In this post I want to define what I think a blog is, and share some ideas on how you can benefit from starting one.

To get straight to the point…

A Blog Is Simply A Website.

But I believe a blog is so much more than just a website because your blog can also be a community, It can be a place of valuable resources, and above all it can be your own piece of real estate on the web, allowing your voice to be heard online.

If your wondering what the term Blog means it was taken from the word weblog, which simply means an online journal or diary of your personal activities.

But, you may have noticed that most blogs you find online today don’t have the look and feel of someones online diary.

Take this site for example, this is my blog, but you won’t find me writing about what I had for breakfast or where I am going to dinner, Because the people who I want to read and use the content on my blog probably won’t really care about that part of my life. Just as I don’t really care about what you had for breakfast.

The goal of this blog and your blog should be to keep all of the of the information topic relevant ie; The information on this site is about helping Christians understand and use the web for outreach and ministry, not what I had for breakfast.

One thing I would like to clarify about using the content on this site is,

You don’t have to be a Pastor or run a church to have an effective online ministry, There is no reason why you can’t have a construction business and build a blog based around Christian principles.

You could very easily share your testimony on your about me page, or you can introduce scripture through the information you share on your site, for example you may write an article on the details and importance of laying a solid foundation and then refer back to a particular scripture about building your house upon the rock. (Luke 6: 48) (This is only an example, I’m sure you could think of something a little more relative or creative, but do you see my point?)

Now some may argue that just having a website is good enough, but the way the world is changing at such a rapid rate, even a website with content as old as three years is considered to be out of date, and I am being very conservative in my estimates here. The average website you would normally get a web development company to set up for you will more often than not, sit out there in cyberspace for it’s entire life without ever having new, fresh and relevant content added to it.

Blogs make adding content and keeping your site time relevant. Since being introduced, Blogs have lowered the barriers of web content publishing so much, that literally any average person can now set up and start blogging

Blogs are incredibly easy to add new content, once your blog has been set up and your live online, adding a new post or article is about as complicated as sending an email, It really is very easy to do, and the learning curve involved in getting started is not that steep. you will find all of the info you need to set up your blog on this site in the very near future.

Usually your articles or posts get listed in a chronological order, which basically means that your latest posts are the posts you see first or at the top of the list.

For your blog to be successful you will need to devote time for regular and constant updates by adding new and fresh content.

One of the biggest benefits of a blog in terms of free search engine traffic is basically, Google loves them, The fact that blogs are updated regularly tells Google that the information is relevant and up to date, the search engines don’t want to be sending you to a web page that is ten years old if they can offer you something that is a lot more relevant to current trends or news.

I mentioned at the start of the article that a blog can be a community, you may have thought that statement was a little bit “Out There”, So now I am going to clarify that by saying…

The ability for your readers to communicate to you through the comments they leave on your posts helps to bring them back to your website.

Turning your website into a two way conversation is an incredible opportunity to outreach and minister. It opens up a whole new realm of opportunity to build a Global ministry like never before,

Let’s say your a pastor in the U.S.A. and I leave a comment on your blog, you now have an opportunity to speak into my life through your blog even though I live on the other side of the planet.

It also allows a passive observer who may be seeking answers but doesn’t want to go to church yet, to see into your ministry by reading the conversations between two or more people on your blog.

An example of this may be, you write an article on healing or prayer and you have someone leave a comment asking you to have prayer for a family member, and when they receive their healing through the awesome power of gods holy spirit they hopefully comeback and share the testimony on that same blog post, keeping the conversation going, so the passive observer who’s reading this conversation gets introduced to the gospel in a non confronting way.

Also, I saw on the midday news that there had been research and testing to prove that people would trust the content on a blog over a standard static website, Maybe it’s because your opening up your website for discussion, I don’t know, maybe because your blog is written in a conversational manor so the person reading your blog feels like your talking to them specifically,

I would say that one of the main reasons people trust blogs is a combination of regular posts, comminictive writing styles, the ability to add and leave comments and the fact that you can create conversations, your blog really does become your voice onine.

If you can build trust and relationships ofline then your blog will definately help you to build and create trust and relationships for you online.

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