The CE Website: The next step for seekers this Easter

For many, the path to knowing Jesus is a series of steps. They get to know a Christian… they meet some of that Christian's friends… they go to a church-run event… they begin to be interested in what lies at the heart of the church… they come to an evangelistic talk… they start going to church meetings regularly, or go on a course… they put their faith in Christ.

Of course, that journey is different for all of us. Some stages get jumped over, swapped around, or taken a long time over.

But it's easy, having been Christians for a while, to forget that each of those steps doesn't seem very small when it's the next one. And so it's worth thinking: what's an easy, short next step for my tentatively-enquiring friend—and how can I help them make that step?

We're convinced that the CE website functions as a step-between-a-step. It helps gently introduce people to Christian things… it shows that real people have really been changed by the gospel… it explains our faith and answers questions… it tells people about the CE course and enables them to find a good local church…

And, because it allows seekers to investigate Christian things in different ways (answering questions, hearing people's stories, seeing a gospel outline, watching the first week of the CE course), and to do so in their own time, at their own pace, in their own home, it's far less intimidating than signing up for an event… a course… a Sunday meeting.

Churches will be holding hundreds of events this Easter—some very informal, some with gospel talks, some full-on church meetings. We pray that some who come to those will put their faith in Christ. We pray that some will decide to come to church or an evangelistic course after Easter to get to grips with the gospel.

But many won't be at that point. They need a smaller next step. They're not ready for a course; they won't have time to read a book; they're not up for coming to church. Offer them a set of huge steps, and they won't make any.

The CE website is the smaller step many of those who comes to our events will need.

So, why not grab a load of CE website cards this Easter. Here are our top five ideas of how to use them (tried and tested):

• Give one out to everyone as they leave every event your church runs which is aimed at non-Christians (or ask your pastor if you can)
• Keep some in your back pocket/handbag, so that if ever you have a brief conversation about church or Easter or faith in general, you can simply give them a card and say: "We haven't had much time to talk about that, have we. But here's a website I think you'd be interested in."
• Whenever you have a drink in a coffee shop or pub, leave a card on the table.
• Ditto for train and bus travel (wouldn't it be great if every train and bus route in the UK had had a CE website card left on it by the end of this year).
• They're also great for shoving underneath a chair leg which is slightly shorter than the other three…

You can get piles of cards, for not much money, here (or just forward the link to your pastor). And you can pray, that the Lord would bring many people to the website and open many hearts through the gospel message on the website, for free!