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May 31, 2006
Church Lessons from Six Flags
(Filed under: Evangelism & Outreach)Tony McCollum of Churchwerx offers four lessons for churches from Six Flags amusement parks:
- Signage - show then you care
- Broken rides - deliver what you promise
- Stupid rules - people are more important than rules
- Good byes - leave them with a smile
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 2:04 PM
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The Ins and Outs of Sponsorship for Churches
(Filed under: Church Business)by Kristina Hill, Guest Blogger
I was browsing the web site for T.D. Jakes' 2006 MegaFest Conference and noticed something quite interesting: Coca-Cola, Pine-Sol and Clorox have signed on as sponsors of the larger than life event.
On the heels of the blockbuster success of Christian-based projects such as The Passion of The Christ, The Chronicles of Narnia and Joel Osteen's New York Times bestseller Your Best Life Now, is corporate America finally starting to recognize the importance of targeting Christian consumers on an ongoing basis? Are corporate bigwigs grasping the fact that just like regular folks, Christians eat, sleep, go to the movies, clean our homes, purchase cars and engage in other normal activities on a daily basis?
As corporate interest in Christian consumers intensifies, recruiting a corporation to support your next ministry event could result in a win-win opportunity for your ministry and your sponsorship partner. Sponsorships are a great way to offset the costs associated with producing your event, while also providing businesses an opportunity to promote its products/services to an engaged audience.
Sponsorship can also be a way to cloud your message, encourage consumerism or at the very least allow your church to be labeled a sellout, whether or not the description is fair.
Continue reading "The Ins and Outs of Sponsorship for Churches"
Posted by Guest Blogger at 9:43 AM
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May 30, 2006
Stock Photography Sucks
(Filed under: Graphic Design)In the Church Marketing Lab I'm always applauding people for using original photography. This is why.
Jason Kottke points us to some of the drawbacks of stock photography. Like the same girl who has feminine hygiene issues also wants to learn about Java design patterns.
Or how about the college girl pitching computers for Dell and Gateway, cameras for Samsung, tax advice from H&R Block, shoes for Avia, needs a boost from Vivarin and wants to be an actuary? And she can pitch whatever you like for the low, low price of $135.
Continue reading "Stock Photography Sucks"
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 2:08 PM
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Pastors Overworked; Numbers Underchecked
(Filed under: Church Business)Everybody and their brother is linking to a post by Mark Driscoll about how pastors are overworked. Amen. We've said this before and it's definitely true. Driscoll offers some good signs a pastor may be overworked and some potential solutions. Worth the read.
However. The piece also includes a section of some shocking statistics (50% of pastors get divorced, 70% fight depression, 40% have cheated on their spouse, etc.) credited to a presentation by Darrin Patrick who apparently gathered the info from Barna and Focus on the Family. No direct links or specific attribution is given.
Continue reading "Pastors Overworked; Numbers Underchecked"
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 1:45 PM
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Top 50 Most Influential Churches
(Filed under: Examples)The Church Report has released their list of the Top 50 Most Influential Churches. By "influential" they mean the fastest growing churches and those with more than 2,000 in attendance as recommended by 2,000 church leaders in a survey sent last year. 127 churches were nominated for the list.
- Almost half of the top 50 churches and seven of the top 10 are still led by the founding pastor. (seems like we've talked about personality-driven churches before)
- 22% of churches in the top 50 were founded since 1990, 39% since 1980.
- 18 of the top 20 churches have at least one annual conference to share their practices and procedures (which certainly influences recommendation of these churches as influential).
It also sounds like a book is coming out offering profiles of the 50 churches.
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 10:36 AM
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May 29, 2006
Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith
(Filed under: Reviews)
"The thought of the word church and the word marketing in the same sentence makes me sick."
That's from page 99 of Rob Bell's Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith. So you can see why I had to finally read the book. Of course the last time we talked about Rob Bell and Velvet Elvis we got 26 heated comments, mostly either attacking or defending Rob Bell and his church. Let's be a little more civil this time around, eh?
Rob Bell founded Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, Mich. while in his 20s and the church exploded, bringing in over 1,000 people the first day. All of that without any "marketing" as Bell would say, because it makes him sick. But we'll get to the marketing. Bell also teaches in the Nooma series of short films that can be used in church services or small groups. You could also describe Bell with that hard to define, catch-all emergent label—so you can take that however you like.
