Minority marketing firm builds free websites for minority churches.
Team Hiploch, a minority marketing firm, has launched a digital support campaign to assist minority churches with their digital presence. Recognizing there is an increasing decline in member attendance within minority churches, they’ve created a plan they hope will turn the tide.
The reason behind their digital support campaign is the continued decreasing impact churches have in the minority community. On average over one thousand churches close every year [1]. “This leadership void is difficult to replace. Many times the church is the last resort for health care, food or shelter in a community. As they close their doors many members of the community simply go without,” says Christopher Bush, Creative Director of Team Hiploch.
“Most of these churches are closing their doors because they do not embrace technology. In our 24/7 culture, people use technology to communicate in their professional and personal lives,” Bush said. “The absence of technology in the church leads to members being frustrated. They have to personally attend church service or a meeting to obtain information, instead of being able to view it online or on demand. This is why we have launched a digital support campaign designed to rebrand churches and build their digital presence. We will start with the foundation of a digital presence: their websites. We will also give them access to online seminars that will help grow their digital presence through social media and other mediums.”
Borden Chapel Missionary Baptist Church of Beaumont, Texas was the first church in the digital support campaign. They have undergone a complete rebrand with a newly redesigned and structured website. Pastor Airon Reynolds Jr of Borden Chapel MBC states, “The rebranding has presented a new start and new opportunity. I’m excited because I know we needed a digital footprint. Our last website had not been updated in 15 years. I was energized at the idea of rebranding and using our website to offer an opportunity for others, even outside of Borden Chapel, to be able to follow us and keep informed of what we’re doing within our church, and in the community.”
Pastor Reynolds also states once he presented the plan to build a new website and digital presence he found a new energy within his congregation and ministry leaders. “I told them about the update of the website and explained that each ministry would be featured with their own page. They were energized when they realized they could use the website to invite and engage other members, and non-members. A fresh update on the website gave us the potential to reach more people.”
“The results of Borden Chapel is exactly why we began this campaign,” said Bush. “Our objective was to provide digital access that allows ministries to connect and relay accurate information, and invite engagement within the church. Borden Chapel members can watch sermons at any time and still give/donate online. The ultimate goal was to expand Borden Chapel’s reach by defying the restrictions of its physical location, while offering a low-cost option to do it. Borden Chapel also saw a 50% increase in their Vacation Bible School once their website launched. So, their new website is already working for them.”
Team Hiploch is offering their website build service completely free to 100 churches, but churches must purchase a monthly maintenance plan.
According to Christopher Bush, “If you look at the day to day operations of a church, the task of ensuring information is up to date can prove frustrating because there is no designated medium to deliver it. A website built for communication can solve this problem, but it must be maintained. Currently, church leaders are turning to church members for website maintenance, but they lack the skill set needed to maintain a website. We want to make sure that we not only help to create the digital footprint but we assist in maintaining it. That is why the maintenance plan is so important. We also want to make sure churches are staying active and using their digital structure for community outreach.”
In addition, as a Team Hiploch client churches receive access to informative webinars and workshops including: Understanding Google Analytics and How to Use Your Digital Presence to Grow Your Ministries. The digital support campaign is also available for minority associations, conventions and religious groups.
To sign up your church for the Team Hiploch Digital Assistance Program please click here.
[1] Green/LifeWay, Lisa Cannon. “Study: Thousands of Churches Closing Every Year, but There Is a Silver Lining.” Charisma News, 2015, www.charismanews.com/us/53715-study-thousands-of-churches-closing-every-year-but-there-is-a-silver-lining.
