Bits and Bytes

I’ve seen a number of articles recently debating whether web designers should be worrying about “proper HTML and CSS” coding when it comes to building church web sites. Now there is a new website devoted to that: Godbit. I guess my question is this: should the church be concerned about the bits and bytes or the result? This is a core question of determining if you are an agile ministry:

Is the ministry being effective in its purpose, and agile enough to adapt to new needs as they arise?

I spent several years as the web and IT ministry leader (and sole volunteer for a while) worrying about technology. Am I constructing the web site using the latest technologies so that will glorify God? Am I building a network that considers every possible need and solves every problem before it even arises? In the end, I realized that it isn’t about the bits and bytes – it’s about people. The people that want to serve, don’t know what a <div> tag is, but given a tool like Macromedia Dreamweaver, could publish important information to the church and first-time visitors. The people that are seeking God and just need to be able to read an outreach-centered webpage in their browser of choice. The people that are moving to your town and want a place to worship. In the end, I realized that unless you are targeting lost souls that are reading your HTML, folks don’t care about how the bits and bytes line up – they care about perception (the site design) and results (“what’s in it for me?”).

So, to the web designers out there that are composing web sites for churches and ministries that look like we are in the year 1995 – wake up! And, to the purists out there that think time spent hand-coding is glorifying God – wake up as well! This is a war we are waging daily, and in the end, we need to ensure that our troops (servants) can engage the battle without requiring years of training and a CS degree. And, we need to be sure that we can rescue as many hostages from the battle and point them to the eternal peace and salvation that is Jesus by being able to quickly adapt daily, turning hostages to soldiers.

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