The Network Gets a Facelift
For more than a decade, The Network (crcna.org/Network) has been a place where church members and ministry leaders can swap ideas, ask each other questions, and compare notes about the “nuts and bolts” of doing various church ministries. Last week the site launched a brand-new look and even more features to serve CRC audiences.
“When we started The Network in 2010, it quickly became one of the CRCNA’s most popular sites, both in terms of overall traffic and community participation,” said Tim Postuma, codirector of the CRCNA’s Ministry Support Services and one of the key people behind the site. “That popularity has continued.”
Postuma added that every year the site gets about 1 million pageviews and receives over 3,000 contributions from people across the denomination.
“The Network was built on the belief that if we can connect lay leaders and staff across our churches, good things will happen,” he added. “One deacon’s experience can help another. Two churches far apart can compare notes and share ideas. When we provide a place where a thousand churches and tens of thousands of people can experience this together, powerful connections can be made.”
Staci DeVries, the Network’s part-time administrator, added, “The Network is all about community! It’s a place for people to connect with others who are engaged in ministry by answering questions, posting ideas, and sharing resources. The new changes to the site were designed to make that even easier to do.”
Here are a few things that the new site offers:
Amped-up visual appeal. Larger, high-quality images are used on the homepage and throughout the site to enhance the reader experience.
Broader, more-intuitive topics. The homepage features a clean and simple navigation bar with topics that make sense in the context of the local church.
Multiple options to subscribe and stay informed. Users can subscribe to broad, top-level topics (e.g., Leadership), or they can narrow their focus by subscribing to subtopics (e.g., Deacons).
An emphasis on Ministry Q&As. Since back-and-forth ministry sharing is what The Network is all about, the redesign simplified the “Ask a Question” form and gave Ministry Q&As homepage prominence.
A dedicated spot for Church Positions. The Church Jobs section is one of the most popular features on the site. Each month, The Network receives dozens of posts from churches that are hiring. To keep these posts from cluttering the homepage, there is now a Church Jobs landing page.
A search engine that thinks like you. The Network wants users to be able to find the best results for their searches. The new search engine is even more intuitive and matches more keywords to help ensure that the best articles will rise to the top.
“If you haven’t visited The Network or haven’t been to the site in a while, be sure to check us out now,” said DeVries. “Subscribe to our weekly newsletter or create an account and add your own posts and questions. The Network is better with you in it.”
Visit the site at crcna.org/Network.
