This book is written by Thom Rainer entitled “Becoming a Welcoming Church.” As with the last book I will be adding a chapter a day for us to consider. I am in no way saying our church or your church if you are reading this is not welcoming – just something to think about. I am capitalizing the chapter sections.
This is part two of chapter 3. “SIGNS AND SITES”
As promised, this is the second part of chapter three.
THE FRONT DOOR WE OFTEN FORGET
His first question under the above caption is “What led you to visit our church?” He says it began as an innocent question to one couple. Out of the dozens of churches near them, what was the main factor that prompted them to return? He says “the answer surprised me. We visited the church’s website.”
He said he heard from seven out of ten first-time guests. That is the primary factor they used in choosing to visit the church was the website.
“Okay, if the church website is truly the front door of the church, how do you make the front door most accessible?”
- Address and worship time difficult to locate – Asbury is on the first page,
- Outdated information – we strive to keep it current,
- Lack of clarity about beliefs and doctrine – I need to add this more clearly,
- Incomplete or total lack of information about children’s ministry or student ministry,
- Poor graphics and copyrighted images,
- Hardly visible contact information,
- No photos of pastor, staff, and other leadership,
We need to add a place we can call “How to Become a Christian?”
“It’s not just about signs and sites, it’s about the message of hospitality. And the message of hospitality becomes the pathway where we can share the message of the gospel with people.”
POINTS TO PONDER
- Look at the five myths about church signs and websites. Do you think any of these myths are in our church?
- Review Romans 12:13, 1 Timothy 2:2-3, and Titus 3:7-8. As you see the repetition of the word hospitable, do you see your church’s signage and website as truly hospitable?
- Review your church’s website again. Does it show clearly the most important information? Ours can be accessed by asburyumcfoley.org if you have not looked at it I invite you to do.
- What does it matter if your church has it’s beliefs on the website?
- Does looking at this make you view our church differently? Why?
Asbury United Methodist Church 