Continue reading "Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith"
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:07 AM
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Reporter & Pastor Attend DaVinci Code
(Filed under: Evangelism & Outreach)The L.A. Times has a column from Joel Stein about his experience attending The DaVinci Code with a pastor (registration required). Ken Baugh of Coast Hills Community Church in Aliso Viejo, Calif. had already appeared on the Today show when Stein approached him about seeing the movie:
When I found out he was considering giving congregants tickets and Starbucks gift cards so they could bring a non-church-going friend to discuss the film, I immediately thought: free nonfat venti chai.
It's a funny read. Good stuff. (link via John Carney)
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:32 AM
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May 28, 2006
What's Your Role Poll
(Filed under: Poll Results)
Last week we asked what you do for your church, and 89% are either on staff or volunteer for their church. I guess that high number shouldn't be surprising--why else would you read this blog?--but it is cool to see.
50% were on staff and 39% volunteer. Of the remaining 11%, 6% keep the pews warm and 5% aren't sure what the church has done for them.
This week we want to know what you do to help church marketing not suck.
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:24 AM
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May 27, 2006
Breaking Growth Barriers
(Filed under: Evangelism & Outreach)Reaching more people often means changing how we do things, and that's not always easy. John Jackson, pastor of Carson Valley Christian Center in Minden, Nev., offers the PDF Breaking Growth Barriers, which gives concepts and ideas to help churches break some of the typical growth barriers. Most of the document focuses on churches with under 200 people (which account for 85% of churches), but it also covers the 200-400, 400-700 and 700-1500 barriers.
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 10:23 AM
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May 26, 2006
Church Marketing Lab Round Up #9
(Filed under: Peer Review)
It's your turn. Step up and offer feedback and suggestions in the Church Marketing Lab. If you're not sure how to start, check out our guidelines for helpful instructions.
Where Jesus Is - a poster for a traveling youth choir's musical.
Continue reading "Church Marketing Lab Round Up #9"
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 2:47 PM
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May 25, 2006
Relevance, Tech Matters & -onomics, Church
(Filed under: Resources)In the recent weeks I've stumbled across a few more church resources you may want to add to your list.
Church Relevance
Written by Kent Schaffer of Bombay Creative, Church Relevance covers all kinds of marketing, communication and leadership issues as they relate to churches and ministries. Some interesting recent posts include make your own M&Ms and how to give a gift.
Church Tech Matters
It's all things techie from Jim Walton, though it has a very personal blog feel. Recent entries include 10 dumb things you can do to mess up your computer and a nice overview of his experience dumping his landline and going with Skype.
Churchonomics
Written by Brad Hinman, Churchonomics covers ideas and solutions for the local church. They've got a section with cool name tag ideas (though I also love these) and you have to love their props to the Church Marketing Lab.
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:30 AM
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24/7 Church
(Filed under: Evangelism & Outreach)by Keith Gardner, Guest Blogger
Whenever one is down there seems to be a supply of 24/7 places to help you out with a snack and coffee.
Why can't this be the case with the church? I'm not talking about a drive-through McDonald's church, I'm talking about a jazzy, cozy, relaxing comfortable place. The type of place where prayer and reaching God is possible.
Many people don't like the formality of the church or church groups. It just isn't a convenient means to really pray and seek God. When you have an emergency and need God, you need someone somewhere who is readily accessible.
Ideally, I would like some low key, piped jazz playing while sitting in the relaxed atmosphere of a coffee shop.
Once I'm comfortable, I would love to find peace, chat with the 24/7 minister on staff or other Christians, and find God for the first time in my life.
Posted by Guest Blogger at 6:48 AM
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May 24, 2006
Non-Profit Pricing from Adobe
(Filed under: Graphic Design)When it comes to graphic design software, Adobe's Creative Suite is pretty much the industry standard. But it doesn't come cheap ($900 list price).
So ChurchMedia.net has started a petition asking Adobe to offer religious non-profit pricing. (link via DJ Chuang)
Update: It seems Adobe is already exploring the non-profit options. There's a new non-profit Adobe blog, a PDF about the Open Options Nonprofit Licensing Program and a list of non-profit authorized resellers. So I think that means you can now score some non-profit pricing on Adobe products.
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:34 AM
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May 23, 2006
Poddy Talk
(Filed under: Building Design)Earlier this month, a colleague and I toured the facilities of a church in Los Angeles County. The church property was tucked away in a residential area, had decent parking, and had to be at least 40 years old. This church of 1,200 people also houses a small grade school and several large multi-purpose rooms for community events, regular conferences, and a thriving youth ministry. I learned that the building used to be an old Baptist church until this independent church bought it about 15 years ago.
