Note: Up until 06/16/07 we were mailing out letters to
churches we created websites for. Due to the latest postage increase, we will
not be mailing letters out any more. This page will lay out what this is all
about and your options.
Help Support the "no
church left offline" initiative with a tax deductible (US only) donation to
FamilyNet International Inc via PayPal.
The Unofficial FamilyNet Web Page
Why an unofficial website? Our Independent
Baptist Web Portal at
http://www.baptist-ministries.org is a link based database. That is it
requires a link for each listing. If I cannot find an existing website for a
ministry, I create a simple website with the basic information for a ministry.
These web pages are clearly marked "Unofficial Website." This term will announce
to the world that the website is in no way sanctioned or attached to the
ministry! We do not take the "unofficial" label off unless specifically
requested to by the ministry.
So - FamilyNet has created a web page for your church and you are wondering what your options are.
You have a myriad of options available to you. I will try and lay them out, so
they are understandable.
Rescued domains
Many people don't seem to understand that once a
domain expires and is released, ANYONE can register your domain. Several
years ago when checking links in the
baptist-ministries.org
database I ended up on a church website that had pornography on it. Many
former church websites have ads on them (Mormon dating, other denominational
churches, adult advertising). Other ministries can have links to the expired
domain (how often are these links checked?) and may be linked to adult,
advertising, even malware sites. So the Lord laid it on our hearts to
provide a rescue mission for domains that have been orphaned. Domains that
have been rescued are marked as (rescued*) Unofficial websites. If the
original rescued website was not copyrighted (and we can find an old copy of
it) we may try to restore some of the features of the website.
You can do nothing!
You have a basic web page up, and you now have an
internet presence. If the information is correct, you need do nothing else.
You can ask us to take
the web site down!
If you already have a web page let me know and I will
add a link from your unofficial website to your official web page. This will allow
people coming to the unofficial site to find your permanent web page. This
will also enable the search engines to find the permanent web page and build
your search engine rankings. In order to accomplish this - someone simply
needs to
email me
the URL with a request for a link. Anyone can do this.
If you simply do not want
a web page, or you have any other reason that you do not want a web site up,
you can send a US Mail letter, call us or
email me. It is critical that you provide the
URL of your Unofficial Website - or at least indentify the church name and
location. If you have an existing website,
provide me with your domain name so I can send your visitors to you! Only
church leadership can do this. I will verify the request with a call to the
church to speak to the Pastor or church staff.
You can ask that the
website become "official."
This will result in the removal of the banners, (optionally the
topsites if requested), and the "Unofficial" notation. In the case of a
"rescued domain" I will remove all reference to the rescue as well.
You can send me a Church
Bulletin!
Send a bulletin to me via US Mail, or email
attachment, and I will update your information from the bulletin.
You can update the
information!
Send me an email with the correct information and any
other information your would like on the web site. I can add Bible Tracts if
you like. If you can attach digital photos, to an email I can update your
website with pictures.
You can update the
information yourself!
Your web page was created using Microsoft Front Page.
If you want to update it yourself, I will move it to a new location, add the
Front Page Extensions, and send you a log on ID and password. I will have to
verify you of course!
You will also be able to create content via any HTML
editor you wish. Once content is created you can FTP (File Transfer
Protocol) the content to your site.
You can create a web site at another web hosting
service. See the Free Web Hosting Button! I will point your domain name to
your new site.
I can set up templates for you. You can
then create and update your site with easy to use templates.
You can get a new domain!
I have registered domains for many churches already,
and pointed them to their free FamilyNet church web page. The cost is
generally between $8-$10 a year. I will register the domain and pass the
cost on to you. The domain (whois) look up will be in your church's name,
the church will own the domain name.
