by Kevin Shorter
May 10, 2010
Obviously this will not be an objective book review as some of the other ones since I’m the author. At the same time I wanted to let you know about Church Search because I believe that many of church leaders reading this blog will find information helpful for them.
Three years ago, Christianity Today wrote an article on the church online stating 80 to 85 percent of people are finding their church based on websites. This percentage has only increased over time. Unfortunately, what I have found is that many churches desiring to attract new people have purchased a nice website but have not thought through how people find that website. Therefore most churches and ministries are missing free advertising and prospective visitors by neglecting some simple search engine optimization tactics for their website.
The goal of this book is to educate ministry leaders on the importance of having a presence online for their church or ministry, how to leverage the power of search engines to help people find that online presence, and how to determine if people are viewing the pages desired once they find that website. This book is not intending to take the place of the work of the Holy Spirit in drawing people to Jesus, and it is not intending to steal from the work of other ministries that churches are engaged in for the benefit of the body of Christ. Rather I desire that the tools received from this book would enable non-believers to stumble upon churches’ websites—to discover the work Christ is doing through the church and to be drawn to investigate further at that place of worship. Similarly, I hope this book will help Christians who have just moved to a new area to more quickly find a church home by selecting some potential places through a few minutes online.
Church Search is packed with practical steps to get your ministry to show up in search engines and lead to new visitors. As with everything you do, pray through the suggestions. Ask God to point out the ones He has for you. Online tricks will never replace the work of God through you, but as a co-laborer with Christ, these tips can help grow the effectiveness of the time and money invested in reaching your target audience.
One of my professors in school started his first lecture with the question, “Who are marketers?” The simple answer was we all are. Everything you do leaves an impression on those around you. Therefore, as ministers of the Gospel, marketing implies being wise in the way we act to outsiders and making the most of every opportunity.
- For the next couple months, I will give a free copy to anyone who agrees to read and write a review of it on their blog or publication. You can just request a copy from me either by DM on my Twitter account @KevinShorter or emailing me at (my first name) @praytel.net.
- You can also purchase Church Search at Barnes and Noble for $9 or at Westbow Publishing for $10.
