BUGB Web Awards Winner
Friday 09 May 2008
By Paul Hobson (Baptist Times)
Finchampstead Baptist Church has officially the best website in the Union.
The church, in Wokingham, secured enough votes at the Assembly to win the first ever Baptist Union of Great Britain (BUGB) web awards. The competition was launched at the beginning of the year, with the first round of voting finding the best website per regional Baptist Association. More than 100 websites were nominated.
Voting was reopened over the Assembly period, to discover a winner among the 13 finalists. Almost 600 votes were cast, with Finchampstead emerging at the top with 77 votes.
Penrallt Baptist Church (Bangor) was second, while Cottingham Road (Hull) was third. The results were announced by BUGB general secretary, the Revd Jonathan Edwards, in the plenary session on Sunday morning.
The Revd Grenville Overton, regional minister, team leader at the Southern Counties Baptist Association, said, ‘The website is very contemporary and relevant, and engages with the community.
‘We need to realise that so much information is now picked up in this way. It has set the standard for churches, and I urge everybody to take a look.’ Amanda Allchorn, BUGB head of communications, believes the awards are a fun way to get churches thinking about their own websites. ‘Increasingly people are looking on church websites before making a decision to visit. By championing the best local websites in the denomination we can inspire churches to consider how they can make their websites more effective.’
For more, visit www.finchampstead.com, www.penrallt.org, www.cottroad.org.uk.
A selection of top tips on website design for Baptist churches can be found on www.baptist.org.uk
