The Church Website Improvement Awards

[pdstein]

In an effort to recognize churches that have taken their website forward in the past year, OurChurch.Com will hold the Church Website Improvement Awards during the month of May as a part of Church Website Innovation Month.
http://www.ourchurch.com/hosting/church-website-innovation-month.php

SUBMISSION DETAILS
Churches that have made improvements to their websites in the past year are encouraged to write and submit a brief article about those improvements. Articles should be 100 to 500 words long and include:

- A brief description of the church
- A description of the situation prior to the improvements made
- A description of the improvements
- A description of the results of those improvements

Articles must be submitted to the OCC help desk by 10 AM EST May 17. On May 17th, all of the articles submitted will be posted by OurChurch.Com to the OurChurch.Com forums. Articles will be posted in the order they are received, so there is an incentive to submit articles sooner rather than later. OCC registered users will then be given one week to read the articles and vote for the most significant improvement to a church website. On May 24th, the three churches that received the most votes will become the finalists. OurChurch.Com staff will then select the winner of the Church Website Improvement Award as well as second and third place.

The first place winner will receive a $200 credit, which can be used towards any OCC services. The second place winner will receive a $100 credit. And the third place winner will receive a $50 credit.

AWARD-WINNING CRITERIA
There is no specific criteria for what church website improvements might be considered the most significant. Possibilities include:

- A small or relatively new church that has created it’s first website.
- A site that’s been given a brand new, updated design.
- The addition of new functionality like sermon podcasting or e-newsletter that has significantly improved a ministry or church communication.
- Renovation of a church site to make it more friendly to unchurched people.
- Optimization of site for search engines, registration in directories, or other things done to help people find the church website.

Once the finalist are determined by the votes of OCC members, OCC staff will determine the winner based primarily on the results the improvements to the church site have produced. Results will be considered in proportion to the size of the church. So, be as detailed as possible about the results and don’t think you have no chance just because your church is small.

A HIGHER PURPOSE THAN AN AWARD
In addition to recognizing churches that have made improvements to their website, the purpose of this event is for churches to share information about website improvements with each other. Most church webmasters are content to work anonymously behind the scenes. If that’s you, please understand this is not about self-promotion. This is your opportunity to help other church webmasters improve their website by explaining something you’ve done that’s helped people find God, connect with your church, or grow spiritually. Even if you don’t care about winning an award or the prize money, consider submitting an article as a service to other churches and the larger body of Christ.

If you have any questions, please post them here or send them to our help desk.

http://www.ourchurch.com/support/

In His Service,
OurChurch.Com

[pdstein]

We've received 8 articles so far for the Church Website Improvement Awards. Thanks to everyone who has submitted an article. There is still plenty of time for the rest of you Church webmasters to submit an article by the May 17th deadline.

In His Service,
Paul Steinbrueck
OurChurch.Com

[prays4u]

Hi... could you please tell me how I would go about submitting my "essay"? I just coulndnt' figure out where to send it.. and who knows... there may be someone else as clueless as I! However, if 8 people have already submitted theirs, well... I guess I'm alone here!

Thanks so much!
_________________
Blessings!
prays4u

"O thou that hearest prayer, unto Thee shall all flesh come!" Psalms 65:2

www.TinyURL.com/YUQQKD & www.TinyURL.com/YPOV4V &
http://tinyurl.com/24W56P

[pdstein]

Hi prays4u,

Articles are to be submitted to our help desk:
http://www.ourchurch.com/support/

If you have any other questions about the Awards, just let us know.

In His Service,
Paul Steinbrueck
OurChurch.Com