Antioch Church

Antioch Church: Recommendations for Change "The more things change, the more they stay the same." This is a common adage in the world today. Nonetheless, it should also be recognized that change, in itself, is one of the most common business paradigms today. Businesses need to change in response to the environment and their customers. As soon as it becomes clear that a customer need or complaint is not addressed, change is required for such a business regardless of the nature of the goods or services offered at its premises.

This is also, or perhaps most particularly, true of the church today. In an age where many are abandoning their faith in favor of more rational and scientific ideas, the church needs to revisit the way in which it provides its members and potential members with information and the opportunity to interact.

Here, specific attention will be given to the Antioch Baptist Church, its website, and ways in which its online presence can be improved not only to attract members but also to provide a better service to its existing members. Concomitantly, businesses and churches today have learned to adapt to the time by adopting a more prominent and inviting online presence. In this way, the church has adapted to become friendly to a community whose online activities have taken up the majority of time and effort.

It has also been a fact, however, that churches and religion have been notoriously resistant to change. For these reasons, the main recommendations for the Antioch Church is that the entity should update its web presence in such a way as to be more approachable, spark interest among those outside its immediate parish, and carry out the word stated in its mission and vision statements. It is only by adopting common modern technologies that church entities can become truly in touch with their existing and especially potential members.

Churches in Today's World The most common feature of today's world is technology. There is no way to deny the importance of technology or the fact that electronic communication has made it far easier than in the past for individuals to retrieve information. For businesses, today's technology means that they can position themselves online in such a way as to reach millions of potential customers.

While many churches have recognized this platform of reaching potential members, it does not seem that Antioch has joined this platform of communication in a way that is optimal to new memberships. From the church's website, some clear shortcomings have come to light. First, it is obvious that the site is not focused upon either recruiting new members or encouraging curiosity among its visitors from outside the company.

According to Nieuwhof (2015), one of the most important ways in which churches can position themselves to impact the future is by focusing on those outside of its immediate membership. When examining Antioch's website, it becomes clear that even the "about" and "contact" pages have only rudimental information, geared only towards their current members.

The pages that concern the mission statement and aims of the church, in turn, are so academic and/or focused on biblical language that they will somewhat alienate any searcher in need of solace or direction for his or her soul. In summary, there is little on the church website that would encourage an outsider to become a member of this specific church. There are far too few personable information elements that would encourage an individual to become part of this church.

When considering the recommendations, a professional would need to thing about the various aims of the church in order to determine the best recommendations for the survival of the church. In short, however, any church, like any business, would need to connect to its audience on a platform that is universally accessible. It is not currently clear that Antioch Baptist Church is accomplishing this. Recommendations It is important to recognize the stakeholders. One of the most important is the congregation itself.

The first recommendation is therefore to determine the atmosphere among the congregation. It is unlikely that this population will be enthusiastic about change. Indeed, the group mentality might be completely against any measures to implement change. It is therefore recommended that communication be a significant component of the change process. One congregation members understand the importance of recruiting new members, it is likely that they will be far more open to change. Another group of stakeholders is church leader.

Leaders might be wary of implementing new technologies for a purpose such as recruiting new members. Communication is also a recommendation here. By communicating effectively, the leadership team would be able to offer.