The 21st Century Fellowship Hall

Building Online Communities

Building a sense of community within your site users should be a primary goal of your Web site. That goal is easily reached with innovative thinking, follow through and just a bit of time. The possibilities for building your organization's community are endless. Following are a few suggestions for developing a community without borders.

An Alive Community

Your site can be as alive or as dull as you choose. Professional design and well-written content bodes well for those simply seeking information. These people are part of your community. However, your greater community consists of those already a part of your organization. You can simply use your Web site as another tool to build fellowship among those people -- the next-generation Fellowship Hall if you will. General ways to incorporate both these groups into your community include providing
· Online devotions and prayer requests. The North American Mission Board (http://www.namb.net) and the International Mission Board (http://www.imb.org) post daily devotions, daily prayer requests, and the birthdays of missionaries and their families for special prayer.

	Local weather links. Check with local TV stations about creating links to their sites.
	Your church or ministry newsletter or weekly bulletin online is especially helpful to those who have been away or who are trying to learn about your church.
	Prayer requests submitted by your viewers via e-mail.

A Community of Learners

Bible study leaders often can use additional guidance in their preparations. LifeWay provides a wealth of information to create a greater sense of community among leaders, helping them become better teachers who can in turn have greater impact on class members.

· Through the link www.lifewaysundayschool.com teachers can find

1. Quick Tips for the Sunday School leader in a hurry -- speedy help to improve what's happening in the class or department.
2. eSource Newsletter, a free e-mail newsletter giving its subscribers valuable information and ideas on how to improve Sunday School.
3. EXTRA!, a weekly supplement that links lessons to current events, also includes sermon helps that correspond with LifeWay literature.

	LifeWay Community allows viewers to exchange ideas, ask questions, and learn from others who are involved in similar ministries. "Neighborhoods" are categorized for leadership with specific age groups, from preschool through adults. The Neighborhoods also have community areas geared toward church staff members.
	Ask each class to e-mail a "report" from the week's lesson. What questions came up? Any valuable insights? What methods were especially effective and what flopped?
	Similarly, give class members insight into the coming study by posting a thought-question for each week's lesson. You could apply this to any age level and could post it on the home page, individual ministry page, class page, or even Bible study page.
	Consider establishing a "page" for each Bible study. With LifeWayLINK, any class member could post class announcements, prayer requests, birthdays, a welcome to new members, and other information that helps bond the class together.

Web sites offer incredible opportunities for teens not only to build a sense of community among themselves, but also to have an active role in ministry.

· The StudentLife section of LifeWayonline gives teens

1. Teen-related articles
2. A 24-hour counselor with sample counseling sessions covering more than 20 topics
3. Online ideas and help for research papers
4. Monitored chat rooms and bulletin boards

	Enlist teens to write movie, music, or concert reviews (with pre-established guidelines). Have them e-mail their reviews to a designated person who can put them on the site.
	A "response" or "vote" section would get other teens involved in voicing their opinions about the review as well.
	Polls are extremely popular among teens; simple polls bring them back and can offer valuable insight into what teens think. These can be fun questions like what's the worst cafeteria food? fried bologna, meat loaf, or turkey surprise - or more serious - which issue most concerns you? abortion, the environment, violence. You could also tie the poll or thought question into the coming week's Bible study.
	Provide a link to LifeWayonline's Entertainment section, which includes movie reviews from a Christian perspective as well as other entertainment news. This is a valuable tool for parents as well in helping kids decide what's what.
	Choose a "teen of the week" to highlight. Utilizing a digital camera and having them answer a few simple questions takes only a few minutes but can spark great interest in the site. If you make a big deal of which teen it will be by drawing a name at youth gatherings and giving them some type of award, others will visit the site to get to know them and will want to be featured.
	Why not have a "questions about the sermon" section? Students can e-mail their questions to the pastor or youth minister who can select several and post the answers.
	Give instantaneous reports from mission trips, choir tours, or camps. With LifeWayLINK, one person can post pictures and a daily report to the site, and parents and others can get updates. Churches have found this an excellent tool to communicate with those "back at home," create excitement within the group and their loved ones, and create a sense of further ministry for the youth who updates the site.

Children can generate a great deal of excitement about your Web site, if you take the time to consider their needs as well as those of their parents. An area designated especially for them will make their community even stronger. (Several of these ideas are suggested in "How to Reach Your Community for Christ" by Steve Hewitt in Christian Computing Magazine, October 1999.)

Create a link to the ChildLife section of LifeWayonline, where there's

1. A game center
2. Quick Bible search
3. Memory verses
4. Simple explanation of how to become a Christian
5. And other information for kids

	Provide a "coloring page" related to an upcoming story for Sunday School or children's church. Parents can print the picture and children can color it to bring the following week. You can even select several of them to scan and post to the site.
	Provide information and registration for coming events online. This is also a great place for related FAQ's -- "What should I bring to camp?"
	As with adults and teens, "Question of the Week" or "Ask the pastor" areas would be appropriate.

Don't assume that senior adults are unconnected. You might be surprised to find a number have embraced the Net as a way to learn, stay connected and make new friends. For those that haven't or think they could never learn, what a great ministry for the church to help them see the ease of navigating the Internet, particularly your site.

	Online messages in audio or video form can bring worship to those who might not be able to attend otherwise. Most often, a church posts its Sunday morning message; however, senior adults who attend in the day may not be able to go at night because of driving restrictions. Give them the option of hearing the evening sermon as well.
	Create a link to the MatureLife section of LifeWayonline. Here, mature adults not only have a safe, monitored chat room, they can read helpful articles and glean other information.
	Sites such as Audio Bible allow for listening to any chapter of the Bible being read.
	Profiles of senior adults involved in ministry would encourage others to get involved.
	List opportunities for upcoming events, but don't assume senior adults only want fall foliage tours or potluck lunch on Wednesdays. Many of today's seniors are just as active as their younger counterparts and have interests in everything from mission trips abroad to volunteer opportunities within the church.
	Create a "my favorite recipe" section for a recipe swap, "my almost hole-in-one" for golf stories, or "remember when" for fun looks at the past. You get the idea; anything to pique interest and help people feel a part of your community.
	Provide links to news sites or articles related to senior issues (health, retirement planning, etc.). The news links can always be available; volunteers could submit articles or other link ideas as they come across them.

Dianne Casolaro
Details Communications/LifeWayLINK