Webmaster Newsletter - June 2007

[pdstein]

Hello OurChurch.Com webmasters,

Summer is here (at least for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere) and that means kids are out of school. A lot of people take this opportunity to go on vacation and so we're taking somewhat of a low-key approach in June and July. There is still some important information you'll want to read about in this month's newsletter.

View this message on the web with color and graphics in our newsletter archives at:
http://www.ourchurch.com/news/archive.php

IN THIS ISSUE
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1) Church Website Improvement Award Winners
2) Change to Powerpoints Challenge
3) Update on New Web Builder
4) AIDS Clickathon Raises $1,600 for Orphanage

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Tell people about your business or ministry!
http://www.ourchurch.com/advertising/
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1) CHURCH WEBSITE IMPROVEMENT AWARD WINNERS
OurChurch.Com held the "Church Website Improvement Awards" during May in an effort to recognize churches that took their websites forward in the last year and to encourage other churches to improve their sites. Thirteen churches submitted essays about the improvements they made. By a vote in our forums those entrants were narrowed to 7 finalist and 3 winners. We'd like to congratulate the 3 Church Website Improvement Award Winners:

First Place: Dutch Valley Church of God - Knoxville, TN
http://forums.ourchurch.com/viewtopic.php?t=2838

Second Place: Holly Springs Baptist - Holly Springs, AR
http://forums.ourchurch.com/viewtopic.php?t=2837

Third Place: Mountain View Bible Fellowship - Sayre, PA
http://forums.ourchurch.com/viewtopic.php?t=2873

The winners received $200, $100, and $50 of credit towards OCC services. Thanks to everyone who submitted articles and voted.
http://forums.ourchurch.com/viewtopic.php?t=2886

2) CHANGE TO POWERPOINTS CHALLENGE
We recently made some minor changes to the Powerpoints Challenge with respect to the tracking of ad clicks. If you'd like to review the rules and scoring of the Powerpoints Challenge you can do so at:
http://www.ourchurch.com/help/help-powerpoints.php

3) UPDATE ON NEW WEB BUILDER
A few months ago we let the cat out of the bag... we are developing a new web builder to replace our existing Beacon Web Builder. We were hoping to have the new web builder release by now, but unfortunately development has progressed slower than we had hoped. We are now targeting a September release date.
http://forums.ourchurch.com/viewtopic.php?t=2527

4) AIDS CLICKATHON RAISES $1600 FOR ORPHANAGE
In April, OurChurch.Com initiated the AIDS Clickathon, an innovative effort to raise funds to support a Christian orphanage for AIDS-orphanged children in Kenya. Clickathon sponsors pledged to make a donation for each click, allowing visitors to the site to make a difference by simply making a free click. While we initially hoped to raise a lot more, the AIDS Clickathon has now concluded after raising $1,600 to help fund the construction of this new Christian orphanage.
http://www.aidsclickaton.com

Thanks for hosting your website at OurChurch.Com. Post your comments and questions concerning this newsletter here in our forums.

In His Service,
OurChurch.Com

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OCC's NEWEST ADVERTISERS
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- Good Neighbor Insurance - http://www.ourchurch.com/ads/click.php3?bannerID=1298
- Sunday School Curriculum - http://www.ourchurch.com/ads/click.php3?bannerID=1302
- Get Kids Living Inside Out - http://www.ourchurch.com/ads/click.php3?bannerID=1303
- Christian Connector - http://www.ourchurch.com/ads/click.php3?bannerID=1304

May AWARD-WINNING WEBSITES
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- Marilyn's Inspirational Poetry - http://www.marilynspoetry.com/
- Christ The Rock Church Of God - http://www.christtherockchurch.us/
- College Degrees by Mail - http://www.tripp-bible-institute.com/
- Roy Rogers Ranch - http://www.royrogersranch.com/

Info on PowerPoints Challenge - http://www.ourchurch.com/help/help-powerpoints.php

OVERHEARD...
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"A good friend of mine is preparing to go to Italy as a career missionary. He has put together what I consider to be a truly fantastic website. As I was looking at it though, it made me ponder - what makes up a good Missionary Website?" - hindsey

Sound off on our message boards - http://forums.ourchurch.com/viewtopic.php?p=8336#8336

BEACON TIP O' THE MONTH
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Simple HTML can be used to dress up the text on the website, including adding bold and italics and changing the color, size, and font. See the "FAQs: HTML and Formatting Text" for details.

WEBSITE SPOTLIGHT: Born Again Ministries - http://www.bornagainministries.org
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Born Again Ministries is a vibrant church in New Bern, NC. They focus on ministering to the needs of the whole person through our practical teaching and application of the Word of God. The church recently asked OurChurch.Com to develop a brand new Custom CMS Express site. Among the features included are a custom template, calendar, Google Map, and Bible search.