I am constantly amazed at how many churches do not have websites. I recently called about twenty churches in my area to see if they had any community outreach ministries I could serve with, such as a food pantry or a homeless shelter. I also asked if these churches had a website I could look at to find out more about their church.

Of the twenty churches I called, only two had websites. That’s only 10%. Two other churches actually told me that all the information I needed could be found in the Yellow Pages. The Yellow Pages?! I don’t even own a Yellow Pages. Do you? Who uses them anymore? If I want to find something, I jump on to Google, and within thirty seconds have addresses, phone numbers, maps, customer reviews, and often, a website.

With GraceGround, setting up a page for your church has never been easier, and best of all, it’s free. But if you are still undecided, here are ten reasons your church should have a website. All of these, of course, are why you should start a blog on GraceGround.com.

Ten reasons your church should have a website:

1. A church website helps you think about your church.

Creating a website forces you to think through what is more important about your church, and then organize it in a logical and orderly way.

2. A church website helps members stay connected during the week.

If the site has a blog, calendar, forum, or members-only area, the regular attenders at your church can connect with one another during the week for prayer, encouragement, or updates. If the weekly bulletin is posted on the site, then members who missed a service can still get the announcements and any other church updates that the bulletin contains.

3. A church website helps people find you.

How would you find your church if you didn’t know where it was? Most people in our culture turn to the internet. When a person wants to find a church, they search Google for churches in their community. If your church isn’t listed, they will never know you exist. You must make it easier for people to find you.

4. A church website helps people learn more about you.

When people are considering whether to attend your church or not, they want more information than just an address and phone number. They would also like to see some pictures of the building and the people, as well as a list of programs. They might also want to see doctrinal, mission, and vision statements. Some will even want to listen to (or watch) a few sermons to see what the teaching is like. A website can provide all of this.

5. A church website helps you connect with other community organizations and events.

If there are community organizations and events that your church is involved with, you can write about them on your site, and it is quite likely that your church will get listed on other websites as a participant or sponsor. Churches are always looking for ways to connect with the community, and the internet is one of the best ways to do so.

To read reasons 6-10, or to comment on this post, head over to GraceGround.com.

I have created another website over at GraceGround.com. It is for churches and ministries around the country (and the world) to set up free blog pages for themselves.

Think of it as Blogger.com, but with a location map and instant community built right in (of course, right now, the community is quite small).

So if you have a church  (whether traditional, house, missional, emerging, whatever) or are simply part of a group of people who want to follow Jesus, you are invited to join us and blog in a community.

Here are a few pages to get you started:

• Home Page
• Core Beliefs
• Writing Guidelines
• Map
• Application

I’d love to see you over there!