Effective Church Websites
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matt 5:14-16 NIV)
In today’s world, the communication of church ministry information is important in so many ways. For the international church, it has become, I believe, the most important means of drawing people into services, Bible studies, and all kinds of events. In our global society, people are continually on the move. Many find themselves coming into a country or city and wanting to locate a church in which they can worship. Yet for many in foreign countries and unfamiliar cities, this is often no small task.
While planting and pastoring an international church in Florence, Italy we quickly found out the importance of a good web presence. Students, international residents, locals, and tourists looked to the web to find a place where they could worship. Over a fourteen-year period, we asked people how they found the church and eighty-five percent of those who came through our doors said they found us through the Internet. So, it became very apparent that our presence on the web was of extreme importance. We learned some lessons that helped us develop a web presence that gave people the answers they needed to find our church and learn about the ministries offered by the church.
Now I realize that there are churches and ministries that are in areas where an open use of something like a website is prohibited and they have to work with other forms of outreach. In those areas, much of what I am addressing in this writing will not be applicable. However, all churches need to have an effective plan and method of outreach and making their mission one of reaching, teaching, and worshipping.
While many churches do have a website, as I look over those sites, I find that a large number do not clearly show the information that people are looking for in locating a church. Many are too focused on graphics and gimmicks. However, most people when searching the web for a church want to know some very basic information. Let me explain the most important areas that need to be quickly located and clearly presented on your church’s website to be effective in drawing people in.
- Church Location and Contact Information. Contact information and location is essential and must be clearly visible on the opening web page! This includes phone number, with country code, email address, and complete physical address (street, city, and country should all be included) for the church should be located on the very first web page. The phone number and email address of at least one leader should also be there. The location and contact information are important basics and should always be located on the first page.
Display a map on the site showing the church’s location and outline all the major routes to get there, along with a picture of the church so people know what to look for. In Europe, many of the cities have limited access to car transportation in the city’s center. So, we included walking routes from major stations and transportation hubs. Include taxi information with phone numbers and some general costs along with tram and train services that could get a person as close as possible to the church. If cars are allowed, then routes and places to park should be clearly indicated. We also listed travel times from major known locations. Anything to help people be able to find the church easily and reduce the stress of searching and becoming lost in the process of trying to find the church.
- Service and ministry times and day(s). Note the services that are available in your facility such as restrooms, coffee, and water, or even that it is a place to come and relax and find out information during non-service times are beneficial. Our church often was an information center for many, so noting the times and days the church was open was important. Also, it can be helpful to state the approximate length of services.
- Language(s) offered in the services and various ministries. Our church was listed as an English-speaking church, but we offered some translation as well. We found it very important to show the language(s) boldly in the description of the ministries offered.
- Dress expectations.Many want to know what clothing is acceptable and what is not. We made it very clear that we were interested in the person and not a particular dress requirement, but we also included a comment that casual dress was quite appropriate.
- Availability of childcare. Let people know if childcare is available, during which ministry times, and for what ages.
- Style of worship music and ministry.Note the style of worship music and ministry your church commonly uses. Be it traditional, contemporary, liturgical, or whatever it will help people to know what to expect and gives them a sense of comfort.
- Pictures of the pastor(s), staff, and church leaders. Incorporate an information page listing names and ministry/leadership titles and a short, description of who they are and what they lead in the church. Be sure to include a picture with the description. This can help people make connections before they come into the church, often helping them to be more at ease when they do attend.
- Action pictures.A few pictures or short videos of services in action give people an idea of what to expect.
- Basic beliefs. This should not be long and drawn out, but with a quick glance, the person can learn about the basic beliefs of the church.
Each of these areas is very important for individuals looking to find a place of worship for either a single service or long-term. Especially make sure the basic information about your church such as contact and location are the first things they find when they are directed to your website! If people cannot easily find answers to many of these questions, they will continue to search for answers elsewhere.
Every Sunday or mid-week in our services we heard people tell us how easy we were to find and how wonderful it was to feel they knew what to expect and they were welcome. Many expressed how in traveling Europe often they could not find this kind of information and thus ended up not attending a church even though they wanted to.
Also, use a program that will give your site dominance on the web search engines. Out of all the churches in Florence most of the time we were the number one international church that came up in a search in Tuscany, Italy. I recommend using a site map program to boost your presence on the web. An excellent program that is very inexpensive is from Rage Software. It can be used on Windows or Mac systems, and it will promote your site on 5 of the major search engine sites. It also will help tag areas of your site that do not display well and help you correct them. It is an easy program to set up and use. It costs only 29 US dollars and they do also take other online orders worldwide in the country’s currency. Here is a link to that program: https://www.ragesw.com/products/googlesitemap.html
With keeping our web presence simple and giving the information people look for we normally had as well as our regulars as many as 30 nations in our Sunday services. Do not overlook the importance of a simple and informative website for your church and ministry organization. It will draw people into your church. Never underestimate the opportunities of ministry to visitors and tourists. For our church, it became normal to have those individuals accept Jesus Christ as Lord in our services. We would then help them find a church in their area to continue to grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ. Our people learned that salvation was the first big step but discipleship was a lifelong endeavor.
The international church is truly one of the fastest-growing tools for reaching the lost and growing them in Christ. Make sure people can find you and once they do find you, make sure they feel the warmest welcome and encouragement anyone can have. Help your church to know that every believer is called to be a witness of and for Christ. Once this happens amazing things will begin to take place in your church.
Randy McGehee
Regional Coordinator for Europe
