Watch Out!!!!

I cannot over emphasize the need to stay on top of your domain! I am going to share a couple of emails I have received since we started our "domain rescue mission."

The following two emails came in on February 23 within minutes of each other:

hi I would like to know why my web site was taken by ekklesia.com. My web
page is
www.churchdomainname.com
if you go there you will see my web page has an unofficial site of
churchdomainname.com

I cannot get my page back. I cannot believe a church organization would
steal my church web page
--------and--------

My web page is www.churchdomainname.com

I cannot believe a church organization stole my church web site.

You go look and your organization is on there, the ekklesia.com is on the
web page

I did a whois on twocows and it shows ekklesia.com is registar.

Now I cannot get my church page up and running for my church.

What happened??????

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What happened is on February 4, 2007, this domain became available!  Whoever the church had in charge of the domain had let it lapse. They ignored 70 days worth of warning emails from whoever their registrar was. This means the church web page went down around Thanksgiving day and NO ONE FROM THIS CHURCH MISSED IT OR DID ANYTHING ABOUT IT IF THEY DID MISS IT! My own churches web page (being maintained by a member) expired last year, and had I not notified them, they might have lost it.

In January 2007 I received a phone call, very similar to the above emails. The caller wanted to know why I "hijacked" the church web page that she had worked so hard on.  I went back and looked and that one had been "rescued" in November. She was calling me in JANUARY to find out why she had lost it? Counting back 70 days (which is a MINIMUM)    the web site was probably down and had expired back in August! This lady was blaming ME for their web site getting "hijacked" when no one had even missed it for four months?

I Peter 5:8 tells us to Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Replace the devil with "pornographers and advertisers." They want to take your search engine rank, and users/members/etc and devour your church, reputation and make money off your lack of vigilance. I have to believe we will stand before God some day, since this is part of your ministry. Would you leave the keys in your church bus so someone could paint it up with a "Hooters"  ad? Would you loan it to some unsaved teens to drive around and pick up bus kids and sell them adult movies? Then why would you let the same thing happen to your web page? Yes - I am afraid we will stand before God some day and explain what happened!