While the building itself is decent, it could certainly use some fixing and finishing here and there. Musty rooms, dimly lit hallways, and several areas in need of space maximization all pointed to a "to-do" list that must be collecting dust with a few deacons.
During the tour we were also shown the restrooms. As the pastor opened the door to the ladies room (it was empty), we stepped into an oasis. Plush walls and carpets, gorgeous faucets, changing rooms, and a spa-like atmosphere gave a new meaning to the word "rest-room." The men's room was almost as impressive, but with slightly less floral patterns.
The pastor said they chose to spend a significant amount of money on the restrooms instead of anywhere else in the building because they were convinced that the return on investment would be higher than anywhere else. He's probably right.
Posted by Brad Abare at 6:59 AM
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May 22, 2006
The Multi-Site Church Revolution
(Filed under: Reviews)
The brick and mortar church building on the corner is not a concept you'll find in the Bible—and the concept's days may be numbered. Or at least no longer ubiquitous. The physical church building has more than a few limitations, including interior space, room for exterior expansion, financial burdens, and the backwards idea of church as a physical building instead of a spiritual community.
Enter the multi-site revolution, which threatens to redefine how we think about church and church buildings. The Multi-Site Church Revolution: Being One Church... In Many Locations by Geoff Surratt, Greg Ligon and Warren Bird lays out the vision for multi-site churches and the practical reality of how to make them happen.
Continue reading "The Multi-Site Church Revolution"
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:52 AM
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Fired, Tired or Wired Poll
(Filed under: Poll Results)
Last week we asked you to describe your church in terms of outreach, communications and technology. 25% were wired but it didn't seem to be doing any good. 23%, however, were wired and fired up. 16% didn't need to be wired to be fired up, and 12% needed a hug.
And 13% just scratched their heads.
It's a fairly even spread on this one (if you can decipher my wording), which makes me think our audience includes people and churches in all kinds of different situations. And that's cool.
This week we ask what your role is in church. Are you on the bench or on the staff? Are you a volunteer or an outsider?
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:00 AM
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May 19, 2006
Church Marketing Lab Round Up #8
(Filed under: Peer Review)
The Church Marketing Lab. Have you heard about it? 211 other people have, and they're taking part in the Great Commission by helping churches communicate better so they can reach more people. We hope you'll join us (check out the guidelines if you need some help).
Saturate - flyer for a worship service. Offer some feedback on their youth camp poster as well.
Continue reading "Church Marketing Lab Round Up #8"
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 3:23 PM
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MinistryCom Awards
(Filed under: Graphic Design)This year's MinistryCom conference will also include the first ever Excellence in Communications Awards. It's a chance for churches to be recognized for creating marketing that doesn't suck.
Categories include outreach events, identity development and web site design and will be broken into classes based on church size (under 1000, 1,001-3,000, 3,001-5,000 and 5,000 and up).
Entries must be submitted online by July 14, 2006 and pay a $50 fee per entry. Winners will receive a MinstryCom award presented at the MinistryCom conference (you don't have to be present to win) and finalists will receive an award certificate.
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:22 AM
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MinistryCom 2006
(Filed under: Events)The MinistryCom church communication conference is coming to Phoenix Sept. 7-8, 2006. It's billed as the only national conference catering to church communication professionals and this year's conference includes an awards presentation. Speakers include:
- Paul Braoudakis of the Willow Creek Association.
- Buzz Conference coordinator Mark Batterson (hey, we interviewed him).
- Scott Evans, president of Outreach.
- Granger Communications Director and CMS Guest Blogger Kem Meyer.
- Terrell Sanders, president of Main Street Enterprises and executive director of MinstryCom.
- Dawn Nicole Baldwin, cofounder of AspireOne.
- Greg Atkinson, director of WorshipHouse Media and CMS Guest Blogger.
- And our very own conference-hopping Brad Abare.
Register by May 31 and save $30.
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:56 AM
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May 18, 2006
Churches Respond to The DaVinci Code
(Filed under: Evangelism & Outreach)In the past few weeks I've talked to the L.A. Times, Fox News and Court TV's Crier Live. It all started with The DaVinci Code.
I worked with a church on a DaVinci sermon, just as many churches across the nation are doing and have done. We converted the sanctuary into a movie theater, replacing offering plates with popcorn buckets, the pulpit with movie seats and opening the sermon with the DaVinci trailer. All so pastor James Damude could equip people to have conversations about the movie.
