Media Outreach

1. Can you give me some background about the church and how long have you been there ?

Life Springs Worship Center was planted by the West Columbia Pentecostal Holiness Church in December 2001; so we’ve been here for 7 ½ years.  We are part of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church (IPHC) based in Oklahoma City, OK.  Rev. Derrick Gardner is our Senior Pastor.

2. How are you using your website to increase member involvement ?

We encourage our members to keep up with what’s happening by logging in to the site, checking the calendar, ministry pages, and so on.  We also encourage them to give online, and we’ve seen dramatic growth in our online giving this year.

3. How has the use of technology changed the way you do church ?

Well, for one thing, we don’t use the old overheads or even the slide projector anymore!  Computers have really altered the landscape when it comes not only to in-service presentation but also keeping up with members (attendance, personal info, etc.) in a growing church.  Technology also can be your biggest ally or your greatest enemy, from a PR standpoint.  Poor use, or NO use of technology, and you simply don’t exist as far as potential members are concerned.  But with planning, a little help, and some concerted effort, you can have a quality, missional web presence that will speak volumes to visitors – BEFORE they physically set foot on your property.

4. How are you using media to communicate your message ?

During service, we use a presentation software, of course.  Beyond that, we record our sermons and post them on our website so that people in our congregation can go back and listen again.  If they missed it, or if it’s someone from out-of-town, they can still hear Pastor’s messages on a weekly basis.

We also make the messages and series’ available on CD, for those who wish to have a hard copy.

5. How has the use of technology helped your ministry change lives ?

I’d say that the biggest thing has been that it tells people what we believe when they’re searching for a church home.  They can really get a sense about who we are and what we’re about.  Then, when they actually come to a service, the message of Christ and the heart for worship here at LSWC can minister to them where they are.

We’ve also had ministers from the other side of the globe e-mail us and say that they’ve been listening to Pastor’s sermons and that they’ve been sharing them with other believers.  It’s an awesome thing to know that because those messages are on our site, the entire world can hear God’s Word and learn about Him, can grow in Him, and can be encouraged to live the life of faith.

6. If you were the Chief Technology Czar for churches, what would be your
recommendations ?

First of all, if you don’t have a website, GET ONE!  We had a college intern recently, and she was telling us that a group of her friends from school were trying to find a church.  There were TONS of churches in the area, so they went online and searched the different churches.  If they didn’t have a website, they simply moved on to the next church!  No website, no visit! We’ve GOT to understand that in order to be seen as relevant in our culture, we have to speak the language.  We can have the best church in the world, but if they perceive that we don’t value what they value, we won’t get a second look.  It’s pretty sobering.

Along that line, you can’t just have a website and think that it will be good enough.  Strive for excellence – do the best you possibly can with the resources available to you.  You may not be able to implement everything you’d like to from the very beginning, but go for quality.  It will speak volumes.

7. How has your experience with faithHighway has benefited the church?

When I originally came on staff, we had someone in-house maintaining the website.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t very good.  We decided to go with faithHighway, because it allowed us to have complete editing control. There’s been a learning curve, but we’ve been very happy with our overall experience.  We’re currently on our second design with fH, and we look forward to continuing our relationship with them.

pic by lrargerich