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June 30, 2005

The Hats That Broke the Church

There's an interesting article over at Christianity Today about a Montana church nearly torn apart by hats. It started when a couple high school students wore ball caps to the Sunday morning service because they got home late from a school sports game and didn't have time to shower. Their hair was messy.

Nothing happened right away, but grumbling started across the congregation. Someone confronted the boys, the pastor confronted the confronter, letters were sent, people seethed, the pastor asked the boys to stop wearing hats, and a family eventually left the church.

Over hats? Hats!

Now if you actually read the article there's a deep cultural reason why everyone was so up in arms about hats. And to some extent it makes sense, but it just illustrates the difficulty of being the church. Sometimes something as simple as a hat isn't so simple.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:13 AM
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June 29, 2005

I Want to Be With Your Spouse

This sounds ridiculous, but I don't think I have ever seen my pastor's wife with him in any service I have attended. I've been going for nearly three years. I have seen her, and I know what she looks like (I think), but I never see them together, not to mention brought up to say hi, greet people every once in a while, or stand next to him during worship.

I understand shy spouses, protective pastors and schedule conflicts. (I know my pastor's wife is the main church administrator so she is behind-the-scenes a lot.)

Regardless, your spouse should be seen—and recognized as being with you—if not regularly, occasionally. I don't have any fancy research to back this opinion up, but I think it would go a long way in promoting and fostering community.

Posted by Brad Abare at 10:43 AM
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June 28, 2005

Immutable Laws of Church Branding

The latest issue of Church Executive magazine applies 10 of The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding (by marketing experts Al & Lara Reis) to the church.

Some of the branding lessons learned include:

• Branding, Not Sub-Branding - Umpteen different ministries with their own logo and branding doesn't help anybody.
• Promote the Category - Prome a specific category—be it podcasting, Saturday evening services, or even churches in general—as opposed to just what your church offers. You become the expert, promote the efforts of everyone in your category, and everyone wins.
• Publicity - It's the oft-ignored tactic in church marketing: public relations. You'd be surprised at the attention a single newspaper article can generate and it's worth pursuing. Just ask Billy Graham.

Read the article for more.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:43 AM
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June 27, 2005

Web Site or Web Ministry?

Does your church have a web site or a web ministry? Silas Partners is a company that helps ministries with web solutions and they've put together an article exploring the difference between web sites and web ministries. This is an issue often raised by Andrew Careaga and the Internet Evangelism Coalition, but it's always worth repeating.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 10:52 AM
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Cleaning Toilets for Jesus

When 10 people in matching blue T-shirts show up at a local shopping center, armed with brooms, towels and squeegees, and volunteer to wash windows and clean bathrooms, well, they're bound to attract attention.

They're part of the Kindness Team at the Vineyard Church of Richmond, Va. In addition to free cleaning at local businesses, they've also passed out donuts at Virginia Commonwealth University, brought watermelon, cantaloupe and cucumbers to homeless people on hot days, and stood outside a theater buying tickets for moviegoers.

The church spends $400 to $500 per month on the ministry, and in addition to the free services or goods, they also pass out cards that explain who they are and include a map to the church.

But the point of the Vineyard ministries, [pastor Ken] Peters says, isn't so much "trying to attract new members to our church, but to break down some of the existing views of church that people have, that the church just wants something from you."

(link via CT's weblog)

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:33 AM
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National HIV Testing Day

Today is National HIV Testing Day, a day designed to encourage voluntary HIV testing and counseling. St. Timothy Community Church in Gary, Ind. decided to get involved and hosted a free HIV screening at their church.

"This testing is a necessary experience that all people should participate in," said the Rev. Robert Lowery, pastor at St. Timothy. "In times like this, we all have to think outside the box and create empowerment when it comes to the health of our people."

After some Christians responded to HIV in the 1980s by characterizing it as 'God's vengeance on homosexuals,' it's encouraging to see churches getting personally involved in fighting HIV/AIDS. While this has little to do with marketing and would hopefully be motivated by much more than marketing, it's a perfect example that actions speak louder than words. What your church does speaks so much louder than any sermon, mission statement or postcard.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:18 AM
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June 24, 2005

Billy Graham's Publicity Man

We've talked before about Billy Graham's marketing man, but how about his publicity man? Larry Ross has covered Billy Graham's public relations efforts since 1981, and he'll be especially busy this week as Billy Graham's New York Crusade begins tonight, which could possibly be his last.

"Jesus always asked, 'How can I help you?'" Ross says. "Dealing with the mainstream media is all about knowing what they want and figuring out how you can help them get it, which works to your advantage."

