Christ the King
Lutheran Church
Memphis, TN

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT OUR UP AND COMING WEBSITE

Speak Creative, a Memphis website design and creative agency, has been selected to assist CTK with the development of new websites for both the church and school.

The initiative began earlier this year when CTK member Kevin Riordan, who also has two children in the school (Jacob and Casey), was asked to lead a team of church and school representatives pursuing a new web presence. Kevin has a professional background that includes more than 20 years of media production at FedEx. “Kevin was the logical choice because he could ‘talk the talk’,” says team member John Behnke. “He’s done an outstanding job pulling together the various aspects of this project and helping us arrive at a sound decision. We are where we need to be in this phase of our journey and we’re looking forward to having premiere websites for both our church and school families in the very near future.”

Kevin and John, along with team members Wes Boston, Gisele Buchanan, Tom Geyer, Kitty Kosman, and Mickey Perry, sifted through dozens of websites and eight developers before narrowing down to the top three. During the process, the team attended the “Untangling the Web” web conferences sponsored by the Mid-South regional office of the LCMS. “We were getting a lot of input into what it would take to pull together a top-class web presence, “ as Kevin put it. “It became increasingly clear that contracting with an outside firm was the way to go. CTK just doesn’t have enough resources to do this on our own.” He went on to explain that many websites are redesigned after 12 to 18 months. “From what we learn from this experience, “ he said, “we may be able to go it alone next time.”

In May, the top three choices were invited to present to the team. “Any one of them would have met our requirements,” John admits. “But Speak Creative was the only one with clientele that included both churches and schools. That really made the decision easier.”

When the websites are completed later this year, expect to see a unified look between the church and school. A unified logo will be introduced, along with distinctive fonts and color palettes that reflect CTK’s mission for church and school as well as its community reputation. For example, the church will project a classic image free of trendy gimmicks; whereas the school will project a more colorful image that will appeal to children and their parents.

Photography will be prominent in both sites, but don’t expect to see pictures of buildings on the main pages. You will see photos of people, families and fun events instead. That’s because people don’t go to a church or a school because of the buildings. They go to be social and to enjoy worshipping, working, learning and doing with other people. In lieu of long blocks of text, you’re more likely to see a video or hear an audio “podcast”. If you enjoyed a sermon, let everyone know on the new Facebook page, which will be easily accessible from the website. Want to leave a comment about a newsletter entry? Just write it up and click Send. On the road? Check out the mobile version of our website on your smart phone.

Finding your way around on the websites should be easy for both the church and the school. Look for three main portals on the school site: one for prospective parents, another for current parents, and one for the students. On the church side, expect to see main divisions according to visitors, members and church information (mission statement, what we believe, LCMS info etc).

Church visitors won’t have trouble finding our Sunday service times. They’ll be right on our main page, along with other helpful information easy to find with a single click. Church members will have a log-in link on the main page that, when clicked, takes them to Members pages where they can locate a phone number in the church directory, find ministry opportunities, browse for weekly activities, or post a prayer concern. The website will even make giving and tithing easier with online donations. Making donations, filling out forms, and paying tuition will be an automated, secure process on the school side as well.

As the development phase of the website project continues, please keep the team in your prayers. A lot remains to be done and the team sincerely desires their efforts and outcomes to give glory to God in every way.

For more information, contact Kevin Riordan via e-mail at website@ctkmemphis.com.