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April 29, 2005

Free U2 Ticket Update

(Filed under: Evangelism & Outreach)

A while back we talked about a church in Arizona that was giving away free U2 tickets as part of an Easter promotion. The dust has finally settled and we have an update on how it went:

• 844 people signed up for the contest.
• 81% of those people currently attend church.
• 72% had heard of the church already.
• 42 people visited the church thanks to the contest (projected).

They're calling the promotion a "large success," which some may debate, but there's plenty you can learn from them, especially the fact that they did a post-promotion analysis. They also learned a key lesson:

"Marketing is not a set it and forget it activity, it’s a constant creative process which requires that you persistently get in front of people and tell them your good news."

(you can read the full PDF report, with participant feedback, online)

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 10:18 AM
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Connecting Church Marketers

(Filed under: Church Business)

Last week Brad posted an entry about design and marketing positions in churches and theorized that churches will soon have a Pastoral Director of Design & Marketing. Based on the feedback we're getting, it's starting to happen. Maybe not a specific pastoral role, but churches are definitely hiring designers and creative people.

monkeyboy commented on Brad's entry asking about getting church creative folks together:

"I would think that there might be enough people like myself who are on staff at a church as the Creative Director or a similar category that it might be beneficial to schedule something where we could all get together outside of our areas of ministry and begin to talk through the whole idea of communicating and presenting the gospel through our respective lenses. I know for me that I often feel like an island when it comes to doing what I do and feel there could be some definite benefits to networking with similar people when it comes to resources and such."

Continue reading "Connecting Church Marketers"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:27 AM
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April 27, 2005

Does Your Church Dream?

(Filed under: Think Ahead)

Irving Bible Church in Irving, Texas has a dream:

We dream of a church where people are free to attempt great things for God; where people have nothing to prove and therefore nothing to lose; where creativity and innovation are honored, not feared; where all kinds of people serve God in all kinds of ways.

It's part of a web site introducing visitors to their church, starting with their dreams, moving into some basics of faith and finishing with basics about visiting their church.

I like the idea (though the pop up window format is annoying), especially the emphasis on the church's dreams. Too often I think the church simply doesn't dream. We do what's adequate and move on. We never dream big, think large, or imagine that just maybe God does want to do something incredible. Businesses dream and it takes them pretty far. Shouldn't we—the people of God, who have reason to expect dreams to become reality—be dreaming? (link via Jason Reynolds, the Web Ministry Coordinator at Stonebriar Community Church)

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 9:09 AM
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April 26, 2005

You're Invited: Bringing People to Church

(Filed under: Evangelism & Outreach)

In yesterday's post about seeker-sensitive churches in Ohio, pastor Lee Powell of CedarCreek made the comment that despite all the advertising they do (he compared it to buying weekly tire ads for Sears), 80% of first time visitors come because they were personally invited.

That's huge. And frankly, that's why the church has been around for 2000 years.

Shawn Wood, the Creative Communications Pastor (what did Brad say about pastors?) at Seacoast, a multi-site church in South Carolina, e-mailed us recently to say that his church relies primarily on people inviting other people—to the extent that they've almost given up on mass mailings.

So if personal invitations are the way to go, how can churches best encourage invites?

Continue reading "You're Invited: Bringing People to Church"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:14 AM
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April 25, 2005

Lessons from Seeker Sensitive Churches

(Filed under: Examples)

The Toledo Blade covered "seeker-sensitive" churches this weekend and here are a few highlights.

The biggest value to these seeker-sensitive churches is that they're open to the fact that church often turns people off. And they do something about it:

"We try to take out the stumbling blocks," said the Rev. Lee Powell, lead pastor of CedarCreek. "Surveys consistently show that there are four reasons why people don't go to church: It's boring, it's irrelevant, the music is outdated, or they feel we're only interested in money."

Continue reading "Lessons from Seeker Sensitive Churches"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 3:22 PM
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April 24, 2005

Barbara Boxer on Being Authentic

(Filed under: Philosophy)

If you've been a part of the Church Marketing Sucks conversation for any amount of time, you know a basic tenet of good marketing philosophy comes down to churches being authentic.

It appears even the political elite are understanding what it means to be authentic. In Time's "10 Questions For..." column, Perry Bacon Jr. asked California Senator Barbara Boxer "What does your party need to do to win more elections?"

