Ward Website Purpose and Goals

Share discussions around the Classic Local Unit Website (LUWS).
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dmaynes
Member
Posts: 233
Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2008 10:50 am
Location: Pleasant Grove, Utah

Ward Website Purpose and Goals

#1

Post by dmaynes »

The bishop invited me to share my perspective of the ward website with the priesthood brethren. This is what I wrote. Perhaps it may help you. -- Dennis

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The ward website augments the leaders' ability to “invite all to come unto Christ” by increasing the faith, fellowship, and unity of the ward members and by providing an organizational framework and repository of information for administering the ward.


The ward website helps us accomplish this mission by making each member aware of other ward members and by informing everyone what is happening in the ward. This is accomplished through regular e-mails of news and information and through maintaining relevant content on the website. The e-mails have something for everyone, including interesting stories from around the church, news from our missionaries, upcoming ward events, and birthdays of ward members. In addition to the e-mail content, the website provides leadership lists, news of organizational changes, and information on all the Church and ward programs for our members.
We intend to accomplish specific goals by the end of 2009:
  • Increase enrollment to 150 members
  • Invite every member over the age of 18 to enroll
  • Include all major ward events on the calendar
  • Send out e-mails weekly
  • Collect all relevant information to complete the ward history
  • Upload photos of 75% of the households in the ward

The website has a lot more to offer to each individual member than the weekly e-mails. Some of the specialized content is:
  • The Ward Expenditure Authorization Form
  • The Ward History for 2008
  • The Ward Emergency Preparedness Plan
  • The Stake Focus and Plan for Strengthening Families
  • Links to very useful web resources on www.lds.org

The website is a valuable resource to the home teachers and visiting teachers. There are sacrament meeting synopses that you can share with members who could not attend sacrament meeting. The birthdays of people you home teach are listed, so you can remember them. E-mail addresses are listed in the directory for many of the ward members, so you can stay in touch with them.

[font=&quot]Please use the website. It will bless your life and the lives of those whom you serve. If you are not enrolled for the website, please talk to the ward website administrator or one of the clerks.

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russellhltn
Community Administrator
Posts: 34421
Joined: Sat Jan 20, 2007 2:53 pm
Location: U.S.

#2

Post by russellhltn »

Nicely done.

I probably should point out that you've listed a number of things that are not typically part of LUWS. I assume the information was uploaded as a PDF in the News and Information section. Anyone wanting to copy your paper should be aware of that and edit accordingly.
Have you searched the Help Center? Try doing a Google search and adding "site:churchofjesuschrist.org/help" to the search criteria.

So we can better help you, please edit your Profile to include your general location.
dmaynes
Member
Posts: 233
Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2008 10:50 am
Location: Pleasant Grove, Utah

#3

Post by dmaynes »

RussellHltn wrote:Nicely done.

I probably should point out that you've listed a number of things that are not typically part of LUWS. I assume the information was uploaded as a PDF in the News and Information section. Anyone wanting to copy your paper should be aware of that and edit accordingly.
Thank you. I appreciate the feedback. I agree with you that much of my paper is likely to be specific to my ward. The bishopric watches over my shoulder, but if they don't see a reason to provide specific direction, they don't say much. So, our website would naturally be unique to my organizational madness.

I have reviewed all the ward websites in my stake. I haven't seen any other ward websites. I really don't know what is typically included in the LUWS News and Information section. I have thought about this question deeply and tried to follow the two-fold mission I described of (1) inform and involve individual members, and (2) support the leadership. If I stay within the context of "invite all to come unto Christ," then I believe the website will naturally support the ward council.

I think it would be nice if some "sample" ward websites were available for viewing, and for getting organizational and content ideas.

Thanks,
Dennis
russellhltn
Community Administrator
Posts: 34421
Joined: Sat Jan 20, 2007 2:53 pm
Location: U.S.

#4

Post by russellhltn »

dmaynes wrote:I really don't know what is typically included in the LUWS News and Information section.
That's completely up to the wards. You can browse to the first page of any ward or stake and see the titles of the top three items. Quite a few units are blank.
Have you searched the Help Center? Try doing a Google search and adding "site:churchofjesuschrist.org/help" to the search criteria.

So we can better help you, please edit your Profile to include your general location.
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AileneRHerrick
Member
Posts: 299
Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2008 2:33 pm
Location: Moses Lake, Washington, United States

#5

Post by AileneRHerrick »

That's a neat write-up!
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