The Digital Front Door Your Church Might Be Missing (New Research)
What if I told you that nearly half of all churches are completely invisible to people searching for spiritual community online?
In this week’s episode of Kingdom Over Turf, I sat down with Wesley Lewis, founder of One Eighty Digital and fellow bi-vocational pastor, to discuss something most church leaders don’t want to face: the crisis of digital presence in the American church.
Wesley’s team did something remarkable and somewhat crazy. They audited all 2,725 Southern Baptist churches in the state of Florida to understand the true state of church digital presence. What they found was both shocking and clarifying.
The 46% Problem
46% of churches have no functional website. Not a bad website. Not an outdated website. No website at all.
Let that sink in.
In 2026, when someone is searching for spiritual community, going through a crisis, or simply wondering what your church is about, nearly half of Florida’s churches are completely invisible to them.
And here’s the harder truth: many of the churches that do have websites aren’t much better off. Outdated service times. Missing contact information. No clear path for visitors to understand what happens on Sunday morning.
As Wesley put it in our conversation: “Imagine if you were a visitor and you’re looking for a place where you’ve got spiritual needs, and you’re trying to look for help... you wouldn’t go there.”
Why This Matters More Than Ever
You might be thinking, “We’re a small church. We’ve never needed a website before.”
But here’s what’s changed:
1. The Generational Shift is Here
The boomer generation, which has carried the financial burden of churches for decades, is passing away. The younger generations who remain don’t give the same way. They need to be convinced your church is worthy of their resources. They want to see community impact, hear transformation stories, and understand your mission before they show up on Sunday.
Your website is where that convincing happens.
2. Bi-Vocational Ministry is Becoming the Norm
Wesley and many others both serve as bi-vocational pastors. This isn’t a temporary trend; it’s the future for most normative-sized churches. When you can’t afford a full-time pastor (or multiple staff members), your digital presence becomes the extension of ministry that works 24/7.
As Wesley said: “You have to be able to move to a place where you are having daily interactions with them... it’s about these small little touchpoints happening throughout the week.”
3. Your Website is Your Front Door
People make a decision about your church in less than a second when they visit your website. If they can’t find your service times, your address, or get a sense of who you are, they’ve already moved on.
Your website isn’t a luxury. It’s the first handshake. The first impression. The digital front door.
The AI Opportunity (Not Threat)
One of the most encouraging parts of our conversation was Wesley’s perspective on AI and church ministry.
Rather than fearing technology will replace pastors or create “soulless” ministry, Wesley sees AI as a multiplier; a tool that can help pastors do more with the 15-30 hours they invest in sermon preparation each week.
Imagine:
Automatically generating discussion guides from your sermon
Creating social media clips that reach people throughout the week
Developing small group studies from the content you’ve already created
Answering basic church information questions so staff can focus on actual ministry
As Wesley put it: “I always think of AI as something that is really good at plusing what we already do.”
The sermon you preach on Sunday doesn’t have to die on Sunday. It can become discipleship content that serves your congregation all week long.
Disciple-Making in a Digital Age
Here’s where the conversation got really good.
Wesley pushed back on the professionalization of ministry that has left many churches dependent on paid staff to do all the “real” ministry work.
“If you are only having touchpoints with your congregation on a Sunday or a Wednesday, you are not gonna be able to do that,” he said. “The churches that have successfully created disciple-making pathways will be the ones where that ministry gets disseminated through the congregation.”
This isn’t about replacing in-person community with digital connection. It’s about recognizing that discipleship happens on the pickleball court, in Friday night dinners, and yes, in the daily digital touchpoints people have with your church’s content.
Life-on-life discipleship requires more than Sunday and Wednesday. Digital presence creates those ongoing connection points.
Where to Start (Even If You’re Starting from Zero)
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, Wesley’s advice is simple:
1. Start with Your Website
It’s the hub of everything else. It doesn’t need to be fancy. It needs to:
Clearly display service times and location
Have actual design (coordinating colors, intentional layout)
Tell people what to expect when they visit
Make it easy for current members to stay informed
2. Create Video Content
Post your sermons on YouTube. But don’t stop there. Share devotional thoughts. Show people what pastoral ministry actually looks like. Teach them how to study Scripture, lead their families, share their faith.
You don’t need professional production. You need to press record and start.
3. Tell Transformation Stories
Your church is full of stories of God’s work. Marriages restored. Addictions broken. Faith kindled.
Capture them. Share them. Let the world see what God is doing in your community.
The Bigger Picture
This conversation reminded me why I’m so passionate about helping churches move from isolation to collaboration, from silo thinking to Kingdom partnerships.
Wesley isn’t trying to build a digital empire. He’s a bi-vocational pastor who sees a massive gap in how churches are (or aren’t) reaching their communities. So he’s building tools, conducting research, and equipping churches to do better.
That’s Kingdom work.
And the beautiful part? When churches raise their digital presence collectively, we’re not competing with each other; we’re raising the volume of the gospel across entire regions.
As Wesley said: “We’re here, we’re the church. We’re doing great things. Don’t forget about us.”
One Final Thought
If you’re a pastor reading this and you feel overwhelmed by one more thing added to your already impossible list, I get it.
But here’s the truth: Your current members are already online every single day. Visitors are already searching for churches online. The next generation of givers is already evaluating ministries based on their digital presence.
The question isn’t whether you’ll engage digitally. The question is whether you’ll engage well or whether you’ll remain invisible to the very people God may be bringing your way.
Listen to the full conversation with Wesley Lewis:
Connect with One Eighty Digital: https://oneeighty.digital/
What’s one step your church could take this week to improve its digital presence?