"I think we should be authentic, and I think we should allow our candidates to be who they are. We should be a big tent, and we're pretty much tied together to be the party of hope, opportunity and fairness. But I think authenticity is the key; I think that's what people want more than everything."

Thanks Barbara for giving us a picture of what the church should be. A "big tent" where a church is who it is and "authenticity is the key" to hope.

Posted by Brad Abare at 2:12 PM
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April 22, 2005

The Marketing of Alpha

(Filed under: Examples)

This article explores the marketing of the Alpha Course, and while it intially seems to mock the "slick, contemporary marketing," by the end you realize the effective story of Alpha wins the day. The real marketing of Alpha isn't their slick brochures or bus ads, it's the way they designed the program. They offer a meal to make it easier for people to attend and they foster an environment that welcomes questions.

Often real success doesn't depend on a cleverly designed postcard or witty tagline—it comes down to all the forethought and planning.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 2:47 PM
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Marketing the Church is like Marketing the Pope

(Filed under: Philosophy)

When some people think of church marketing, I think they're closer to the peddling of trinkets and other lame aspects of marketing. Like this story about the sales of new pope merchandise.

Of all the marketing that goes into the whole process of installing a new pope—the event planning, the public relations, the design and printing of programs, the organization of the whole thing, etc.—the photos and trinkets hocked by street vendors are one of the least important marketing components, and in most cases not something controlled by the Vatican. A pope keychain is church marketing that sucks.

Some folks miss that point and think we're condemning all church marketing. Not a chance. That would mean wagging a finger at things like planning and clear communication and having a vision. We want to encourage those things. It makes me wonder if we're not communicating clearly enough, if our own marketing sucks.

(Update: This Maine columnist complains about the marketing of Jesus, and this guy agrees offering the historical perspective of Charles Spurgeon. That's great, but you're forgetting authenticity. Any marketing that lacks authenticity, that sacrifices the Gospel, that seeks to make a buck from Christ—well, it sucks.)

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 2:20 PM
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How Churches Attract People

(Filed under: Demographics/Research)

A Florida newspaper explores the strategies churches use to bring in people, and it's all marketing. Everything from how the message is delivered to paying attention to the people to offering something for the community.

I especially like the example of First Alliance Church in Port Charlotte, Fla. Their pastor, Scott Borden, noticed that most of the people in the community were not originally from there and had few connections. Thus a small group ministry became an excellent way to give people the connection they were lacking. That's smart marketing.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 1:34 PM
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April 19, 2005

Pastoral Director of Design & Marketing

(Filed under: Church Business)

For quite some time now I've been thinking a lot about the future of the church in terms of the makeup of its staff and personnel. More specifically, I'd like to predict two positions that do not exist now, but within the next 5-10 years, will exist in every church of affordable size.

Say hello to the:

• Pastoral Director of Design & Marketing
  
• Pastor of Philosophy & Ethics

The second position is another post for another day (perhaps another blog). The first position is where I focus my attention and begin to get real jazzed about the potential.

It seems I am not alone in my thinking. Kevin posted an interview yesterday with church creative director, Ryan Hartsock, from Four Corners Community Church. On March 8, Micheal Felker made a comment on his blog about a conversation he had with a "ministry buddy" of his. "Mark my words, the next ministry position will be a person with a design degree whose job it is to advertise." I'm sure there are many others who could opine on this topic.

In order to communicate with their communities and capture the eyes and ears of all generations, churches must make this position a priority. The culture is demanding it. In a world that continually seeks to engage and enrage our senses, the church can be the leaders in excellent communication and marketing practices.

Posted by Brad Abare at 7:15 AM
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April 18, 2005

Church Creative Director Ryan Hartsock

(Filed under: Interviews)

A few weeks ago we received an e-mail from Ryan Hartsock, the Creative Director at Four Corners Community Church in West Chester, Ohio. He sent us some samples of work that he hoped didn't suck. Rather than simply taking a look at his work, we decided to ask him a few questions.

(Newspaper ad, right: "We have really tried to depart from just delivering with some cross and other "Christianese" symbols. This was one of our ads in a campaign of taking interesting pictures and adding some sort of tagline.")

Continue reading "Church Creative Director Ryan Hartsock"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 11:46 AM
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April 17, 2005

Personality Driven Church

(Filed under: Brand & Identity)

Reflecting on many of the churches I have visited and/or have been made aware of over the years, I am curiously cognizant of how many are recognized by the name of the senior pastor rather than by the name of the church. It doesn't take long to create a list of dozens, if not hundreds, of such well known church leaders.

