the governing structure idea.  My dislike comes out of my observation of many committee’s falling down on the job.  However, if care is taken this can be a great method to get ownership into the hands of decision makers which will value it more.  The more people that help draw up the plan, the more that will support or defend it.

   On a personal note I wish to also thank all of the very talented and gifted men and women out there who have shed blood, sweat and tears on such grand projects.  I also want to remind you of something that I have learned in ministry.  If and when they leave your work on the side of the road remember that it is not a personal attack or invalidation of your devotion.  Often time it is the cause of well intentioned people who do not see past there own enthusiasm and desire to serve.  Each and every one of you are worth a great deal.  If you doubt that statement simple turn to John 3:16.  You are worth enough to God that He died for you.

   Keep up the great work for the kingdom everyone.  If that means you get paid for your service, then go for it.  if you are able to donate your time, then go for that.  Just remember, it’s all about Jesus.

   In His Service
   Mike

2. Nathan Smith on June 13, 2005

   I am a MDiv student at Asbury Theological Seminary, in the last year of the program.  I did all the development/design for RockUMC.com, my church’s website.  I’ve been burdened with the same lagging question: Will this site out-live me when I’m gone in a year?

   If I left tomorrow, the answer would be No.  Even though I’ve got the site set up with a CMS and shown the staff how to use it, they still need to have a paradigm shift.  As of yet, they haven’t fully realized the potential for communicating the gospel via the web.

   Recently, and partly because of your article and the others linked to from ChurchMarketingSucks, I have felt compelled to start training others to take over.  So, right now I’m teaching two other guys who are somewhat web-savvy to be the webmasters.

   This is something that will happen *while* I’m still here.  It is not enough to simply pass the baton.  I think that there needs to be significant overlap time to allow for training.  My college pastor told me “There is no success without a successor,” and I think that holds true in all walks of life, geeky ministry included.

3. Brad Hinman on June 13, 2005

   I think you are heading in the right direction. You are asking the right questions. Here are my thoughts.

   Designing and implementing a ministry website needs to be a team effort. It’s important to never do ministry alone. It’s really about more than building the site. It’s about getting to know other Christians and building character through a shared goal. I have heard before that there should be no superstars, only superteams.

   There are many roles that need to be filled on a web team and many aren’t technical. For instance, you mention the need for good content. There probably needs to be a writer on the team. Someone to contact various ministry leaders and write the content. This person more than likely needs little if any technical knowledge. Other roles might include someone to coordinate the team, someone to develop a communication strategy and someone to develop the web strategy. The exact structure of the web team should vary between churches, but it’s important to make it a team effort. This will most likely prevent anyone from joining the team and making sweeping changes once you are gone.

   It’s also important for everyone on the team to seek out and train a replacement from day one even if the person has no intention of moving on. It’s a good way to bring those on the fringe into a supportive small group team. It also allows plenty of training time. Eventually once the person is trained, you can move on to other important areas on the web team and then again seek out a replacement and begin to train him or her. It’s a never ending process that helps to continually expand the team with competent successors.

   There is a difference between a committee and a team. A team does ministry and a committee usually just gives advice or discusses a topic without much action. I wouldn’t suggest a committee. Everyone on the team needs to be doing ministry. A team creates ownership.

   Thanks for reading my comment.

4. James Higginbotham on June 13, 2005

   Actually, the idea of a long-lived website beyond the current webmaster is primarily a leadership issue, not a technical one. Technologies change, and though you hope that the successor will try not to spend cycles reinventing technology rather than concentrating on content, sometimes a refresh is necessary to keep things current.

   That being said, it is up to the “webmaster” to be more than an HTML, graphics, javascript, JSP/ASP/PHP slinger - they are to be a leader. This means that not only are they to understand the technical decisions that need to be made, they also need to grow a team, manage the queued up requests from staff/leaders, and innovate content and technology.

   Sound like a lot? Yep, sure is! That is why it is necessary to have a leader in place that can make these things happen, not just sling HTML. This goes for many ministries, not just web - how are you reproducing your team today, so that you can be gone tomorrow? If you aren’t doing this, your time invested today might be hay and wood, not long lasting. Would your ministry fall down in the wake of you having a new calling in your life from God? Needing to move? Unable to serve for any other reason?

   Accept the initial calling, leave a legacy, and don’t think that only you can get something technical done. Grow your team, minister to one another, and you will impact people today and beyond!

   James

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