How to choose

So, this stuff just started getting real! I have my first probationary placement interview yesterday. Now the dust's beginning to settle, it makes me aware just how much I need to learn and how little time I have to learn it.

But, on more practical matters, how to choose where to go. I have been given (well, given is perhaps too strong a word, but work with me here) a list of 4. 2 were ones I went with and the other 2 came out of discussion. I am prepared to keep an open mind, though not move house for the duration.

So, to find out which one fits, I wonder how I should go about choosing. I'm aware I will be working very closely with the minister wherever I go, so I need to be able to get on with them. I need to be stretched and challenged and allowed to fail (honestly - but not spectacularly). And, among all this, it needs to have the sort of ministry I feel called to, all with a list of 4. Not much to ask for!

In order to work out where I might go I had a look at the churches websites. (If I was honest, I would struggle to go somewhere that had no web presence, as that's how most people under 40 moving to a new area will look for a church.) I think, much like a church fayre, they can show what the church sees as important. So, if I cannot easily find the times of your services and a 'how to find us' (honestly, it's not difficult, just use google maps, but don't assume everyone knows were you are), what does that say about the ministry there?

It's like this. The people in the parish (or, worse, the congregation) may know where and when you met for worship, but anyone else wanting to find out this information would have to see the board outside the church. If I don't know where you are, I can't do that. Also, knowing spot's been looking for church times for his 50 acts of worship, what's easier to find can indicate what the church sees as more important to them.

Having said that, what have I found so far? Well, only one on my list has that information clearly on the home page, along with a short statement of what they believe. Another had a clear 'services' tab, which did list all the service times well. The third I had to click through 2 pages from the front page to get there, though I learnt a lot about their buildings getting there! And lastly, navigating pages, none of which were marked 'worship' or 'services' or something similar, I finally found their times, but they were listed in such a format that their 2 services actually looked like 5. If I, as someone who knows roughly what I am looking for is confused by that, what hope is there for someone who wants to find out about God, go to church, but gives up when they can't get basic information like the times of the services? They either go somewhere else or (more likely) nowhere. Not good.

Now, I know there will be people who will say the website is not the minister's responsibility. And I would agree with them. But ministers are the leaders of their congregations, so perhaps these facts being neglected or hard to find or difficult to make heads or tails of can be a reflection of the leadership in those churches.

Which is a long way round to me saying those 2 churches with the poor service information are working their way down my list. Is that an acceptable way to filter - how easy is it to find the where and when of a church's service times from its website?