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In these last days, God has opened the way for Christian missionaries to serve in more countries than ever before. He is pouring out revival in new ways around the world, and now the Web has made it possible for missionaries to mobilize their churches and prayer supporters more effectively than ever before.
In 2000, a company named Pyra Labs launched www.BlogSpot.com, the world's first weblog (or "blog") site, and it completely revolutionized the content of the Internet. Instead of only computer experts writing web pages, now for the first time anyone could build their own web site with almost no computer skills whatsoever. From teenagers to the elderly, people around the world discovered that they could easily share their thoughts and photos online using blogs. Soon, even overseas missionaries realized the potential of communicating with their churches and supporters via this powerful medium. Unfortunately, public blog sites are not secure (anyone on the Internet can access them), and while missionaries were able to share photos of their work, they weren't able to write openly for fear of jeopardizing their ministry. Instead of powerfully championing the cause of global missions, most missionary blog sites were limited to being mere online travel diaries.
In 2004 God led us to build and release the first blog tools designed specifically for missionaries. Now, overseas servants can easily and safely present their ministry through their own custom, professional-looking websites. And because the sites are private and password-protected, only the missionary's churches and supporters can read what they've written. Hundreds of missionary families from dozens of evangelical churches and mission boards now use our tools safely in sensitive regions such as Central Asia, the Middle East, South Asia, the Pacific Rim, and East Asia.
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How does it work?
These tools were written by missionaries for missionaries. We understand the special needs of overseas service. Here
are some of the unique features our tools provide:
- Completely safe and secure. We use 128-bit encryption (the same as online banking). All access
to your site is by password only, and your website address will be intentionally generic and nondescript (it is not
linked to www.MissionaryWebsites.net).
- You have complete control over who sees your site. By importing your email list of churches and
supporters into the website tools, you can restrict who has access to your website. Only those who you
invite can enter your site.
- Show custom content to your site visitors. Because your visitors log into your website using their own email
address and password, your site knows who each visitor is. You can put your visitors into groups and then write custom
content that is visible only to that group. For example, you can write web articles to a specific church membership,
family members, co-workers, etc. without any of your other visitors reading that article or even knowing it exists.
- See who is following your ministry. Traditional email or paper newsletters sent to churches and
supporters can be like communicating into a black hole: it is hard to know who is reading your updates and who isn't. However, our tools tell you who is visiting your website, how often they are coming, and what articles they are
reading. Now you can see quickly and easily which people are really following along with your ministry.
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- Do it yourself! If you can use a web browser, then you can build your own site. No special programming skills are required, and there are lots of examples and help online to walk you through the process, step-by-step.
- Invite them into your world. Because you are allowed to attach up to 20 photos to an unlimited number of web articles, you can really bring your supporters in to see your world of ministry. Text emails and paper newsletters don't compete with the diverse media your churches and supporters are bombarded with everyday. A professional-looking website full of photos of your country and work will connect people to your ministry.
- Customize your site. You choose your colors, your font size, your layout style, and your site name:
all without knowing any computer programming! Just point and click to put your personality into your site.
- Built-in email engine. When you have added new articles to your web pages, you can easily send out
email reminders to all of your supporters, inviting them to your site. And your visitors can also choose to be notified automatically
when you update your website.
- Get feedback from your churches. Your supporters can post comments to your website, leaving
their feedback and giving encouragement to you when you write an article that impacts them.
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Who is eligible?
To use our website-building tools you must meet all of the criteria
below:
- You are an overseas missionary serving outside of North America.
- You have been sent out by a Protestant, evangelical church or mission agency.
- You are serving for more than one year in your overseas assignment.
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What does it cost?
If you meet the eligibility requirements, then there is no cost to you: the website tools are free. We provide them as our ministry to you, in the hope that you will more effectively mobilize your churches and supporters for missions.
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Want to sign up or see a sample site?
Because missionary security is very important to us, we don't publish the name or web address of our missionary site
tools. If you meet the eligibility criteria above, we would be happy to sign you up for a free website or let you see a sample site.
Simply write to mail@MissionaryWebsites.net and tell
us:- Your first and last name
- Your mission agency (or sending church's name and location if you are
independent)
- The length of your term overseas
- The continent where you serve (it is not necessary to tell us your specific country)
Look at the nations and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you
would not believe, even if you were told. (Habakkuk 1:5)
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