Contemporary Music and Church Websites

By Timothy Fish

01/26/2005

A few years ago there was a popular idea that in order for churches to reach a younger generation the church had to start using the younger generation’s music.  Some people, including myself, took this idea to an extreme and got every frustrated when we saw the resistance of the older generation.  Some people on the other side of the issue took the extreme opposite view and took the position that if it is new it is evil.  Fortunately, this issue has been resolved in many churches.  There are still some churches that won’t sing anything that isn’t in the “Heavenly Highway Hymnal” and there are still some churches that will only sing contemporary music, but many churches have been successful at blending both the old and the new into their worship services.  As has happened in the past, the old music will eventually fade from existence, the new music that is good will become old music and the issue will come up again.  In the meantime, I believe there are some things that I have learned that can be applied to other issues.

In recent years many churches have been creating websites for their churches.  For many churches this is just the latest toy of the pastor, youth minister or someone else in the church.  Many people have the idea that just by having a webpage they will bring people to their church.  This is not unlike the belief that young people will come to your church if you sing contemporary music.  The truth is that a website can be a useful outreach tool or it can drive people away.  The same is true of the music that is sung in a worship service.  The type of music can be helpful in some cases or if could cause people to look for a different church.  In both cases there are some right and wrong things to consider and they both have a target audience.  For music the most important thing is the lyrics.  If the lyrics are not scriptural then it should never be used in a worship service.  Some people have been critical of music with a certain beat.  Some have said that this beat has been proven to be harmful.  I heard one preacher refer to the beat of music that you often hear coming from cars when someone has a stereo turned up too load.  I find this to be unlikely because we have all heard this beat since before we were born.  The next time you hear a stereo that is turned up too load, stop and listen to your heart.  I think you will find that they are the very same beat.

Instead of lyrics, websites have content.  Content is the most important thing on a website.  The content of a church website must be accurate, verifiable and up to date.  I have seen many so called Christian websites that are nothing more than a gossip page.  Some sites appear to have been created for the sole purpose of slandering another individual or group, but many Christians are quick to quote them as a reliable resource.  This type of activity is never suited for a church website.

Now let’s consider the target audience.  The style of music you use in a church service should be focused toward the people you are trying to reach.  If your church is predominately older people who enjoy the older styles of music and you are in an area where you are reaching people of the same age group then it makes little sense to change music styles.  Likewise, if most of your church enjoys newer music can really doesn’t care for the older styles then it probably makes more sense to sing newer music.  If you are trying to reach all age groups then you will probably want to find some sort of balance.  Some churches sing several styles of music in one service while others have multiple services with music styles that are better suited for the people who attend each service.  There are advantages and disadvantages to both.

When designing your website you need to have a clear understanding of what purpose it is to serve.  The website you are currently viewing has no clear purpose and you can see the result.  But if we look at the South Park Baptist Church website it is much different.   It has both a primary and secondary purpose.  The primary purpose is to reach out to those who are looking for a church in the Fort Worth area.  The secondary purpose is to provide information to the membership of the church.  Some churches have two websites to cover these two purposes.  Other churches have a single website that is focused toward one of these purposes.  If your church cannot define a clear purpose for having a website then you probably don’t need one.  Very small churches normally do not have a great need for a website.  In some cases a church may have a single page that provides contact information and meeting times.  If the church is located in a large town or city, this may help people find the church if they are looking for the church on the web.  A single page website may cost the church almost nothing since some organizations make small amounts of web space available to churches free of charge.  It may be possible to put such a page in server space as the website for a larger sister church.

The website purpose should determine the content of the website.  There is some room for flexibility, but the vast majority of the content should be focused toward the purpose.  In the case of the South Park Baptist Church website, much of the content is directed as people who are looking for a church in the Fort Worth area.  We have content that tells people how to find our church, we tell people about what we believe, and we offer audio sermons so they can hear why we think South Park Baptist is a great church.  Some things cover both our primary and secondary purpose.  We list the ministries of the church so that visitors know how we can help them, but it also tells our membership about ways they can help.  The calendar is probably most useful to the membership, but visitors may find it useful as well.

When it comes to music, a church must always be ready for change.  A website is always in a state of change.  A website that is done will soon be out of date.  To keep the South Park Baptist Church website up to date we store some things in a database.  A person with a password can add items to the calendar, upload sermons or even add content to the website.  The calendar will never show an event that has already happened because it selects the relevant events based on the current date.  It is better to show no events than to show only events that have happened in the past.  When someone views a website, he should never be left thinking that no one is maintaining the website.

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