Is it a location or an organization? The Oxford Dictionary defines the church as a building used for public Christian worship, while the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the church as a body or organization of religious believers.

By general definition, the concept of a church is a combination of both. It is not only the building in which the congregation resides, but it is also a gathering of a community of like-minded people who are present to learn the historical teachings of Jesus. That is if it is a church that identifies itself as a member of the broad Christian world.

Here at Evolving Media & Design Inc, we learned that Revive Alexandria intended to branch off from Breadalbane Baptist Church in Dalkeith and create a new institution, Revive Alexandria Church Inc. Before approaching the church, we waited until the official announcement was made public. In December 2018, we took the initiative and approached the leadership to discuss their website, their community portal, and explore ways to anchor their mission.

After many discussions, the real fun began, presented with nothing less than a fresh, clean, new slate. It’s exciting to work with a new entity, whether it’s an organization, an individual entrepreneur with a new start-up, or an established business.

There are many steps involved in creating a useful web portal to promote an organization. Appropriate and quality content is always the most important. Before we consider the design of the website, we first have to understand what the objective is. What is the real goal? What elements is nothing less than essential?

To start the process rolling, we began with content gathering and pre-planning what the site should include. Components such as:

“How one became part of the church.” Written by each member of the leadership team.

Then we looked at ways to highlight the missions and ministries that the church supports.

Then we turned to media with recordings of each Sunday’s sermon. We edited the audio tracks, removing distortion, long pauses, and preparing the files for the site. Each sermon included a summary written by Revive Alexandria’s pastor, Bruce MacCallum. Finally, we added a section for visitors and special guests to the church.

Jeff Poissant took photos at a baptism service, at a softball game, and at the Bocce Ball event this year. These images were approved and added to a gallery section of the site.

The result is a church portal that is a dynamic, living, breathing, community forum. The idea is to showcase the weekly reflections of the congregation. We also launched a challenge to encourage members of the church community to take photos or videos to highlight various events within Revive Alexandria’s community.

Working directly with Pastor Bruce, new ideas and questions would arise. After agreeing on the best way forward, the pastor would write the necessary script. The result, a site with a personal feel, kept authentic to the church’s vision, while I ensured that the site was visually appealing. Everyone was happy with the results.

Place. Community. Process. Respect. Creativity. Appropriate technology. A vital set of ingredients for any enterprise.

What was involved in this project:

• Consulting
• Content preparation and editing
• Photography
• Editing audio files (Sermons)
• Designing the website
• Hosting the website