Friends,

As the Director of Communications, one of the most discussed topics with local churches is their Website. Churches need an upgrade, they don’t know who to call, they are intimidated at setting up something this large, etc. I always have several recommendations for them but in the almost six years I’ve been in this ministry, I have not seen an option that truly fits the local United Methodist Church well, until now. 

Brick River is a small team based out of New Hampshire that specializes in United Methodist annual conference Websites. After closely working with this company, several UMC communication directors strongly encouraged them to develop a system that would work well for local churches based on the need. The Alabama-West Florida Conference was the first to establish a sub-site system with Brick River for their districts to help superintendents and administrative assistants run a well- designed and functional site. Several other conferences have followed our lead and implemented this model for their districts. 

Due to this success, I feel that Brick River is offering a product for local churches that is affordable, user friendly and supported by an extremely knowledgeable talent base. If you are not happy with your current site or have wanted to explore new options, I would highly recommend this offering. Brick River is always fine tuning their products and welcome suggestions by their users. 

Their sites are content managed, meaning you can easily make the updates. You don’t have to call a church member or have a dedicated staff. Anyone can learn this system!! And if setting this up is still overwhelming to you, they have tiered options of available help. 

I would encourage you to explore this new product and am happy to talk with you if you have questions. Paul Schneider, owner, is the son-in-law of a United Methodist pastor so he knows the denomination well. He would also welcome calls and correspondence about this exciting offering. Whether you are a small membership church or have thousands at your campus for worship, their system is certainly worth exploring. 

Click here to learn more. You may also contact the owner here. 

Thank you for all you do for the Kingdom! 

Mary Catherine Phillips
Director of Communications
Alabama-West Florida Conference