A church in North Yorkshire has launched an 'online church' for people who are looking for answers but don't feel ready to walk into a church building.

The motivation behind the site set up by Holy Trinity Ripon is to help people discover if God is of relevance to them today, providing a safe and self-directed way to find straightforward answers to questions about Christianity. The long-term goal is to encourage them to find a local church where they can feel at home.

"As odd as it may seem to Christians, who have all the advantages of fellowship through belonging to a traditional church, there are huge numbers of people who are accustomed to being part of online communities, whose 'friends' they may never meet face-to-face," said Mark Tanner, vicar of Holy Trinity Ripon.

"The idea of doing things online feels safe and attractive to them, so why not introduce church into that lifestyle?"

The site, Church on the Net, is divided into three with a reference section, a weekly article exploring the Christian faith and how it is lived out, and an interactive community area.

"In an increasingly secular world, we are in danger of making assumptions about what people already know about our faith - which may not be much!" said Nicola David, project leader of Church on the Net.

"This hit home when a teenager asked me if Christmas was when Jesus married Mary. So our articles try to be as clear, conversational and jargon-free as possible - particularly because we expect the majority of our audience to be outside of the UK, and won't have English as a first language."

Some 40 per cent of visitors to Holy Trinity Ripon's own church website are from overseas and come looking for answers to spiritual questions. Most commonly, these are seekers from China, Brazil, Vietnam, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Korea, Morocco and Israel.

"Church on the Net is one of a range of ways Christians are extending a new invitation to community, to exploration and to faith through fresh expressions of church. I warmly commend it," says Rev Dr Steven Croft, archbishops' missioner and team leader of Fresh Expressions.

Plans are already afoot for phases two and three of the site, which will introduce extensive new functionality and features.

Church on the Net is registered as a fresh expression of church. It exists under the authority of Holy Trinity Ripon and the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds. It is co-funded by Holy Trinity Ripon, the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds, and charitable grants.