You should reword your home page

Question:

My wife just happened upon your cover page and read the “Who We Are” statement. I have used your website for a couple of decades. Many times, when I want detailed information about the church of Christ's viewpoint on a topic, I will add the words "la vista church of Christ" since I know your website has a lot of articles. I consider your website a wealth of information, and many times, it's the first place I start.

I couldn't believe what my wife started reading to me today. Do you really have non-believers contacting you, and their first inquiries are if you have a bowling league or Girl Scout troop? I understand your point and what you are trying to get at, but your message would not be effective for a non-Christian looking for a church. In fact, if we stumbled across your website while searching for a church to attend while on vacation due to your "Who We Are" page, we would look for another congregation to worship with. Sure, we see your viewpoint, but "Who We Are" should tell us exactly that, not "Who We Aren't". You are misrepresenting what the church of Christ is all about and is supposed to be doing. Here is my church's "Who We Are" statement:

"Welcome!

We are simply Christians trying to restore the simple Christianity we read about in the New Testament. We are not affiliated with any institution or denomination. Jesus Christ is our head. We study His Word to find His will. We humbly try to do things His way and not our way. Whoever you are, no matter your background, we would love for you to visit us."

This sounds much closer to Jesus's attitude with the woman at the well. It also sounds closer to the attitude of I Peter 3:15. We are certainly ready to give our testimony for the hope in us, but like the scripture states, “with gentleness and respect.” While you get into some of this stuff later down your page, this should be your main message. Also, buried down deeper on your website is your real "Who We Are" statement, and it is obviously just fine, but your initial statement, while it may be true, will not be comprehended or greeted with warmth by those unfamiliar with the church of Christ. At best, you are "preaching to the choir," but most in the choir won't agree with your approach.

I highly recommend that you reconsider your wording, who you are attempting to reach, and the message you are trying to send them.

Answer:

Your point has been brought up before in the 21 years the site has been active, as seen in "Your home page took me aback."

To show that it doesn't drive many people away:

In the Internet world, most users do not start at the home page. They will begin on whichever page addresses the answer to their question. Of those, only a small percentage will actually continue to browse the site. And of that small percentage, a few reach the home page. Your own use of the site illustrates my point. You've been using the site for years without noticing the home page.

In the last month, the home page was viewed 9,445 times (out of the 3.9 million pages viewed on the site). Most of these were people who directly searched for or typed in lavistachurchofchrist.org. An additional 1,463 views of the home page were made by clicking on the "Who We Are" button.

When I made the last major change to the site four years ago, I thought it was time to change the home page. It had been there for 17 years. Surprisingly, many members here didn't like the replacement home page. They wanted the original one restored, so I did. As "Your home page took me aback," points out, there isn't one right way to reach people. Different people are looking for different things. While it isn't the style you would choose, it does grab people's attention – both positively and negatively. With that attention, people start learning.

While you state that it misrepresents the church, I think you failed to make your point. The home page drives home the point that the church is God's institution for teaching the gospel, just in a way different from how you would approach the message. It isn't a bad thing. There are plenty of other congregations that use the softer approach. It also points out the denominations have presented a view of the church as a place to be entertained while claiming to be religious. And, yes, despite the home page, I do periodically get phone calls from people asking what activities the church provides for young people (or themselves). I don't see it as bad to point out that we are not like the denominations.