You just have to be careful of the information you do get. Gardner recommends to online users that they visit reputable sites and not believe everything they find. Like established religions, cult and fringe groups also utilize the Web to proselytize and market their message. For example, Heaven's Gate drew a flurry of online activity from curious visitors after 39 of its members committed suicide in early 1997. However, that is the exception.
Most religions utilize the Web to promote understanding and healthy discussion.
Through the use of chat rooms, prayer request forms, listservs and other forms of interactive features, church Web sites have created online communities - places where people can meet, debate and discuss their faiths and how religion impacts their own lives. For example, most church sites employ the use of prayer requests through forms or basic e-mail. Grace Baptist Church's site, produced and maintained by Rick Lamberson, owner of Hometown Internet Publishing out of Port St. Joe, provides a series of features designed to help church members and outside visitors connect with each other both online and off. About 15 families are actively involved with the site and have signed on as Grace Baptist Web Servants. Messages posted by visitors to the site are then forwarded to each Servant e-mail account.