He also advises pastors to, as Newsweek puts it, "seize opportunities such as civic disasters to make themselves available to newspapers and TV stations hungry for commentary," which sounds like the equivalent of ambulance chasing—but they are Newsweek's words, not his. He did say, "There's a spiritual component to every story," which is a lesson worth remembering.

Public relations isn't just for the Billy Grahams of the world. Every church should be trying to get free promotion in the local press, whether it's the local neighborhood paper or the local TV news. (link via Wes Halula)

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:03 AM
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June 23, 2005

Affinity Churches for Bikers & Cowboys

Gary Davis rides his Harley Davidson to church. Don Martin might not ride a horse to church, but he just as well with his Western-style shirt, cowboy hat and boots.

Both are pastors in affinity churches (it's an AP story and thus all over the web), congregations designed to reach specific interest groups. Davis founded Church in the Wind, a biker church in Denver, after being told he couldn't wear his biker outfit in a traditional church. Martin founded Happy Trails Cowboy Church in Taylorsville, N.C. They meet on Monday nights in arenas where rodeos are held (read more about cowboy churches).

The Southern Baptist Convention is leading the way with affinity churches, setting up 1,781 last year alone. And there's something for everyone: golf churches, bluegrass churches, Gen X churches—though the biker and cowboy congregations seem to be the most popular.

Continue reading "Affinity Churches for Bikers & Cowboys"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:16 AM
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June 22, 2005

Online Donations Justify the Web

Tim Bednar makes the connection between online donations and web sites, building off our earlier conversation about paying church webmasters. He notes some surprising facts about online donations:

• Online donations increased 58% in 2004 to $3 billion.
• On average, online donors give 50% more.
• 22% of online donors give all their donations online.

What a concept—churches relying on income outside of the Sunday morning offerings.

And with those facts and that idea in mind he makes the case for the importance of a web site for any organization, especially a church. He also gives good suggestions for making the most of a web site. By way of a disclaimer, Bednar does hype my writing services (thanks!) and is himself a web designer, but it's good advice, regardless of who does your writing or design.

Update: CT's weblog points to an article on declining income for churches, which makes the argument for accepting online donations that much more urgent.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 2:39 PM
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June 21, 2005

It Takes People to Make People

In business, most are familiar with the adage that it takes money to make money. If I'm going to build a million widgets and sell them for a profit, then I need x number of dollars to build the widgets before I can expect a profit. Without the appropriate—often substantial—upfront investment, turning a profit becomes more difficult. For example, if I know the widgets will sell for $5.00 each, my profit will be directly impacted by the amount it takes to produce them. I know I can keep the costs low if I produce more, but I can't produce more unless I have the significant upfront investment in the first place.

I spend a lot of time with church leaders who are starting new things and are frustrated with the turnout. Whether it be a church plant or re-start, new youth ministry or college group, it takes people to make people.

I am convinced that the potential for critical mass is directly related to the initial turnout. If you have 30 people at your opening service, don't expect 300 anytime soon. Because crowds beget crowds, put the laws of exponential growth to work for you. This most likely means you have to work that much harder before your first gathering, but it most certainly means your work is working for you in subsequent services.

Continue reading "It Takes People to Make People"

Posted by Brad Abare at 9:36 AM
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June 20, 2005

Barna's State of the Church

The Next-Wave online magazine has an interesting article on George Barna's State of the Church 2005. The piece dives into Barna's latest findings about the church, compares them with his 2002 findings and gives a sorry picture of the church (the author also beats a poor restaurant metaphor to death).

In 2002, Barna suggested that there are greater than 300,000 Protestant and 20,000 Catholic churches in the U.S. He contrasts this with the 50,000 post offices and 15,000 McDonald's that serve our nation. He writes, "the church has less impact on our culture than any of those less prolific entities, despite missions that are much less significant or compelling."

...When your franchise's performance is benchmarked against the U.S. postal service and your outfit comes out on the short-end, perhaps it’s time for a change.

At one point the article says that churches have "changed the ambiance, the music, the lighting, added video screens, pastors, elders, and websites, embraced bigger buildings with different architectural features, turned to new delivery systems, serving up their products via seminars, books cds, dvds, live television and training by subscription satellite broadcasts," and yet none of it seems to work.

If it's really as bad as that (is it?) what is the church to do? Marketing alone isn't the answer, but it seems marketing should help us get to the answer (good marketing won't save a crappy product, it'll send you back to the drawing board).

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:16 PM
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June 17, 2005

Church Bulletins That Don't Suck

Church Central has an article about getting the most out of your church bulletins. Is your church bulletin just another chance to spread the word about upcoming events? Does it communicate something about your church? Does it relate to the theme of the service?

