Senior adult ‘Web ministers’ catching on in Alabama

As more Alabama Baptist churches use their Web sites as vehicles of communication and interaction, a great need arises for continuous maintenance of their sites. This necessity has created a new service opportunity for senior adults in churches throughout the state.
   
“There has to be one person designated as Webmaster whose job it is to maintain the Web site,” said Cleveland Brown, director of missions for Conecuh Baptist Association and president of the Alabama Baptist Association of Web Ministers.
   
“One person needs to be in charge of making the changes and updates to the site so there is continuity,” he said. “If more than one person works on the site, it is too easy for the site’s theme and design to become confused with a piecemeal appearance rather than being a congruent whole.”
   
There may be many church members who have the knowledge and skills needed for working on Web sites, but finding a person with the time to maintain the site may be more difficult. “For a Web site to be effective it needs to be updated on a consistent and regular basis,” said Brown. “Some sites are updated daily, some weekly.”
   
Thankfully for many churches, there has been an increase in the number of senior adult Webmasters.
   
“Senior adults have the time to build and maintain the church Web site, whereas, a busy pastor and church staff may not have the time to keep the site updated with fresh content,” said Brown.
   
“Senior adults are also very dependable, reliable, dedicated workers who are willing to invest the time and energy to learn the skills needed to be a Webmaster.”
   
In addition to being available to commit to such a time-consuming project, many senior adults find the position very rewarding.
   
“Some retirees are looking for something worthwhile to do with some of their time, and they are finding that serving as a Webmaster for their church gives them an important and fulfilling job,” said Brown.
   
John Goss, a 75-year-old Webmaster, keeps up with the Web sites he develops and manages despite suffering from Lou Gehrig’s disease.
   
Currently Webmaster for Mile Straight Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tenn., Goss developed and managed the Web site for DeKalb Association’s Minvale Baptist Church, Fort Payne, for several years.
   
Goss began working with the Internet after retiring from the wholesale electrical supply industry. That was also when he got his first computer. 
   
This was despite Goss losing much of the use of his right hand, preventing him from writing or typing for long periods of time.
   
“I’ve been retired 11 years and it takes a lot of time to build a Web site, and most younger folks don’t have that kind of time to spare,” said Goss, who learned Microsoft Front Page, a popular Web development program, to continually improve the sites on which he works.