Hello! My name is Patrick Steil. My wife Tyra and I started ChurchBuzz together. We have been married for 24 years and are the proud parents of six boys, ranging in age from 9 to 29! Yes, my wife and I are serious overachievers 🙂
We started our website development business (infraNET.com) in 1994 (that is over 20 years as a small business!) and have loved learning along the way. Lots of experiences led us to start ChurchBuzz, but for the full story, let me take you back to when I was just a couple of years out of high school.
I began my relationship with God on a Church Youth Retreat that was led by Laura and Ramon Reyes in Panama (yes, the country). This was a life changing event for me. I had heard over and over "thou shalt not sin," but that wasn't enough for me... That weekend, God taught me a most valuable lesson that has formed just about everything I have done since then: "God is Love" (1 John 4:16b).
I have focused my entire life as a man, husband, father, business owner, church volunteer, sports coach, etc. on this, Jesus' most important lesson of his time on this earth. Doing so has made a huge difference in my life, has brought much joy, has helped give reason to the tragedies of life, and has led us to continue to look for ways to SERVE God's people through our business.
What we realize now is that we have a tremendous amount of experience and knowledge that needs to be shared with churches, that may have a website which is doing very little for them (other than being an expense). We have also worked hard to find the right combination of staff and tools to be able to provide this solution in a very cost-effective manner. Obviously, most churches cannot afford to hire a full-time Web Designer. And I would argue that they cannot "afford" to have an inexperienced person managing their website either, or the website will not produce results.
What are the results churches should be looking for? What is the bottom line? I believe the bottom line for a church website is it should:
- Convey the message of Jesus' love to the unchurched - those who have never experienced God's love
- Convey the message of healing to those who feel slighted by the world, by the church, or by people
- Convey how God's love is changing people's lives in THIS church
I encourage you to get to know us better. Send me an email (patrick@churchbuzz.com), connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn and let's start the conversation about what your church needs regarding Internet marketing and technology in general. I can't wait to help your church see REAL results from your church website and your digital communications for visitors and church members!
Wishing you Peace, Joy and Love
Patrick and Tyra Steil