Websites – the First Place to Look for Healthy Church Choices.

Want to understand a church’s brand? Get to know its Website.

The church scene has changed dramatically over the past 15 years. Megachurches, multi-site churches, and mobile churches have all contributed to the mix of traditional offerings. Denominational disloyalty, a highly mobile society, and a new generation of non-churchgoers are pushing church leaders to think outside the box for delivering a relevant spiritual experience. The bottom line is that you have lots of church choices to sort through.

Church Websites are the modern day calling cards for churches. Not only do Websites provide basic information about churches, they also can reveal theology, personality, and healthy characteristics that either ring your bell or make you want to run away. That’s why we believe one of the best ways to save time in a church search is to start with Websites.

Within the Tools section of our Website (www.thechurchguide.net), we provide a variety of free resources to help you search fast and filter your church options online.

So how do you quickly and carefully sort your choices? By first understanding the following four rules for church searching: 

1.       A church may include several faith communities within the same congregation. Different styles of worship equal different faith community types. Within a single church, you may discover faith communities based on ethnic, generational, or spiritual style preferences. At first glance, this gives the appearance of a multiple personality church – which is exactly what it is if it’s a healthy church.

2.       The best way to know if a group cares about reaching new people is directly proportional to the type of resources you find on its Website. A Website that doesn’t engage you in the life of the church in some way – online sermons, Bible studies (or at least sign-ups for studies), devotionals – lets you know the group isn’t interested in engaging new people.

3.      Online sermons reveal a faith community’s theology, doctrine, and faith journey better than any Website language. Several churches might look similar in print but might say something totally different in person. Listen to a sermon and see if you like what you hear. Then decide if the group stays on your visit list.

4.      Healthy churches offer a plan and a purpose for your spiritual journey and theirs. If you can’t figure these out from a group’s Website, keep looking. Don’t stop to window-shop any longer.

Theodore Roosevelt once said, “nine-tenths of wisdom is being wise in time.” Starting your search online saves you time over the long haul and offers you the flexibility to sort and select on your own time.