How to Promote Your Church Small Group on the Web

If you are or have ever been the leader, teacher or speaker for a faith-based or church small group class, odds are you have struggled with motivating people to attend. Let's face it. Most of the people who attend your regular Sunday morning services are totally comfortable in the midst of a large congregation. There's not as much awkward eye contact, no one is asking them to share their life story, and they can slip out at the end of the service without being confronted by any strangers. But drop that person into the middle of a group of ten or less people who share common ages and life circumstances, and they tend clam up and get nervous.

So how can you encourage people to attend your new small group class and promote its message and appeal? Simple, develop a quick, free and easily-maintained web presence with a blog and Facebook page!

• 1. Use a WordPress blog to promote and advertise your small group.

WordPress blog sites are perfect for church ministry use, particularly for smaller, more personal groups and classes. Creating a WordPress blog is simple, easy, fun and, best of all, free! You do not have to be a level-ten technical genius or hypertext language writer to create and maintain a web blog. If you can handle your Facebook account, you can handle a WordPress blog. Just visit www.wordpress.com and get started. There are countless themes, widgets and background options, all designed to help you personalize your blog site.

Once you have your username and password, you could choose to set up and/or register your own domain name and personalized URL web address. For example: www.northsideladies.com, rather than www.northsideladies.wordpress.com. If you already own or have purchased a domain name, you can utilize it, or simply register a new one. Once registered with a paid domain name, you have a little more control over the look and appearance of your blog site, including the ability to get rid of annoying WordPress-authorized advertisements. However, these options will depend on how much money you are willing to spend. Domain names typically a yearly renewal fee. A simple, free and attractive WordPress blog is fine for any small group.

With a blog site, not only can you choose an attractive theme that reflects the essence of your particular small group, but you can begin to design and implement a custom logo and other graphics for your group using free stock photography from sites like iStockPhoto (where you may wish to sign up for an account) and free religious graphics from sites like CreationSwap (www.creationswap.com).

Using colorful and visually-appealing graphics and custom, creative logos, is a great way to promote your small group to the online community. This way, when you or one of your group attendees gives your blog URL link to a friend or coworker, they are confident that the site will be attractive and appealing to the visitor. A clean and weekly-updated blog presence gives your group an online professionalism and promotion platform like nothing else can.

• 2. Create a Facebook Business Page for your Group

Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter have completely shifted the landscape of online connection. With millions of people of all ages around the globe accessing Facebook every day, it's no wonder so many faith-based organizations and churches have taken advantage of its platform. Your small group class should be no different.

If you already have a personal Facebook profile yourself and are familiar with the ins and outs of Facebook, this should be a breeze. If not, just visit www.facebook.com and click the link at the bottom of the page titled "create a page." From there, just follow the steps and prompts. You will be asked to select what category your page falls under (local business, company, organization, institution, entertainment, etc.). If someone in your group is familiar with Facebook, ask them to help you set up the group's page.

Once you've got your page up and running, you're ready to start posting status announcements, creating and scheduling events, filling in contact and location information, uploading photos and so much more! All of these features will serve to enhance your group's visibility and will allow you to connect with other people in the local community who may be interested in joining your class. It's also a great way to stay connected with Facebook users in your group. Keep everyone updated on class meeting times, unexpected cancellations, etc. Or let everyone know to bring their favorite snack next week!

With both a blog site and Facebook page for your church small group, your class is sure to stay informed, updated and interested! And hey, now you have a spiffy new look on the web and your Bible class looks all the more visually appealing and professional! With any luck, this will attract some outside visitors and will serve to grow your group all the more.