Church Websites That Really Reach Out

What happens when a church creates a website with only its members in mind? Just the members read it! But what if a church has a site specifically designed to reach outsiders, in user-friendly language which connects withtheir lives? "Week in, week out, more visitors turn up at our church on a Sunday because of the website than anything else," writes the webmaster fromKing's Church Kingston (UK).

Church websites are an essential part of local churches’ public profiles to their communities. Indeed, in some parts of the world, church websites draw more people into face-to-face church activities than any other method. Church sites outnumber all other types of Christian sites by a ratio of 5 to 1. Church sites could therefore be powerful outreach tools.

However, research reveals a discouraging picture:
* most church sites are written purely for their members, using ‘religious insider’ content style and religious language.
* many do not create a sense of welcome to outsiders or include any material that they would perceive as relevant to them.
* either they do not provide any hint about the life-changing Gospel; or else they present it in heavy-handed terms which may be ‘too much, too soon’, a counter-productive ‘Bible-bashing’.

Yet there are many ways you can create church sites that are truly welcoming to non-Christians. Ideally you would want to include these strategies when you plan your site. But you can also apply them to an existing church site and transform it into one that reaches out into the community.

Read the strategies for effective church sites here.