Avoiding Christian Jargon on Church Web Sites

A good church web site will cater to three distinct groups of individuals:

1. The church membership
2. Christians in the community looking for a church home
3. Non-Christians

Unfortunately, most church web sites cater only to #1 and #2, but leave #3 out altogether. The church is unique in that we are trying to reach people most of whom are not at all like us.

One of the simplest ways to include non-Christians is by avoiding the use of Christian jargon on your church’s web site. All church web sites should have a section with testimonies of members (but don’t call the section ‘testimonies’ - it’s a jargon word!). The following web pages include a discussion of Christian jargon and an example testimony written in different styles for different audiences. I hope this will help you make your church web site more accessible to non-Christians.

• Using the Right Words: Insider Language Excludes People
• Angie’s Story: Making a Testimony Target Non-Christian Readers

Both of the links above came from GospelCom.net's Guide to Internet Evangelism, which is an invaluable source for learning how to effectively evangelize via the Internet.