Chronic illness Pain Support

How could your church's web site be a tool to reach out to the chronically ill or those in pain?

Could your church's website be improved?

As a ministry that has thrived on the internet, I've seen so much potential for using a web site effectively. And since we serve the chronically ill, we are always pleased to see churches that have live web casts of their services, the bulletins online (so if you miss the service you can still see what's going on,) or even podcasts of the audio portion of the sermon. That's why we are happy to be a part of Internet Evangelism Day, Sunday 27 April 2008.

They just sent me this press release about how churches can have their site's reviewed for free and I thought some of you may be interested. when speaking to pastors about ways to reach out to the chronically ill, don't forget to remind them of how the internet can be a wonderful tool!

Lisa

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New Advance for Church Websites
Free Church Site Evaluations Now Available Online

Summary
Churches can now receive a free customized 15-page report about their websites, enabling them to develop strategies to reach outsiders in their communities.

And this year's international web outreach focus day - Internet Evangelism Day - will be used by churches around the world on Sunday 27 April 2008.



"How can our church website help us reach out into our community?" Churches often find it difficult to know how to build sites that will engage with outsiders in their area.

A new online tool has been released by Internet Evangelism Day, which provides churches with a free 15-page evaluation report. Users assess their own website by answering 55 simple questions in the tool questionnaire. Their customized report is immediately displayed online, ready to print or save. Its recommendations are tailored with specific practical suggestions, based on the questions that were ticked. View the design tool here:
www.InternetEvangelismDay.com/design

A church site which has been prioritized for non-Christian visitors can be remarkably effective in reaching the community. "Week in, week out, more visitors turn up at our church on a Sunday because of the website, than anything else," writes one growing church in London UK.

Church leaders have welcomed this new resource:

"This competent evaluation tool and rating service provides a valuable service to churches and Christian ministries that will help them strengthen their effectiveness in outreach through the Internet."  - Dr. Sterling Huston, Director, North American Ministries, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

"Most church websites are not evangelistic. The new Church Website Design Tool can help rectify this problem. This is a wonderful tool." - Dr. Bill Gordon, Evangelism Response Center, North American Mission Board.

"There is no silver bullet for a great ministry site. However, this checklist is an invaluable tool to identify critical areas for improvement. Every church should study this regularly and act on it!" - Gary McClure, LifeWay Ministries.

This Evaluation Tool is just one of a range of pages at www.InternetEvangelismDay.com that help Christians learn to use the Web to reach the world. Internet Evangelism Day also encourages churches to hold a web awareness focus day on or near 27 April 2008, to explore this huge potential. Their site offers free downloads (PowerPoint, video clips, drama scripts and handouts) so that churches can create a custom program of any length from two minutes to an hour. "I am glad to commend Internet Evangelism Day," says Dr. John Stott.

Website: www.InternetEvangelismDay.comInternet Evangelism Day is an initiative of the Internet Evangelism Coalition, a group of major ministries involved in web ministry, based at the Billy Graham Center, Wheaton.
Interviews available: InternetEvangelismDay.com/publicity
Photos available: InternetEvangelismDay.com/photos
Recommended photo for this item: InternetEvangelismDay.com/churchphoto
Additional articles - ready-made material and MP3s: InternetEvangelismDay.com/articles
Leaders supporting IE Day: InternetEvangelismDay.com/supporting


For immediate release
More information: Tony Whittaker
Contact email: InternetEvangelismDay.com/feedback
Contact phone: +44 1283 702334 (GMT office hours)

Clarification on "The Golden Compass" Movie

a holiday movie to not take lightly

This photo looks so harmless, doesn't it? Another movie featuring a cute animal and a girl.

Personally, I’ve heard so many mixed messages regarding “The Golden Compass” movie I wasn’t sure what to believe. It was nice to have this message forwarded by one of my board members.

Lisa

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The pastors at Saddleback Church sent this email to their families regarding the new movie "The Golden Compass."

Dear Saddleback Family,

I hope you're having a great start to the Christmas celebration season. And that, if you're facing some tough times, you're finding strength daily in God's great love.

We've been getting a lot of questions about a new movie coming out this week. People are wondering about things they've heard about "The Golden Compass." The concerns you may have heard about this movie are true. It's an anti-God movie posing as a children's movie. The ads compare it to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but the fact is that its view of the world is exactly the opposite.

The movie is based on the first of a series of three books by Philip Pullman that are anti-church in their core message. When Pullman was asked by the Washington Post what C.S. Lewis (author of the Narnia books) would think of his books, he answered, "I'm trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief. Mr. Lewis would think I was doing the Devil's work." And he told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2003, "My books are about killing God."

I love the wisdom in this article from Christianity Today: http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/commentaries/fearnotthecompass.html. 

It's a great encouragement to not be afraid of the message of the movie, because the message of Christ is so much greater. And an encouragement to voice our disagreement with the author's message with a Christ-like spirit. And a warning not to be tricked by the hype around the movie - the most hateful parts of the books have been removed in this first movie in order to attract commercial success, but in a recent MTV interview the director stated that if this movie is successful, the future episodes will not be "watered down".

Personally, I won't see the move, not because I'm afraid of its message, but because I don't want to support its message.

Pastor Tom and the Saddleback Pastors