Frequently asked questions

No. Maranatha is a service of Aspir Technologies, a for-profit company. We are not a church and we do not hold services. We help people explore faith, and we point them to churches. The partner churches you find here are independent congregations.

No. You can read the guides, use the Bible reader, and browse churches without signing up for anything. If you ask a question or request prayer, we only need an email address if you want a reply.

Real people. Our responders are volunteers and staff who have been approved and trained, and who have agreed to our safeguarding policy. We do not use artificial intelligence to write replies to your questions or prayer requests.

Your questions and prayer requests are confidential. They are seen only by the responders assigned to them and by a small number of administrators who keep the service safe. We store the text of questions and prayer requests in encrypted form. We do not sell your information. See our privacy policy for the details.

Yes. The individual services (guides, the Bible reader, questions, prayer, the daily devotional, and church introductions) are free.

Never. We do not sell or rent personal information. We will only use your email for the purpose you gave it, such as replying to your question or sending the devotional you asked for. Every devotional email has an unsubscribe link.

You are welcome here. Many people who use Maranatha are curious, skeptical, or somewhere in between. We are open about our own convictions, and we are glad to answer honest questions, including tough ones. We will not pressure you.

Maranatha is not a crisis service and cannot respond in real time. If you are in immediate danger, call 911. In the United States you can call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, at any hour. See our crisis help page for more.

No. Our one-to-one services (questions, prayer requests, and introductions) are for adults, 18 and older.

Local churches and ministries that agree with our statement of faith and are willing to welcome newcomers warmly and safely. Every application is reviewed by a person before the church appears in the directory.

Yes, in substance. When you apply, you confirm that your church agrees with it. We understand that churches hold different views on secondary matters such as the mode of baptism, and we say so in the statement itself.

You do. Your church's content, contacts and giving records belong to your church. You can export your contacts at any time, and you can ask us to delete your church's account. We do not sell church data.

Yes. You can cancel your plan at any time from the billing page. Your site remains until the end of the period you have paid for.

Maranatha does not take a percentage of gifts. When your church uses built-in giving, gifts go directly to your church's own Stripe account. Stripe charges its standard processing fees, which are shown by Stripe. Your monthly plan fee is separate.

Maranatha is a service of a for-profit company, not a charity, and does not issue tax receipts. Your church issues its own receipts if it is eligible to do so. We show a notice about this on every giving page.

Not yet. In this first version each church has a page at maranatha.com/c/your-church. Custom domains and subdomains are planned for later.

The World English Bible (WEB) is a modern, accurate English translation in the public domain. That means it is free to read, quote and share, without licensing fees or restrictions. We use it everywhere on this site so that the text is consistent, and we never alter it. You are welcome to compare it with other translations.

You can read our full statement of faith. In short, we hold to the historic Christian faith: the Bible as God's Word, one God in three persons, Jesus as the divine Son who died and rose again, salvation by grace through faith, the church as Christ's body, and the return of Christ.

Only what we need. If you ask a question, we collect the question and the email address you want a reply to. If you subscribe to the devotional, we collect your email address and optionally your first name. We do not track you with advertising trackers.

Yes. Use the privacy request form to ask for an export of your data or for it to be deleted. We confirm your email address first, and we complete requests within 30 days.