The internet, evangelism and your church

Church sites have great potential to reach people in the community, but very few of them are designed with non-Christians in mind.

Here are just ten thoughts and tips on how your church can use the internet to effectively share the gospel with people of all cultures in your local community.

• A good church site must communicate three very different target groups: the church members; Christians moving to the area who are looking for a new church; non-Christians in the community.

• Take time to consider the needs and viewpoints of non-Christians. We cannot reach those we do not understand. Although we are immersed in our own culture, we may not understand it, or the needs and pressures that most non-Christians in our society are facing.

• Avoid all church jargon and spiritual language, especially on the homepage. Non-Christians, almost by definition, do not like or understand these words. This even applies to the navigation menu, where many churches have a link called 'ministries'. It's better to use neutral alternatives like "we do" or "What's on". Any testimonies used should be completely free of religious jargon, exaggeration and sentimentality.

• Non-Christians may have negative images of Christians: boring, killjoys, judgmental. A light-hearted, informal, witty website may help to counteract these misconceptions. Include online games within a children and youth section!

• A church website should not aim to be an impersonal electronic "cut and run" tract distribution system. Its primary aim should be to draw people in the community towards real relationships with real people within the fellowship. Include some ïmeet our members' pages, which may not be full-blown testimonies but brief, informal first-person profiles with 'real' information about their lives. Include photos.

• Do not think of your church site in isolation, merely as a stand-alone online brochure. Integrate it into your overall strategies, both as a way of contacting individuals, and giving the fellowship a higher profile within your community.

• Consider a 'new to this site' visitors link on the homepage. This enables you to offer a particular welcome to an outsider. It should be very welcoming, written in plain language and include all information a potential newcomer to the church would require.

• Take care with images and graphics. Avoid anything too churchy such as open Bibles, stained glass windows, doves and candles. Never use an introductory 'splash page', which is just a graphic that people click to enter the actual site. Large graphics and images mean the page takes longer to download, and those on dial up may not wait, so the home page should appear instantly.

• Do not offer too many links in your navigation menu. Give thought to what you include as your main sections. Some less important pages do not need to be on the menu anyway. Items like 'our history' or 'doctrinal statement' are probably not of initial interest to a non-Christian visitor.

• Help yourself to be easily found - online and physically. Ensure your church URL is easy to remember. Take every opportunity to give it a high profile - print it on contact cards, signs, leaflets, letterheads, press releases. Include clear directions for finding the church, with parking details, public transport links and a map, ideally using a free online map service.

Information from the Internet Evangelism Day website (http://www.internetevangelismday.com), where you can find plenty of other practical ideas and good examples.

Share your thoughts on the subject along with any ways in which your church's website has had an impact. E-mail catalyst@bmsworldmission.org and we'll collect them and include them on a page in this section.