 John Klaver is leader
of the Multimedia Team at Salisbury Adventist Church.
Earlier this year John and his long time friend Grant started a business providing computer repair, networking, and website
design. They have been using Simple Solutions as a way to
spread the gospel, by providing technical support, hardware, and website design to the church and it's school free of charge.
Their goal is to finish the work here on earth by reaching people locally and around the world using technology.
My interest in website design started for me when I took a course called Introduction to Internet Programming. While I
stayed in the programming course, my interest in the internet grew. When searching for other Adventist websites, I found most
of the sites were only talking about cults. The rest of the internet is littered with advertising and useless or degrading
information. I started talking about a website for our church long before Grant and I started talking about starting a
business. I did what a lot of us do, which is talk about doing things, but not really doing them. When I was finally stuck at
home for a few months with a broken leg, I got to work on our church website. I got input from other members and looked at
other church websites who had won an eChurch award. The site was approved by the board in 2005 and has been growing ever
since.
In January we started recording the audio of our church service to stream online and for the first time in July we began
recording video. It has been exciting to see how many people have watched or listened to sermons on our website. Between our
children stories, sermons, and VBS videos we have streamed audio and video more than 1600 times this year. For the first time
we began tracking our visitors in February of this year and the reports are exciting. We have recorded 1260 different IP
addresses and 10,548 page requests since February 2006.
When I began to analyze those IP addresses I found we were getting hits from all over the world. We have had requests on
our Prayer Request and Prayer Praise pages from all over the US and even from other countries. We have been delighted to pray
for and rejoice with people from all over the globe. Through our contact page we have received emails from both local North
Carolinians and from people around the globe. Some visitors are Adventists while others are from a variety of religions.
Our school website which came before the church website and has seen several revisions and has become a part of our school
growth. This year we have had several people reading about our school and even had a few families fill out the online
application. One family downloaded the application and other documentation, filled them out, and then called our principle to
tell her the application was completed, the money in hand, and their children would be coming to school.
A website is only as good its content and we are finally starting to have some real content. Dr. Lombard put together the
About Us page to tell our visitors a little about our local church history. Laurie Ward, our communications leader,
faithfully sends me the bulletin every week and continuously searches the site to make sure there are no grammatical or
spelling errors. Several people have taken pictures to post in our photo gallery and our pastor, Werner Gil, watches over our
online Bible study. It is never really one person who makes a website, while only one may do the coding, the content is
provided by many and in many forms.
The internet is a powerful tool and we should have no hesitation in using it to reach those in our local area and around
the world. We have a work to do and there is not much time left to do it. While my personal business is beginning to grow, I
will never let it interfere with the work that the Lord puts before me. As the Bible says in Philippians, "we are citizens of
heaven." We need to finish the work, so we can go home to be with our savior Jesus Christ.
Do not be afraid, if you are new to web design, as there are many free resources available and many people willing to work
with you and help you. Remember what Jesus said, "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find;
knock, and it will be opened to you." In as much as the Lord allows, I will help anyone who asks.
Sincerely,
John Klaver |