On the other hand, I am pleasantly pleased by the number of churches that come to mind where I do not know the pastor's name, but do know the church and where it is located, perhaps even what its strength is in the community, some of its functions as a church, and more.

Without formal research, one of the obvious differences that come to mind is that the churches without a well known personalty tend to have history (been around for a generation or more), while the personality driven ministries are attached to the age of the known person.

Could it be that churches known for the personality of the pastor are doomed?

Continue reading "Personality Driven Church"

Posted by Brad Abare at 3:32 PM
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April 15, 2005

'Hell-Bound Pope' Sign Not a Good Idea

(Filed under: Public Relations)

Hilltop Baptist Church in Newport, Tenn. has been getting lots of attention for a statement on their church sign that appeared a few days after the funeral of Pope John Paul II: "No truth, No hope Following a hell-bound pope!" On the other side it reads: "False hope in a fake pope."

Pastor Clive Franklin said people are misunderstanding the sign and that it was not meant to be offensive to Catholics. "Hell-bound pope" is supposed to be a cheery phrase for Catholics? Um, try again.

An assistant pastor at the church said that the sign's point is that people shouldn't put their hope in a pope. He reiterated that people are misunderstanding the sign and said the church isn't trying to say the pope is in hell. So what does "Hell-bound pope" mean? He was going to hell, but got distracted and ended up in heaven instead? Um, try again.

Just about everyone interviewed has blasted the church sign, and under increased pressure, especially from WATE 6 News, Hilltop Baptist changed the statement on their sign. Now it says "Censured, Thanks TV6." Ooh, the bitterness comes out.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say this isn't the best way to represent your church to the community.

Continue reading "'Hell-Bound Pope' Sign Not a Good Idea"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:51 AM
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Creative Tension

(Filed under: Think Ahead)

Ed Young of Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas writes about creative tension for Leadership Journal. He focuses on three areas:

1) Exellence vs. Expense

"In today's technology-crazed world, it's tempting to keep buying the hottest equipment. But does that purchase serve a higher purpose, helping reach people more effectively, or is it just a cool toy for your team to play with? You don't have to buy high-end gear to be cutting edge. Yes, you may have to spend some money for technology. But you can be creative without being a large, wealthy church."

2) Spontaneity vs. Structure

"In order to connect with people, we've got to find the sweet spot that incorporates passion, personality, and performance. Plan what you want to say, how you are going to say it, and where you want to lead your audience. But then be flexible enough to make changes if it's not working."

3) Consistency vs. Change

"We've made clear at Fellowship that things will constantly change. It's what I call being consistently inconsistent. The message will not change, but how we communicate it will, so we can reach a variety of people in a variety of ways. Every time you talk about the vision of your church, which should be often, reinforce this idea of change."

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:25 AM
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April 14, 2005

Get Involved or Get Out

(Filed under: Examples)

The Meeting House, a multi-site church in Canada, has a unique approach to encouraging congregation involvement: Purge Sundays. That's the tongue-in-cheek name the staff uses, but it gets to the point.

Teaching pastor Bruxy Cavey admits "purge Sundays" were his idea. "Evangelical Christians can be a trendy bunch, always looking for the good deal and where the action is," he explains. "The more we have grown as a church, the more we have attracted tourists who come to check us out and will attend for some time, but never consider The Meeting House their home church. We don't think that's healthy for them—to be a voyeur on church life, rather than a healthy, active, committed participant in church life.

"So we started to ask them to leave."

It's a bold idea—asking passive congregants to get involved or go find a different church where they can do that—and I like it. They have the necessary exception for people still seeking but not yet committed, and they challenge their people to do what they're supposed to do.

It sounds kind of abrasive, but it also sounds like they take the right approach. After all, if they lose people as a result of purge Sundays, that's the idea. It's refreshing to hear about a church that cares about more than increased numbers.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:27 AM
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April 12, 2005

Accessible Church

(Filed under: Demographics/Research)

The Washington Post covers the plight of the disabled as they try to find their place in church. And it only starts with wheelchair ramps, wide doorways, elevators and other physical accomodations. It also involves letting the disabled participate fully in the life of the church.

For as much time as Jesus spent healing people of physical disabilities, it's sad that this is even an issue for the church.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 3:38 PM
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Why Do Men Hate Church?