Continue reading "Churches Respond to The DaVinci Code"
Posted by Michael Buckingham at 6:12 AM
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May 17, 2006
Seacoast All Access
(Filed under: Resources)Seacoast Church in South Carolina is adopting an open-source policy for their resources and making them available online. Seacoast All Access is where you can get messages, bulletin covers, e-vites, video and more.
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:02 PM
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Web 2.0 Series Wrap-Up
(Filed under: Technology)For the past month and a half we've been looking at the web 2.0 trend and what it could mean for your church. We've looked at the highs and lows, the possibilities and the dangers and whether or not any of it means anything for telling more people about Jesus.
I find it some what ironic that our series is sandwiched between two articles in high profile media outlets. The first appeared in Newsweek as we were starting our series and covered the web 2.0 trend in general. The second appeared today in the Wall Street Journal and covered how churches are using technology, specifically community driven sites like MySpace and Flicker, some of the same examples we used. I'm not sure if that means we're with it, or out of it or not sure what 'it' is anyway.
Continue reading "Web 2.0 Series Wrap-Up"
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 5:08 PM
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Wall Street Journal on Church Tech
(Filed under: Demographics/Research)We'll go from west coast to east coast today as the Wall Street Journal covers technology in churches. The piece focuses on churches trying new methods, like MySpace and Flickr (sounds like our web 2.0 series). A few of the good quotes include:
"It's a way for us to say, 'Hey, come and see,'" said Father Gray [of Boston's Church of the Advent, who created a MySpace profile for his parish]. "It gets our name out there. It puts us on the mental map, the emotional map." ..."We're called to get the word out," said Bobby Gruenewald, new campus development leader at LifeChurch.tv, a group of evangelical churches in Oklahoma, Texas and Arizona. "We want to engage people where they're at. If MySpace is where they are, that's where we want to be." ...
Technology is a tool that Christians should "redeem" for religious use, said Mark Batterson, lead pastor of National Community Church, which holds its services in movie theaters in Washington, D.C. "In the 15th century, Guttenberg used the printing press to make copies of the Bible," he said. "The church needs to find creative ways to help get some great content into these iPods."
Oh, and some guy named Brad Abare is quoted, too.
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:29 AM
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May 16, 2006
A Whole New Mind
(Filed under: Reviews)
by Mike Atkinson, Guest Blogger
If you're reading CMS, you're proving your interest in how your church can impact your community--and probably also how culture is impacting your church.
With that in mind, I highly recommend reading a book that made waves across the business, sociological, and Internet spheres last year. A Whole New Mind: Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age by Daniel Pink (that's the hardcover, the paperback has a new subtitle, Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future, and some new material). No other business book has had a more intense impact on me since Good to Great.
I found out about this book from one of the tech blogs I read. When I looked into it, I saw high praise for it from the likes of Tom Peters and Seth Godin and immediately went to Amazon and picked it up. It's also received rave reviews since its release.
So, you may ask, "Mike, why are you recommending this book here at CMS, since it looks like just another business book?"
Glad you asked.
It is more than a business book. It unveils a significant shift happening in business--and society as a whole--that will affect you and your ministry in the near future. I bet it already has.
Continue reading "A Whole New Mind"
Posted by Guest Blogger at 5:48 PM
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L.A. Times on Church Marketing
(Filed under: Demographics/Research)The L.A. Times covered church marketing and technology today in an article called "God's Call Comes by Cellphone". A few interesting quotes include:
"We dare not change the Gospel. But the method of delivery? We better change it for each new generation." -Mark Beeson of Granger Community Church"You can sit in an ivory tower and whine all you want about 'This isn't the way it was done in 1500.' We're here to help people. If there's a tool out there that can help us reach them, why wouldn't we use it?" -George Barna of The Barna Group
Of course not everyone is thrilled with churches blindly embracing technology. Andrew Careaga, a youth pastor, blogger and author of e-Ministry: Connecting with the Net Generation, worries about spirituality becoming just another item to check off the to-do list: "a five-second spiritual fix, you've seen the verse of the day and you're done."
"Technology always seems to be a Faustian bargain. It encroaches on our ability to unconnect with the world and connect with God."
Continue reading "L.A. Times on Church Marketing"
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 3:47 PM
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How Your Church Can Ignore Web 2.0
(Filed under: Technology)Part 8 in a series on What Web 2.0 Means for Your Church
Almost a month and a half ago we started talking about web 2.0 and what it could mean for your church. We've covered all sorts of interesting topics, including video, MySpace and the potential to ditch legacy software. Web 2.0 is technology worth talking about.
