It's September and term has begun which, for our church, means a new Alpha is starting in a few weeks time. We, of course, have a page about Alpha on our church website however, what if I were to just visit our church website for the first time... would I be able to find out about the man who changed history? 

Searching on Google for "Who Is Jesus?"

As part of my role in Khooseller, I spend significant amounts of time working with clients to improve their website SEO - search engine optimisation - which, in short, means I help them be found by their target customers by improving their website content. Usually this involves helping our clients use keywords within their website content, to help search engines find a website when people type particular queries into their browsers.

For churches, we write a lot about how to ensure your church website is found online, however, I felt challenged to consider what people would find if they simply typed "Who is Jesus?" or "How can I become a Christian?" into Google, or their mobile browser. 

Because people are searching... potentially not using these exact words but we really do have the answer to eternal life. Jesus is clear that He is faithful to those who are searching for Him "Seek and you will find" - so, I am not for a minute suggesting Jesus has a problem with meeting those who are searching for Him... it's more a consideration of whether our church would be able to play a part of that. Could our website, our little space on the web, actually have an impact on someone's life... and we may never know about it! 

What does a "Who Is Jesus?" Or "How do I become a Christian?" page look like?

Well, the purpose of a page with these questioning titles woudl be to provide some form of introduction or overview to the Christian faith. I was raised in a church where we always had a series of "Why Jesus?" pamphlets at the back of the hall and newcomers were invited to take them. Why not the same for a newcomers online journey? 

The page could contain information similar to the first few weeks of Alpha and then summarise the confessional prayer. If you're stuck for words, you could consider linking to the latest Alpha film series, or Christianity Explored.

It's important your page has an action at the end of it, either to make contact with you as a church or contact a particular individual for questions etc. If someone were to read the page and become a Christian behind their laptop screen, what would you want them to do next?

Where would I place a "Who Is Jesus?" page on my website? 

It could be worth considering the journey you'd expect a newcomer to take through your website. What page would they click on from Google (usually your homepage) and then where would they click, and then where, and so on... This is usually done when we think about physical church space.. where will we have coffee? Who is going to welcome people? However, this exercise is done less online yet is just as important. You may wish to make this page to sit somewhere in your footer and linked to from other pages... I'll leave this to you! 

Why would we not include a "Who Is Jesus?" page

I have been contemplating why we tend to exclude this type of outright evangelism from our website and wanted to explore a few challenges I've found.

1) We don't want to be weird and forthright.

2) We find it hard to articulate it in words, preferring actual interaction with people.

3) We may not actually think it makes a difference.

And to all I would say, fair play, and I could remember a time in my life when I would have said the same.. What is difficult is that all of those statements are in someway true. It is true that it is slightly "out there" to put a page around becoming a Christian on a website... it is true that people love a personal invitation to faith and it is true that, for the majority of people on your website, they will not click on a link about Jesus. 

However, what is also true is the alternative:

1) We are called to be a Light to the world and not hide our message of hope

2) The Lord uses all methods to reach people, including donkeys, dreams and visions.... A webpage can definitely be used for His glory.

3) With the Lord with us, we can make a difference. 

A final encouragement... 

So, my encouragement to you and your church is to consider your website evangelism with a fresh hope and perspective that your website could change the world, even if just for one person. 

It would be great to get your comments and feedback below. If you'd like to talk through how your church website is structure, your website content or any other aspects, do get in touch with our team here.