United Methodist Communications
Friday, March 29, 2024

I needed a way to let people "visit" the church before it ever existed!

Visit the Faith Community United Methodist Church Web site

As a new-church plant in a rapidly growing area of the Conference, I was interested in quality ways of communicating

an image and identity even before the congregation would come into existence. I especially needed a way to let people "visit" the church before even attending a church event or worship experience. I knew that interested people might visit a website, but I had neither the computer skill nor the financial resources to develop a professional, user-friendly webpage. Another United Methodist pastor mentioned E-zekiel to me, and as soon as I visited their website and called their office, I was convinced that they would provide exactly the services I would need. I have not been disappointed.

I bought the most inexpensive package, set up the pages myself, and printed the web address on every flyer, door-hanger, sign, business card, and advertisement. The website functions for us as an electronic pamphlet letting people know our vision for ministry and our values. It is easy to post the latest information on worship times, small groups, and workshops. Uploading graphics, maps, and other content is a breeze. And it’s simple to link to other websites to provide added information and content; for example, a link to www.UnitedMethodist.org allows visitors to tap into the denomination’s Igniting Ministry site for more information on The United Methodist Church. And people have begun to use the "Means of Grace" page as an on-line spiritual-discipline tool. As this new congregation grows, I am looking forward to adding other E-zekiel features as tools for ministry.

People visiting the site have commented on how professional the site looks, and they are always surprised when I tell them how easy it is to use. Every time, we distribute a new flyer, we see a jump in traffic on the site. And some have actually learned of us through the internet after using various search engines. One family relocating from another state was able to visit us and contact us long before their moving van arrived.

John A. Cannon
Faith Community United Methodist Church
Lafayette, Louisiana