(Filed under: Demographics/Research)

48 million women attend church every week while only 35 million men do. That's a gender imbalance of 13 million people, and a reason why churches need to become man-friendly--according to David Murrow, author of Why Men Hate Going To Church.

"[Murrow] concluded that today's church culture favors, even expects, participation in intimate, nurturing behavior such as singing, hand-holding, sitting in circles and sharing feelings. Many men feel uncomfortable in such an environment and choose not to go." (Washington Post)

Murrow offers seven principles to becoming a man-friendly church, or you can dive into his Church for Men web site.

(Quite frankly, all I can think of when I hear the term "man-friendly" is Kelso from That 70s Show saying, "I'm what you call 'man-pretty.'" I never watch the show but the local station carrying the reruns always plays that line in their promo commercials.)

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:14 AM
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April 11, 2005

Church Attendance Down, Bible Reading Up

(Filed under: Demographics/Research)

Barna's latest study of American religious beliefs and practices shows little change over the past 15 years. A few things that have changed:

• Bible reading is up.
• Church attendance is down.
• Unchurched adults attending small groups are up.
• Sunday school is down.
• Christians sharing their faith is up.
• Having a biblical view of God's character is down.

But these few changes pale in comparison to the nearly four dozen categories that haven't changed. The glacial pace of religious change over the long term shows the need for a change in direction, according to George Barna.

"You cannot make good strategic decisions without reliable information about the people or situations you hope to change," says Barna. "Bringing about genuine and lasting religious transformation requires leadership that is more aggressive than simply constructing bigger buildings, replacing the overhead projector with a big-screen projection system, and introducing a few new programs. Our era is noted for distractions, stress, technology, choice, busyness, information overload and mistrust. Effective leaders must spearhead a thoroughly conceived and highly targeted plan that runs a significant level of risk and promises attractive returns on people’s investment of themselves. Merely tinkering with the existing system is a recipe for irrelevance and abandonment."

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:00 AM
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April 7, 2005

Smells Like Church

(Filed under: Building Design)

Among other things, Westwinds Community Church in Jackson, Mich. has a committee that decides what the church should smell like, according to an Audio Collective podcast. That may sound a little fruity, but as pastor Ron Martoia says, "The facility defines the experience." Paying attention to the little things, like the lighting or the tile or even the smell, has a big payoff when it comes to how people experience your church.

Read an interview with Martoia about their building and check out the photos (and a few more photos).

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:24 AM
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April 6, 2005

Cut Your Pastor Some Slack

(Filed under: Church Business)

So often when it comes to the church marketing discussion everything falls to the pastor. As much as I want churches to improve their marketing, I also want to be sensitive to the plight of the burned out pastor. I've said this before, but it's worth repeating: Supporting pastors is good for marketing.

Scott Williams offers a good perspective on what pastors face in his post, Why Pastors Quit The Ministry:

we are tired of pretending that we cannot be hurt. people assume ministers are available for their criticism 24/7. people say things to clergy they would not say to their worst enemies. for some reason they feel at liberty to delve into every aspect of clergy life. they have an opinion about everything we do. they believe it is their god-given right to critique your personal life, your professional life, your emotional state, the way you dress, your use of colloquialisms, your kids, your personality, how much you spend on a car, your friendships, how you drive, how much you fart, the list goes on and on. pastors live their life in the limelight. they, therefore, constantly disappoint people. it is hard to disappoint people all the time. as a pastor, and maybe it is just me, i seem to let people down all the time. recently i was at a small group where several complained that i was not their close friend. besides the obvious fact that i do not have enough hours in the day nor the emotional energy to be friends with everyone, let alone friendly, how can you assume i would would want to be your close friend? ministers spend their entire life pretending to like a portion of the population that they really cannot stand.

Whew. Can you feel that rant? So cut your pastor some slack. (link via Jordon Cooper)

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:42 PM
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Go to Church, Win a Harley

(Filed under: Examples)

This sounds vaguely familiar, but Crossroads Church in Coronoa, Calif. is giving away a Harley Davidson motorcycle to a lucky first time visitor or church member who brings a visitor. (link via ADHD Dad)

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:15 AM
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Quitting Church

(Filed under: Demographics/Research)

Charisma magazine has a lengthy report on Christians who opt to stay home on Sundays. The article presents the issue as a growing trend, and not limited to twenty-somethings. The biggest motivation for skipping out on church seems to be disaffection with the church, though several experts agree that if church isn't working, we need people to stick around and fix it, not leave it for dead.