But not everyone is so excited. There are downsides to web 2.0 and those may be reason enough to keep your church off the bandwagon.
Continue reading "How Your Church Can Ignore Web 2.0"
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 1:18 PM
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May 15, 2006
Church Marketing Lab Poll
(Filed under: Poll Results)
Last week we asked about the Church Marketing Lab, our church communications critique group that replaced the old peer review section. 26% of you are members of the lab and are helping church marketing to not suck. You people rock. Thanks for taking the time to help churches get better.
What's not as encouraging are the 36% who aren't even sure what the Church Marketing Lab is. Or the 24% who have some excuse for not checking it out. That's 60% who aren't taking an easy opportunity to help the church. I guess that's better than the 70% we saw earlier in the week, so we'll take that as an improvement. 23 more people signed up this past week, bringing the total to 195.
If you don't know what the Church Marketing Lab is or haven't taken time to check it out, please do. It's a community of people who want to help churches, hosted on the photo-sharing site Flickr. If you're not sure how to get started, you can read detailed instructions for how to offer feedback and post your own work. It's easy and it helps churches communicate better, which can lead to lives changed.
OK, I'll stop now. This week we're asking if your church is wired, fired or tired.
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:24 AM
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May 13, 2006
Church Marketing Lab Round Up #7
(Filed under: Peer Review)
It's a lazy Saturday and no one else is blogging, so head on over to the Church Marketing Lab and offer feedback to some church communicators trying not to suck (see our guidelines if you need instructions).
Chili cook off - postcard for an upcoming chili cook off. See the revised version.
Continue reading "Church Marketing Lab Round Up #7"
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:29 AM
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May 12, 2006
Hug Your Customers by Jack Mitchell
(Filed under: Reviews)
Does your church hug your visitors? Well, not actually physically hug your visitors—that's fraught with touch-feely vibes and is going way too far over that safe church line—but does your church do the equivalent of hugging a visitor by making their day? Jack Mitchell, CEO of the high-end clothing retailer Mitchells/Richards, pushes this customer-first philosophy in his book Hug Your Customers.
For Mitchell it's all about giving his customers the equivalent of a hug by going out of his way to serve them. It's not about good customer service—it's about amazing customer service. The standard faire doesn't cut it. The standard customer service doesn't get talked about and won't bring people back.
Continue reading "Hug Your Customers by Jack Mitchell"
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:00 AM
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May 11, 2006
King of the Hill Goes to Church
(Filed under: Off the Wall)
How about a little pop culture perspective on church shopping and the ever-popular mega-church? Check out this clip of the Hill family going church shopping on King of the Hill and ending up at a local mega-church that even has a tram to the sanctuary. Hilarious.
Oh, and it's an important social commentary on the relevance of churches and a valuable avenue to vicariously experience the perspective of a church shopper. Yeah, that it. (link via Garth from our comments)
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 5:03 PM
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What Kind of Car is Your Church?
(Filed under: Brand & Identity)So often we like to think of church as a great big family reunion. People come together regardless of class, race, income, education or geography. But if you take a look around on Sunday morning, that's not the case.
You've got sprawling urban mega-complexes, you've got store-front congregations, you've got set-up and tear-down churches. You've got more denominations than I care to count. There's traditional or contemporary or emergent. You can raise your hands, clap your hands, or fold your hands. The diversity among churches is amazing.
While I'm not a fan of racially, economically or generationally segretated churches, it is a reality that every church on every corner reaches a different group of people. Sometimes that's a hard concept to grasp because we think we should be reaching everybody.
Continue reading "What Kind of Car is Your Church?"
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 9:01 AM
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May 10, 2006
The Church & Money: Plasma TV or Feed the Poor?
(Filed under: Philosophy)by Anne Jackson, Guest Blogger
It's an age old debate–where to spend the church's money. Is our money better suited going to the poor or to a new website? The AIDS crisis or a coffee bar?
Let's take a look at a story in Matthew 26:
When Jesus was at Bethany, a guest of Simon the Leper, a woman came up to him as he was eating dinner and anointed him with a bottle of very expensive perfume. When the disciples saw what was happening, they were furious. "That's criminal! This could have been sold for a lot and the money handed out to the poor."When Jesus realized what was going on, he intervened. "Why are you giving this woman a hard time? She has just done something wonderfully significant for me." (Matthew 26:6-10 The Message)
Does the disciples' response sound familiar? So often we look at the money churches spend and think, "What if we used that money for orphans, or the poor, or the homeless...? Do we really need another plasma screen/coffee bar/glossy brochure?"
