Can you remember the first time you were looking for a church? Or for those in ministry, the first time you were interviewing with a church?
There are a lot of attributes a church wants to highlight about themselves, traits that make them feel distinct in their community. Many times those are listed as the church’s “Mission, Vision & Values,” and those elements are likely the ones you’re going to hear repeated pretty frequently from the platform or in their communications. More than likely, if there’s a T-Shirt, that’s what’s going to be the main message.
There may a three-word sequence that points toward growth or maturity like “Knowing, Growing, Going” or “Connect, Commit, Communicate” and those are nice, but they’re pretty vague.
And if a church is being honest, their vision is a reskinned version of Jesus’ call to spread the Gospel to “Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria & the ends of the earth,” just with some local context and flavor.
And “Values” usually speaks to community, the treatment of others, local outreach & most importantly the handling of the Gospel in their local context.
And while we can learn a lot about a church from these three things, I’ve noticed that many churches either abbreviate or skip over the foundation that makes those elements mean something.
In the nearly 30,000 church websites I’ve looked through in the last 3 years, I’ve had the opportunity to experience that “1st Look” into different churches and see the blind spots that so often come up.
Some churches give a gospel presentation and call that their statement of faith. Others are dismissive of doctrinal statements saying “doctrine divides” or they give a 7 page history of their church…but never once address even the most basic elements of the Nicene or Apostles’ Creeds.
Those two creeds should be the minimum requirements for any church to address beliefs & teaching from an orthodox perspective. Saying “we preach the Bible” is wildly vague, and shows a low level of courtesy or concern for the visitor.
If you were visiting a church for the first time, what basic elements would you want to know about? What doctrinal questions would draw you in, or keep you from visiting?
Identify the doctrinal questions a visitor reasonably needs answered. What points of clarity will help them feel comfortable visiting a first or second time?
Who is God (Trinity)?
Who is the Father? Role?
Who is the Son? Role?
Who is the Holy Spirit? Role?
What is the incarnation?
What did Jesus’ ministry & passion accomplish?
What do you believe about the resurrection?
What is the Gospel/salvation?
What are your beliefs around Baptism & The Lord’s Supper?
What do you believe about the indwelling of the Holy Spirit & sanctification?
What is the Church? What is her purpose?
How is she organized to remain healthy?
What happens in eternity?
What are your beliefs around Scripture?
How do you guard against false teaching?
The more clear we are in communicating these things, the more early trust we build. The less we hide what we’re about, and the more we display an open hand for “behind the scenes” elements that could come as a surprise to people later. Clarity builds trust.
It doesn’t matter if you’re on staff at a church or are a partner/member. If you look through your site and see that some additional clarity would serve prospective visitors, then gather those ideas and have that conversation.
It’s not hard to do a quick search on Google Maps to find other churches in your area to find examples and take some ideas into that conversation.
Being clear about beliefs is a first step, a basic element of digital hospitality and shows a proactive concern for those the Lord may be drawing to faith and community in Christ. People will check you out online long before they step foot in your doors. Be prepared to meet them well.
