From anywhere on the site, you can click on the header image (thanks to Mark Van Steenwyk) and return to the front page. There, you will see a few widgets displaying information about the newest users, groups, forum posts, sitewide activities, and more. The basic navigation is in the page header, and each section is fairly self-evident.

The activity link takes you to the regular activity stream page, on which you can post status updates either to your own profile or to groups of which you are a member. You can attach links, images (upload or by URL), or videos (by URL only; no uploads) to your update.

The members link takes you to a list of the site’s members, which can be ordered by last activity, newest registrations, and alphabetical order. You can go to each member’s profile from there, or request to be their friend.

The groups link takes you to the group directory. Every member is also a member of the Global group, which allows everyone to participate in groups from the beginning. You can also create your own groups, which we encourage you to do in order to connect based on geography or mutual interest. Groups can be given different privacy settings, which will affect who can join and even see them. You can post activity stream updates in groups, rather than on your own profile wall, and discuss in the comments. You can also create a group document which can be set to allow other group members to edit the group itself, upload attachments, or only comment.

The forums tab takes you to the forums. Unlike the old site, forums are no longer tied to groups. Between the Docs and group activity stream, we felt there was no need for another discussion area in groups, but there has been strong interest in sitewide forums available to all members. There are two main forums, one for discussion and one for help. Each has subforums that are labeled by topic.

The sites link takes you to the list of sites users have created within the Christarchy! Network. Users can create sites for their personal use or for the use of their own local communities. In fact, we encourage communities to create their own sites and customize them as much as they need to meet their own needs; we are more than willing to help with providing the ability to expand capabilities for these sites beyond what is currently available. If you have questions or would like a site design, contact us and we’d be happy to help you out.

The events link takes you to a list of user-created events which, depending on their settings, may allow you to register. When you hover the mouse over the events link a second link will also drop down that allows you to create your own events and invite other users to them. You can create events attached to your own profile or a group for which you are an admin.

The last link across the top is the gallery, which allows you to upload pictures, videos, and other media to your profile to share. If you are a group admin or the admin allows it, you can also upload to your group. Users and groups have a 15 MB limit, though if you have a good reason for needing more we can discuss options for further uploading.

The secondary menu has links containing information about the site and a contact form to send a message to the administration. The site documentation is still under construction, but please feel free to let us know what works for you and what doesn’t. We can only make the site work better for you if you tell us what you want.

There are a lot of features with which to get acquainted, but we hope this overview helps you as you discover new ways to connect and build a radical movement for Jesus wherever you are.

Christarchy! exists to help one another network together to encourage the development of local communities who seek to follow together the radical way of Jesus. This site is only a part of that work, and this is only the beginning.