As we were developing the new edition of Christianity Explored, we decided we wanted to launch a website that would mirror the course – a website that assumed no prior knowledge of the Bible, aimed to answer tough questions, walk people through Mark’s Gospel, and let Jesus do as much of the talking (and get as much of the glory) as possible.
So here it is. You’ll find some great videos on there from Tim Keller, Kevin DeYoung, Vaughan Roberts and others. The official launch is today, and we’d love your feedback to make it as helpful for you (+friends +work colleagues +family) as possible. Leave a comment below, either positive or negative, and we’ll tweak it over the coming months.
Here’s what Kevin DeYoung said of the new site:
Besides looking sharp, the website has several nice features (this is not a paid advertisement by the way).
- The content is delivered through dozens of short videos. The videos are also transcribed for those who want to read the material.
- There are three main areas to the site. One part answers the question, “What is Christianity?” A second part contains short answers to tough questions. The third area includes real stories of personal faith.
- The site is not mainly about the CE program. Obviously, you can find information about the course, but the site is primarily an evangelistic tool meant to come alongside local churches in their gospel ministry. This is not a CE promo site, but a good resource for introducing people to Christianity.
It’s been a privilege working on the content with Carl Laferton at The Good Book Company (who has done an incredible job in next to no time). Phil, Johnny and Tom at the GBC have also been terrific pulling this together. And thanks to Internet Dreams for their lovely coding.
Update: John Piper has also tweeted about the new CE website: “I found this new site very hard to leave. It’s meant to help unbelievers. The ‘Real Life Stories’ rivet.”
Future Perfect // Present Tense 
Hey Barry,
I think the site looks pretty good. It’s straight-forward and easy to navigate. It also doesn’t seem like there is too much information crammed into the site, and it doesn’t feel too cluttered.
Seems like the videos have a calm and reserved tone- this feels a little slow to me, but I am from the U.S. (land of action-packed special effects), and I would imagine that all the words said in the videos are carefully chosen and meant to be delivered delicately.
It seems to me that if there were a person looking to learn more, this would be a welcoming and gentle place to start.
Hope that helps! Wish you all the best!
Sarah
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Thanks Sarah, that’s really helpful. Hope all’s well in Chicago!
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Great work guys! I like what you did with the first video. Can’t wait to see the rest. I also like the additional resources explaining the Gospel in brief and answering tough questions. We’re going to link this to our website. I pray that God will use this sight to reach many people for Christ.
Peter
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Peter, I appreciate the encouragement. Will I see you at EMA in London this year?
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Liked the new site.
The first video covering Mark 1 was a good introduction
and if the rest are of this standard then the complete course should
please those using it.
The extra links were helpful and easy to see but I did notice that
the text of Mark used on the link was not that of the NIV but thought that the programmes were going to use that translation.
Not a great problem but it might help to keep things consistent by using the same version everywhere.
Best wishes,
Laurence Nicholas.
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Laurence, thank you very much for that feedback – I will pass it on.
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I have watched the first bit of the first video. It is just what I am looking for to share with others, except for the narration. He makes good points, but it is the action video that would grab the heart of those with whom I would like to share. I know that one young lady with whom I am sharing would listen to him and turn the message off before she got to the man handing out the flyers. Could you possibly consider starting off with more of an attention grabber that would make them stay on track; lead them to the narrative.
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Thanks Nancy, I’ll pass on the feedback.
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