Connected congregations: Church Web Sites

Churches with Web sites and pastors using e-mail are praising how the electronic media keeps them in touch and enriches congregational life, a recent foundation-funded study discovered. But in a good news–bad news scenario, the authors of a separate survey warn that having a Web site designed chiefly to attract newcomers to the brick-and-mortar site is worse than having no Internet presence at all.

People using computers to scout out a church to attend have distinct expectations for what a web site should be. They “will hold a poor site against a congregation,” says the Hartford Institute for Religion Research. “Having a quality Web site presence is even more crucial for congregations attempting to reach persons under 30 years old.”

First, the good news. The response to a survey of 1,309 congregations taken last year by the Pew Internet & American Life Project suggests that churches and synagogues have found new energy and purpose through use of the Internet. For instance, 81 percent said that e-mail use by clergy, church staffs and members has helped the spiritual life of the congregation to some extent; 35 percent said it helped a great deal. About 17 percent said e-mail helped the congregation “a lot” to connect with the surrounding community, and 51 percent said it helped “a great deal” to keep in touch with fellow members and church staff.