The article also cites research that the more churches expect of people, the more they get involved. People may be opting out of church because they don't have a role, because they aren't being challenged to get involved.

Finally, the article points to the importance of a standard marketing technique: the exit interview. "In the commercial world companies learn a lot from past customers who leave them," says New Zealand pastor Alan Jamieson. "Surely we in the church can do the same thing." (link via DJ Chuang)

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:42 AM
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April 5, 2005

How to Podcast

(Filed under: Technology)

For those interested in podcasting, Nick Ciske of Creative Church offers his notes from his podcasting session at the Internet Evangelism Conference this past weekend.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 12:58 PM
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Porn Weekend @ Westwinds Church

(Filed under: Examples)

Westwinds Church in Jackson, Mich. held a Porn Weekend this past week. The festivities included a presentation by Craig Gross of xxxchurch.com, a screening of the anti-pornography documentary Missionary Positions, and three billboards that said "Porn Weekend," the dates, and the church's web site.

You can imagine the flack the church received. The Audio Collective podcast covers the Porn Weekend, including statements from Westwinds pastor Vince Beresford during Easter sunday and a follow-up story with several interviews.

Hats off to Westwinds for addressing the issue of pornography that most churches refuse to talk about. You can learn a lot about marketing from the approach Westwinds took (I'll let you debate the "Porn Weekend" billboards), especially the importance of responding to publicity. Westwinds worship leader John Voelz explained that the church received most of the flack from churched people, but didn't receive any suggestions for better ways to confront pornography--suggestions they gladly would have considered. You can check out John's blog for the inside story on Porn Weekend. (link via Todd Rhoades)

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:35 AM
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April 4, 2005

Skipping Church

(Filed under: First Impressions & Beyond)

Canadian blogger and pastor Jordon Cooper skipped church yesterday prompting an entry about the Sunday morning competition churches face. For some folks Sunday is the only day off, and getting dressed up (or feeling like you should) to attend an unfamiliar church is just too intimidating. Cooper also noted how church services are geared towards those who work regular 9-5, Monday-Friday jobs, making it difficult for those who have to work on Sundays.

His post also prompted some criticism for skipping church, and Cooper responded by talking about the obstacles involved in checking out a church. For him the church next door was a possibility, but feeling like he'd have to get dressed up, his inability to find any info about the services, and his negative experience with the pastor all conspired to keep him from going.

When a pastor realizes how hard it is to go to church, we've got some work to do.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 3:56 PM
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April 3, 2005

The Week After Easter

(Filed under: First Impressions & Beyond)

My fears were confirmed this week when I went to church.

Just seven days ago, I was enthralled in the excitement of a spectacular Easter celebration service. The choir was lively, the music was grand, the message was direct, and the congregation showed up in record numbers (we had to add a fourth service). Smiles were everywhere as I was greeted, visitors were abundant, and from the look of the giant games and activities in the parking lot, the kids' church appeared to be competing with Disney Land.

Welcome to the week after Easter. Not only was the church empty (more than usual), there was NO choir, NO band (it was a fill-in worship leader with a guitar), and the speaker was not the main pastor (nor will it be for the next five weeks!). The mood was as if Good Friday was supposed to come after Easter! Come on!

Continue reading "The Week After Easter"

Posted by Brad Abare at 4:05 PM
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April 1, 2005

Pope John Paul II on Communications

(Filed under: Philosophy)

I don't know much about the Pope. But I am learning quickly. Despite growing up Baptist where we didn't give much heed to the Pope, I do respect his love of life and defense of the Church.

Admittedly lame research methods (i.e. Google) found the following quotes from the late Pope John Paul II:

"The question confronting the Church today is not any longer whether the man in the street can grasp a religious message, but how to employ the communications media so as to let him have the full impact of the Gospel message." (World Communications Day, January 24, 1989)

I know he was talking about media like television and radio, but essentially he was getting at the importance of using modern methods to spread the Gospel. The church utilizing marketing is no different.

"Young people are threatened... by the evil use of advertising techniques that stimulate the natural inclination to avoid hard work by promising the immediate satisfaction of every desire."

Even the Pope recognized the dangers of dishonest marketing. As churches begin using marketing and advertising techniques we need to avoid any dishonest, manipulative or, as the Pope said, evil methods.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 2:15 PM
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