VALLEY FORGE, PA (ABNS 7/9/09)—The Office of the General Secretary, ABCUSA, today announced the release of a new website for the denomination. The site's address will remain the same—www.abc-usa.org—but the site has been aesthetically and functionally redesigned to more effectively serve those who use it.
American Baptist General Secretary, A. Roy Medley, said, “This site redesign is a huge step in the right direction for us. We feel that the new site will become an increasingly useful tool in our desire to serve our regions and churches ever more effectively. Our desire is to offer our American Baptist churches and leaders a tool for resources that can help their ministry, and for communicating the powerful ministry that American Baptists are doing in churches, regions, and around the world, as we serve as the hands and feet of Christ.”
Leo Thorne, associate general secretary for Mission Resource Development, the office that manages the site, said, “As the web becomes more and more crucial in today’s ‘information-at-the-speed-of-light’ age, we have realized the significance of the www.abc-usa.org website. We have been working very diligently to redesign the site, to serve our constituents more effectively. A great deal of time and energy has gone into redesigning the new site, and we hope that our end-users will find it more helpful than ever!”
The new design of the site focuses primarily on ease of use—attempting to get users to helpful information more quickly. It features a redesigned menu, and a much-improved search function, both of which should help site users more quickly find the information and resources they are seeking.
Said Matthew Brown, acting webmaster, “We have listened to the feedback we’ve received from users the last several years, and have attempted to address the most common concerns and requests. No one site will ever meet everyone’s needs, but we have attempted to make the site as effective as possible for American Baptists and churches, in terms of the ways it can assist and empower them in their ministry. Our hope is that the new site moves us ever closer to that goal.”
A new feature for ABCUSA is the addition of a presence on social media networks like Twitter, MySpace, and Facebook. Available under Quick Links, the goal is that this addition will allow American Baptists to connect their ministries and stories using some of the latest tools available on the web.
The site, designed in conjunction with WebMedley, a Christian-based web design company that works primarily with churches and other Christian non-profit organizations, will continue to be refined over time. The new site architecture will help to facilitate updates, revisions, and improvements more quickly and effectively.
Please check out the new site at www.abc-usa.org.
American Baptist Churches is one of the most diverse Christian denominations today, with 5,500 local congregations comprised of 1.3 million members across the United States and Puerto Rico, all engaged in God’s mission around the world.