“Someone will lead how people talk about your church and what people say about your church,” he notes. “I believe we should not leave this to the loudest voice or the person with the most outgoing personality. As leaders, we should also lead, direct and influence the conversation about our churches.”

So Ferguson intentionally vision-casts on his blog and writes about the great things that happen at CCC. And it works.

“Most everywhere I speak – when I’m away from Community – I will have someone come up to me and tell me they read my blog,” he says. “It’s like they know me and already have a relationship with me before I arrive to speak. And since they know me and my ministry, most have a positive view of me before I even open up my mouth. I think my blog is one of the reasons that we are considered one of the most influential churches in the country.”

It’s important to make sure your blog works for you rather than against you – especially if your blog is an extension of your church’s Web site, says Tom Nickell, president and CEO of Lightworks New Media, a Web-based content-distribution service provider.

“If the blog is done well, it reinforces an image of professionalism,” he says. “If the blog is not kept updated, it will drag the rest of the site down.”

Depending on your Web site host, you can set up a blogging feature from the very beginning of your church’s site launch. But if a third party handles your site updates, you may not be able to control comments posted to your blog. Still, having a blog on a church site has its advantages, Nickell says.

“If the blog is on the same platform as the site, you have one Web host, one set of graphics and one set of contact forms – standardization of the user experience,” he explains. “Also, users can comment using the same usernames and passwords as they use on the site – no need for multiple logins.”