More .CHURCH Domain Names Becoming Available in June 2015
Consider this a public service announcement for Christian church and ministry leaders that are eagerly using the Internet for Gospel ministry. Beginning in 2013, the Internet namespace expansion has added hundreds of new domain suffixes like .CHURCH, .CLUB, .NYC, .PHOTOGRAPHY, .MARRIOTT, and many more, offering potentially better domain names that are more memorable and meaningful.
A company called Donuts is operating the largest number of these domain suffixes, including domain names ending in .CHURCH. With this announcement, Donuts Announces Release of Over 1 Million Previously Unavailable Web Addresses, a number of .CHURCH domain names are being rolled-out for registration by the public:
Donuts is pleased to announce the approaching availability of more than one million previously unavailable web addresses across our top-level domains. These represent some of the most highly sought after and desirable web addresses in Donuts’ portfolio, including permissible two character addresses, and this will be your first (and perhaps last) opportunity to register. Donuts will offer registrations via our Early Access Program (EAP) for the first seven days of their availability, as we anticipate significant interest for these highly coveted addresses.
Which .CHURCH domain names are being released? From my quick research, this release includes domains like: reformed.church, firstbaptist.church, universal.church, house.church, and some “brand-name” churches too.
According to that announcement, previously-reserved .CHURCH domain names will become available starting June 24th, 2015, on a first-come first-served basis. (What was “reserved and unavailable” will become “unreserved and available.”)
The first week, between June 24 and June 30, newly available .CHURCH domain names may be registered for a premium fee through the Donuts’ Early Access Program (cf. “Pricing during EAP is fixed on day 1 at over ~$10,000 (varying by Registrar). The fixed EAP pricing then drops gradually over the EAP week.”) Here’s the official description of the Early Access Program from Donuts:
The Early Access Program (EAP) is available for all Donuts-operated generic top-level domains (“gTLDs”) and… takes place during the first seven days of a gTLD’s general availability (“GA”). Interested individuals, organizations, businesses and others can register names on a first-come, first-served, non-restricted basis. Early access registrations will be made available for the first seven days of a gTLD’s general availability. Each day of the EAP will begin at 16:00 UTC and end at 16:00 UTC the following calendar day.
To see where .CHURCH domain names may be registered, refer to the complete list of Donuts’ Accredited registrars.
On a related note, see this list of churches using .CHURCH domain names. If you’re curious to learn more about the behind-the-scenes, just add a comment here and we can pull back the curtains.
[update 6/3] the 101domain.com registrar has been publishing the new gTLD Reserved Domain List for each TLD at 101domain.com/reserved_domain_names.htm about 1 week prior to the Early Access Program release date