Hot + Take + Tuesday: Church Websites
Please tell the truth on your website.
Hot + Take + Tuesdays is a series of semi-regular posts meant to spark conversations. I make these claims and statements based on experience and observations and acknowledge that any hot take, by default, borders on arrogance — and yes, context matters.
One of the perks of my gigging life is that, over the years, I have had the honor of stepping into many a pulpit and getting to know many congregations. I have always found them lovely, filled with faithful folks trying to figure out who God hopes them to be in the future. Too often, that yearning creeps into the “we must attract young people” part of the brain, and we try to predict what will attract people, as if what and who we are right now is not worthy of. No, not every church should or will grow, no matter what they do, but I think many churches have given up on themselves and don't give themselves a chance to find out.
This shows up often when I look at church websites.
Most church websites are either aspirational, presenting an image of what we hope to become, or are filled with images of what they assume people want to see them at their best, usually Easter when whatever diversity they might have is on full display. I have always felt that this was the wrong way to go because, in the week-to-week, that is not who most churches are. Sure, be aspirational and put your fancy face on when appropriate, but not on your website. Since most people will visit your website as they consider if they would attend this Sunday, to not tell the truth about what they are most likely to experience is basically lying. When they arrive, only to discover that your pants are on fire, you have lost them. Conversely, if they check out your website, you have told the truth about what they will most likely experience, and they choose to attend; the first thing they experience is, “They told us the truth about who they are.”
Welcome
First things first: worship begins at 11:00-ish, you can park in our parking lot, feel free to dress casually, and your children are welcome to stay in worship or hang out with our childcare provider.
Okay, now let us briefly and honestly tell you what you will experience here at First Chuch of No Lies on most Sundays.
There are usually about 50 of us in attendance. We have a few young families and adults who attend occasionally, but most of us are in our 60s and 70s. We are about 90% white. Like many churches, we used to be bigger, and sure, we may miss much of what we used to be and do in the past, but what is most exciting is that we are doing our best to figure out what God hopes for us to do and be in the future.
While we do not always get words right, we are a church that is unapologetically open and affirming of LGBTQIA+ people, has many women in leadership, and is working towards being an antiracist community.
Our worship is pretty traditional, but hopefully not stuffy. We are not great singers, but we love to sing. We use a hymnal and play both our piano and organ. We say some prayers together, we hold one another burdens and joys, we listen to scripture, our preacher brings a good balance between the head and heart, we are challenged to go out and to good in the world, and we share in communion every Sunday. Service lasts about an hour with a meal afterwards every Sunday.
At the end of the day, we are not chasing perfection or high production value in our service, but we do strive to create a space where you will experience belonging. If you do choose to visit, we will do our best not to overwhelm you, but if we do, please know that it is because we are genuinely glad that you joined us.
Hope to see you soon!
First Church of No Lies
So what do you think? Of course there is more that needs to be included to help flesh out what folks may want to know, but here is a start. If you are a church person, I would be curious to know how you assess your church’s website on the REAL to ASPIRATIONAL scale.