Hello World – Hello Frisco, Texas

Guest Blogger May 16th 2007 (3) comments so far  

“Hello World” originated in technology as a way of making sure that software output was what was expected. The first entry on a new blog many times is titled “Hello World”. It tells everyone on the internet who you are and that you are ready to engage them in a global dialog. I love this about the internet and blogging. As a local church, however, our plan for this blog is more focused, and we want you to know our intentions.

We plan to be hyperlocal, which is to say, focused on the interests of our audience in Collin County, Texas. This is also known as “place blogging.” It is not that we don’t want to engage a broader audience and have a larger reach. That would be great! It is just not going to be the intentional purpose of this site. We have some realities that help us in this decision, namely:

• We have an international pastor in Chuck Swindoll, who already has a global ministry with a global focus.
• We live in one of the fastest growing counties in the U.S. A mass audience isn’t a limitation for us. There are plenty of people in need where we live. We’ll meet them where they are.
• Our digital and communications resources are limited. We are building, we are engaged in Missions, and we manage our budget carefully. We choose to carry out our offline mission rather than fund a team of people to man this blog.
• Our strategy and mission are being hammered out daily by our elders and leadership team, and from the look of things, we will continue to focus on what is happening locally.

So, how does this change things? Well, it means we won’t be commenting much on blogs or articles that aren’t local. Staff won’t be responding directly to blog comments at large about topics that aren’t relevant for our context or the specific blog entry. In short, our intent is to write for local people who might want to come have coffee with us and talk about faith in Christ.

Collin is the wealthiest county in Texas, and many of its towns and neighborhoods are home to the corporate elite of the Dallas area.
- CNN Money

This focus for the blog and website allows us to write for an audience that has specific interests and tastes. These folks aren’t looking to us to provide comments on world events, endorse political candidates, belittle them with link lists of things they *need* to read, or give them the top ten ways they can become more efficient in life. Our people are intelligent professionals and skilled laborers who want to do life with others who are similar. They are interested in things that matter to their lives, and much of that happens in a 30-mile radius of where they live.

Various staff members will be writing about things that matter in this local context. Whether it be a review of a church event, FYI on a new staff opening, posted pics of a retreat, coverage of our membership process, or reflections on materialism and the effect on our youth, they’ll be writing for those who call nearby home. We aren’t blogging to connect with everyone, just those we can touch. Some might say this is a selfish approach that lacks vision. We could see a case being made for that. Still, what we know for sure is what we can do now, and that is blog about our place.

 

Hello Frisco, Texas. Hello World.

 

And, you will find that our staff are not made from the same mold. In the essentials, our staff is one, but in the non essentials of our faith there is a broad range of viewpoints. This makes us balanced, so long as we don’t allow the less important things to divide us. This means that “Stuff from Staff,” the title of this blog, will literally be just that … stuff. You can read our disclaimer above, but you should know that what you get here are perspectives of people and not the official stance of Stonebriar Community Church the organization.

Stick around. Come back often. Subscribe to our feed. Stay in touch. We’ll be here, focused.

Published by: Jason Reynolds

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Comments

1.  

   cynthia May 16th at 10:43 am  

   Apologies for this non-local comment in advance, but way to innovate and engage your community with a well defined and focused mission. Although it’s a globally connected world, your 30 mile radius shows that you are clear and strategic about who Jesus invites you to “go and make disciples” of. Congratulations on your fresh obedience. Beautifully done. May it bear much fruit.

2.  

   Jason Reynolds - staff May 16th at 1:50 pm  

   Cynthia, you are our first commenter! Coming from such an established blogger as you, your kind words mean a ton. We still have some bugs to work out, but hopefully it is enough for people to begin to participate. By the way, we aren’t opposed to non-local comments, especially ones that are full of compliments! We just won’t be able to respond to all of them and engage every visitor.

3.  

   Matt Hiser June 12th at 12:51 pm  

   Briefly, I just wanted to add my comments on the updated website…INCREDIBLE! Much needed change and WELL DONE.

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