Helping Hickory Creek Baptist Church With Their Website

In June, I had the privilege of meeting Pastor Raymond Castro of Hickory Creek Baptist Church in Denton, Texas during a Metroplex Area Independent Baptist Preacher’s Fellowship.

As we talked, Pastor Castro shared a challenge the church was facing: the gentleman who had previously managed their website and domain name (hcbconline.net) had left the church. While still on good terms, all of the login details and contact information were tied to him, and responses to inquiries were coming very slowly.

Recovering Access and Making Updates

Shortly after the meeting, Pastor Castro followed up with me. Together, we were able to work out a way into the GoDaddy hosting account. This allowed me to make some quick, temporary updates to the church’s website in preparation for their upcoming Vacation Bible School.

Over the next several weeks, Pastor Castro and I worked diligently to recover full access to the account from GoDaddy. After many attempts, we were finally successful!

Moving to Free Hosting for IFB Ministries

Pastor Castro then expressed his desire to move the hosting to our Free Hosting for Independent Baptist Ministries servers. I was able to duplicate their existing site as a starting point and make the requested updates to freshen the content. This change not only streamlined management of the site but also saved the church money on hosting costs.

We also transferred their domain (hcbconline.net) into our reseller account, which reduced the annual cost by about 40% and enabled us to change the old, incorrect contact information.

Training the Church to Manage Their Website

In mid-August, Pastor Castro invited me to Denton to conduct a hands on WordPress training seminar for about 10 church members. We had a wonderful session together, equipping them to update and manage their own website. Some of the members have already begun making changes on their own—a great step toward sustainability and independence for the church’s digital ministry.

Looking Ahead

We are excited to be participating in Hickory Creek Baptist Church’s Missions Conference the first weekend of October.

Maureen and I truly value the fellowship we’ve enjoyed with Pastor Castro, the church staff, and their members. We look forward to many more ministry opportunities to serve alongside them in the future.