If a church has been open in a browser tab since the week you moved, or since you started wondering whether to try again, the tab is probably not the problem. The hour before a first visit is.
In that hour you have an address and a service time, and you still cannot make yourself go. Neither one tells you whether questions are welcome, whether there is somewhere for your three-year-old to go, whether there is a step at the door, or whether someone will chase you for your name before you have decided anything. So you close the tab and tell yourself you will look again next Sunday.
What a map cannot tell you
A map shows where a building is and when the service starts. It cannot tell you what happens in the first ten minutes. It is also no help with the fear that stops many people before they start, which is giving a church your name before you have chosen it.
Questions a listing never asks
FaithHaven is a free website and iPhone app that asks about ten short questions, one per screen, in about four minutes. You do not need an account until the end.
The questions cover a service in Spanish, a step-free entrance, a hearing loop, childcare and the children's ages, whether doubts are welcome, whether women can be pastors, and whether LGBTQ+ people are fully included. Church labels rarely say any of this, so people find out the hard way.
One question asks: "Has a church hurt you before?" You do not have to tell us more than that, and you can skip it. No church ever sees this answer. If you answer yes, we favor churches that told us they offer a gentle start.
What you get back
You get a short list of up to three churches, each with why it fits and what we do not know yet. When fewer than three churches are confirmed fits, the list says so and shows possible fits.
When nothing fits, the list says so: we would rather show you nothing than a guess. Churches that said no to something you must have are left out, and the list tells you how many. Churches we know too little about appear separately under 'Possible fits, from what we know', unranked, each with what it is based on and what is not confirmed yet.
When a church has not said
A church can write a first-visit guide that covers what happens, how long it lasts, what most people wear and which door to use. Many churches have not written one yet. When that is the case, the page says so plainly instead of guessing.
Start with a ZIP code
Type your ZIP code at faithhaven.app and see the churches near you. No account needed.