The article is the tip of the church bulletin iceberg. The simple fact is the weekly bulletin is the one thing almost everybody who comes to your church will see and have an opportunity to take home. Are you using that to full effect? Does your bulletin reinforce your church's brand? If a random stranger found a stray bulletin would they think about visiting your church? A while back Ryan Hartsock sent us some samples of church bulletin designs and talked about trying to do more with them.

The church bulletin is no easy design task. They have to serve a practical purpose (guiding people through the service), notify and inform, and invite and welcome. But they can also do more. What does your church bulletin do?

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 5:52 AM
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June 16, 2005

Youth Ministry for Big People

Recently we had an entry about Rob Bell and his church that's attracting mostly twentysomethings. Many of the comments focused on demographic strategies, and whether or not churches should target specific demographics to the exclusion of others.

It's a good debate, but personally I've always felt that the church should be packed with diversity. That diversity should include race, gender, age, economic position, social status, political leaning, denominational bent, theological position, etc.

Mike Breaux of Willow Creek shares his multi-generational strategy that involves applying a youth group mindset to the entire church (he calls it "youth ministry for big people"). I'm not suggesting youth ministry is king, but the idea of doing something radical to get radical results is cool:

Fannie Hamilton sat among teenagers during the Sunday service. She used her left hand to hold up her stroke-affected right hand in praise, belting out the words to "My Glorious" by Delirious. A few minutes later, she stood next to a 16-year-old, who joined her in belting out the words to "Great Is Thy Faithfulness." She was a small group leader in our youth ministry—at the age of 82.

I've always thought that in the ideal church youth ministry as we know it today wouldn't be necessary.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:59 PM
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How a Church Responds to Theft

Shortly after a thief broke into Oconee Baptist Church in Bishop, Ga. and stole an amplifier and four guitars, the church's sign expressed how the church felt about the break-in: "To the person who broke in—God loves you."

"At this point, we're more interested in letting him know that God will forgive him than having him arrested or finding the instruments," said the church's pastor, Rev. Steve Powers. "That's for the sheriff's department to worry about. We're more interested in where he's going to spend eternity than finding the instruments."

If that doesn't scream something about their church's identity, I don't know what does.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:41 PM
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June 10, 2005

What's Working in Church?

Colin Sedgwick is the pastor of Lindsay Park Baptist Church in Kenton, Middlesex and wrote a column for the Guardian suggesting how churches can reverse the decline in attendance. He suggests we simply learn from the churches that are growing and see what works.

So what works?

• Bible-based preaching that has a challenging message ("It is better to be offended than bored").
• Prayer is central to the life of the church.
• Engaging the neighborhood with social activities. "They are not so arrogant as to assume they have a divine right to exist."
• Main services are geared so an outsider can easily understand what's going on: when to sit, when to stand, whether or not to take communion, etc.
• Children and teens are taken seriously.
• Musical diversity reigns: old school hymns and modern worship songs side by side.
• There's no dress code. Suit and tie or sandals and shorts, doesn't matter.

To sum it up, "churches that buck the trend see themselves as communities, or families, not simply as buildings where people gather for an hour and then leave to go back into 'normal' life. God is taken seriously but not solemnly; worshippers are participants, not spectators; there is silence, but also noise and laughter; there is structure, but also informality."

I could have quoted the whole thing, and probably should have, so read it for yourself—it's a quick read. (link via CT's weblog)

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:47 AM
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The Comeback of Mainline Churches

A three-year study on mainline congregations that's scheduled to end in 2006 is showing a surprising resurgence in certain mainline congregations.

"Most people think mainline Protestant churches are dead," says Diana Butler Bass, a senior researcher at Virginia Theological Seminary and director of the Project on Congregations of Intentional Practice. "[There's] a new kind of mainline congregation developing in the United States that's moderate to liberal theologically, taking traditional Christian practices seriously, and is experiencing an unnoticed vitality."

These are midsize congregations, usually with 200 to 500 members, they usually don't have famous pastors, and they're attracting younger adults in their 20s and 30s as well as older people in their 70s and 80s. These congregations might make up 6-7% of the mainline churches nationwide.

Bass describes these as intentional churches, often incorporating practices from Christian tradition, including hospitality and testimonies. Many of the churches are turning to more spiritual discernment practices as they seek to figure out what they should do, as opposed to the business mentality that has driven many mainline congregations in the past.

