“Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it because it will surely come, it will not tarry." Habakkuk 2:2-3
When establishing a vision, church leaders are often inspired by the prophet Habakkuk to “write their vision and make it plain.” Writing the vision is just the first step, however. In order to actually make the vision come to pass, it takes time, energy, and plenty of patience. Setting goals is instrumental in making your vision come to life.
Without goals, the dreams and vision you have for your church will be hard-pressed to become a reality. Use the following as inspiration when setting goals for your church website.
Setting Goals for Your Church Website
A website without goals is sitting with untapped potential. Your job is to find a way to reach that potential—this is where setting goals comes in. Start with basic questions:
What do you hope to accomplish with your church website? Is it your aim to attract new visitors to your church? Do you want to focus on getting the word out about upcoming events? Do you need to provide another way to give?
Review your website data, talk with your church members, and sit down with your leadership team to help establish what your church wants from a church website. By establishing these directives, you can design a website to help you reach your goals.
What Kinds of Goals Should You Set?
There are many types of goals you can set for your church website, whether that includes increasing online giving, increasing downloads of offers, or growing your volunteer base. Check out the following examples of objectives for a church website:
- WORSHIP: Allow members and visitors to have access to worship resources such as video of sermons, live streaming, and bible reading plans
- INSPIRE: Find ways to motivate and inspire members to stay connected and get more involved
- GROW: Increase the numbers of new visitors and members
- MOTIVATE: Provide motivation for volunteering, serving, or joining a small group
- REACH: Encourage members to reach out to others in the community or to sign up for a mission trip
- GIVE: Increase the amount of money given by making it possible for members and visitors to give online
Find goals for your church website that line up with the mission and vision of your particular church.
Once you have your objectives established, it’s time to create a SMART goal. Add specific metrics and timelines to your goals to help measure your success. If you’re not measuring the success of your goals periodically, you might as well not set goals at all.
Using Goals to Design Your Church Website
Once you have established your objectives, you can determine how your church website can help you reach your goals. While it may be tempting to redesign your website based on emotions or “what you think might look good,” it’s important to have a purpose behind your website changes. Your goals should dictate design decisions on your website. Make sure there is a purpose and a goal behind every change to your website.
The following churches re-designed their website based on their goals. Read their success stories below:
Examples of Churches with Goal-Oriented Church Website Design
Hope Church Las Vegas
With a goal to help church members engage with the life and mission of the church through a variety of different avenues, Hope Church Las Vegas needed a design that made it easy for members to take advantage of a variety of opportunities to become engaged. They achieved this goal by using video and attention-getting images that make people excited to get involved in missions and to serve in the community.
Oakwood New Braunfels Church
In order to meet the goal of creating a professional-looking and inviting website, Oakwood New Braunfels Church incorporated an easy-to-navigate homepage containing relevant information for first-time church website visitors. This church also has a desire to see spiritual growth in each of their members and the design of their website makes it simple to find and sign up for a variety of spiritual growth classes.
Victory Christian Church
Connection is a huge part of Victory Christian Church, which is why they made it a goal to not only connect with those who are new to their church, but also with those who are new to Jesus. The design makes good use of their "New Here" dropdown menu so that visitors can easily find the category that best suits them. In staying focused on connection, Victory Christian Church makes it easy for visitors to read about and sign up for their Growth Track Program.
Next Steps
It can be challenging to set goals for your church online efforts, but if you want to make the most of your church website, it's something you simply need to do. Start by knowing what objectives to set and then figure out how you can design your website to meet those goals. If you need help, or inspiration, download our free 3 Features Every Engaging Church Website Has eBook.
