CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Charlotte is a test city for a new Web site that's being launched worldwide. The site is based on the idea that many people turn to their place of worship in times of crisis.

This idea is helping congregations cope with domestic violence.

Pastors and others in the faith community are learning how to help parishioners who are being physically abused at home, a problem some didn't realize was so pervasive.

“I'm learning that we as a church are not looked upon as the safe haven we should be, and that really hurts,” said Pastor Herb Rhedrick of First Missionary Baptist Church at a training session at Gordon-Conwell Seminary in south Charlotte. “So we are learning how we can create that safe environment.”

Dr. Nancy Nason-Clark believes the new Web site she's created can help.

“You click on the download of resources,” she said.

She's a sociology professor at the University of New Brunswick in Canada. She received a grant to develop the RAVE project, or Religion and Violence E-learning project.

She picked Charlotte, along with other sites around the world, to develop and test it.

It's a free online tool that can literally coach the user through the process of counseling someone in need.

“A pastor or a community-based person who wants to know what resources are available can go to the 'help now' tab, click on their area of the country and up comes a map and they can find where the resources are,” Nason-Clark said.

The Web site offers sermon outlines about domestic violence, a list of shelter locations and local statistics. On average, one in four women is a victim of abuse.

“The majority of congregations are made up of women, and then you need to calculate that 25 percent of your congregation is not safe when they leave your congregation,” Rhedrick said.

He said the course raised his awareness and gave him the tools to now make a difference.

“I've become a better pastor by being able now to show that, at least at the place where I pastor, you do have a safe place to get help,” he said.

There are special tools for pastors and church youth groups, but anyone can use the tools on the RAVE Web site for free.

For more information, visit the RAVE Project.