The bottom line is that there is hope for declining mainline churches: "I think it's very suggestive of what you can do when you use your imagination and you allow a congregation to be creative," says Bass. "It offers a potential pattern that mainline congregations can embark on that could spark new life." (link via CT's weblog)

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:01 AM
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June 9, 2005

Real Time Church Reports

Driving into work yesterday, I was listening to the local news on the radio. As does happen every day during the top of the hour news broadcast, there were a few airtime seconds alloted to a sports update. Quick facts about significant games or other related tidbits is typical during this segment. Because I am not a big sports fanatic, a lot of the information is greek to me, but I still listen because the person reporting the sports news is always, without fail, more interesting than the Michael Jackson "live" report just moments before.

Then the thought hit me: What would happen if every Monday morning there was a quick report on the radio about the weekend church wrap up? Highlights from churches around the area of people's lives being changed, kids doing better in school, teenagers no longer victims of poor decisions, marriages that are finding hope, and single moms who found a place to belong?

This idea is more of a rhetorical pondering than an executable action (or maybe not?). The real question for pastors is what would this report look like if there was such a thing? How would your weekend service wrap-up be reported? Would it change every week? What would be measured? Who would they talk to for sound bytes?

Is what happens in your church on a Sunday worth being talked about on Monday?

Posted by Brad Abare at 6:32 AM
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June 7, 2005

Volunteer Church Webmasters Should Quit

Everyone's talking about Michael Boyink's post about how church webmasters should stop working for free, for good reason. Effective Web Ministry Notes tipped us off, and Heal Your Church Web Site adds to the discussion. The comments are rolling in on Boyink's site, so I'd encourage you to check those out.

The basic idea is that churches who don't pay for web work won't appreciate the work. They'll be willing to toss it aside at a moment's notice because, well, it didn't cost them anything.

It's an interesting discussion and applies to for more than just church web sites. Any design, writing or other creative work that's volunteered can easily be overlooked. I'd hate to say that no one should volunteer for their church, since little would get done then, but it is a wake up call that churches need to take these efforts more seriously. Just because it's volunteer doesn't mean it's second rate, and it doesn't mean you can ignore it.

Perhaps invoicing a church for your volunteer work, even if you have no intention of getting paid, would be a good way to show them the value of your work.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:02 PM
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June 6, 2005

Churches are like a Velvet Elvis

The Detroit Free Press profiled Rob Bell, pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, Mich. and his upcoming book, Velvet Elvis, came up as a metaphor for out of date churches. So of course Mars Hill is all about reaching people where traditional churches have failed. And the church is mostly comprised of twentysomethings, the one demographic missing from most congregations.

Bell's approach is to get back to the basics:

"This journey we're on at Mars Hill isn't about numbers," Bell said. "You'll never catch me selling 'Seven Steps to a Mars Hill Model.' What we're interested in is real people stepping forward to tell how their lives are being transformed and how they're building healthy communities.

"Remember what Jesus always wanted to know?" he asked. "What's the fruit we're producing? Is justice being done? Are people sharing their possessions? Are the oppressed being set free? Are relationships being healed? To me, that's the point. Everything else is just chatter." ...

"My theory of church growth is simple," said Bell, leaning across the table to deliver the coup de grace. "People drive a long way to see a fire."

(link via CT's weblog)

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:44 AM
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June 3, 2005

Cardiff, U.K. Church Offers WiFi

When St. John's Church in Cardiff, Wales realized the city-wide wireless wasn't getting through the church's thick walls, they went the extra step to install an extra node and bring the wireless Internet connection inside the church.

"The church is a sanctuary for everyone, including business people with laptops and mobiles who may want to find a quiet area without lots of noise and loud music to sit in peace and do some work or just send an e-mail," said Rev. Keith Kimber.

I was a bit skeptical at congregations surfing on wireless laptops during the sermon, but that doesn't seem to be the point. It's more about making the church a welcoming place, and that's always a good idea.

"All we ask is that they respect the church environment and do not to use loud mobile ring tones or play music on their computers, especially when a service is in progress," said Kimber.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:33 AM
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June 2, 2005

U.K. Churches Looking in Parking Lot to Gauge Income

Vicars in the U.K. are being urged to check the cars in the parking lot to get an idea of what their congregations should be dropping in the offering plate. Yikes. I can't help but feel like I'm missing part of the story, or that there's some transatlantic cultural differences I'm not aware of, but yikes. Is it that hard for people to calculate their own tithe? Or to pledge what they're going to give for the year so the church can form a budget? Do we really need to be asking church members to fill out income declaration forms, even if they are anonymous?

Apparently part of the story is "fair share" programs where the richer congregations help out poorer congregations in the same diocese, but it still seems like a lot of intrusive fuss. The church never seems to look good when it comes to money.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:26 PM
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