But that's not the issue for Jesus. And that's where I have often failed to understand Christ's perspective. Creating an appealing environment that includes things like comfy—and possibly pricey—chairs or designing marketing pieces that hit their mark—and don't come cheap—can be very similar to what this woman did for Jesus. Now, before you start sending hate mail or screaming blasphemy, let me explain.
Continue reading "The Church & Money: Plasma TV or Feed the Poor?"
Posted by Guest Blogger at 5:18 PM
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Lens of the Day
(Filed under: News & Updates)Yesterday our Church Marketing Sucks lens on Squidoo was picked as the Lens of the Day. Not too shabby.
If you're checking us out for the first time, welcome aboard. The lens covers a lot of the basics, but feel free to check out our 'read this first' entries to the upper-left, our about section for more on our mission and who's behind this thing, and our new support section for details on how you can get involved.
You can also learn more about how your church can use Squidoo lenses.
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:09 AM
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May 9, 2006
Authentic Not Slick
(Filed under: Philosophy)Mike Sares, pastor and founder of Scum of the Earth church in Denver--a church full of mohawks, piercings and the kind of alternative crowd not usually sighted in church--nicely summed up the attitude many have toward marketing:
"The slicker something appears, the less we trust it."
That can be a problem for communicators. How do you do something good (you can't accuse Scum of the Earth of shoddy communication) without appearing slick?
The answer, I think, is authenticity. Slick happens when your communication doesn't match your community. Slick happens when people feel targeted instead of served. Slick happens when people think marketing is something sinister.
Authenticity, on the other hand, generates trust, which is half the battle. And, of course, you can't fake that.
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:36 AM
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May 8, 2006
Conferencing Poll
(Filed under: Poll Results)
Last week we gave a selection of church conferences to see how many people are going. And the big winners? Something else and no conferences this year tied with 30%. Apparently we're missing out on some of the good conferences (not me, I get to attend vicariously).
Of the conferences we did mention, Catalyst seems to be drawing the most people, which shouldn't be a surprise since it's probably the biggest of the five we listed.
This week we ask if you're a member of the Church Marketing Lab, our church communications critique group that replaced the peer reviews of old.
For as much as I've talked about the Church Marketing Lab--making a splashy announcement, following it up with mentions in at least four separate entries, doing a round up post every Friday, sending out multiple e-mails to our various lists, mentioning it at the bottom of every e-mail I send, and personally inviting loads of people--apparently it's not enough. Early results show a whopping 70% either don't know what it is or have some excuse for not checking it out. Only 10% are actively helping church marketing not suck.
So far. It's still early in the week. You can turn things around. Why don't you do me a favor and go check out the Church Marketing Lab before you vote. You can help church marketing not suck and make me feel better at the same time. Everybody wins.
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:32 AM
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May 6, 2006
No Shame in Church Marketing
(Filed under: News & Updates)Yet another article on mega-churches, this one covering their Easter plans from the April 14 Everett, Wash. Daily Herald (yeah, we're a little behind). But it also has some comments from our founder and Buzz Conference-speakin' Brad Abare:
There's no shame in selling what people are looking for, said Brad Abare, president of the Los Angeles-based Center for Church Communication."There's not a single day when McDonald's doesn't sell a hamburger, the thing they're supposed to be doing," he said. "But there are many days when churches don't see members or new visitors come into their church or people come to Jesus.
"The premise of churches is we have the greatest story ever told. Churches realize they have to learn how to tell the story better."
Though you've got to love this comment from John Vaughan of Church Growth Today: "When you believe in God, you don't dream small dreams."
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 3:14 PM
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Buzz Back 2: Vicarious Boogaloo
(Filed under: Events)
Yesterday concluded the Buzz Conference in Washington, D.C. The day's events included a morning bloggers's breakfast, a session on sermon branding from event organizer Mark Batterson, our very own Brad Abare and a panel on branding. As more and more bloggers return home and give us their take, us non-conference attenders can continue living vicariously. You can start with the new Buzz store where you can pick up audio of the sessions and feel like you were there.
And I'm not the only one wishing I was there, Brenton Balvin tried to score some free swag from a thousand miles away (and coincidentally, a few miles from me). Why didn't I think of that?
Continue reading "Buzz Back 2: Vicarious Boogaloo"
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:56 AM
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May 5, 2006
Church Marketing Lab Round Up #6
(Filed under: Peer Review)
It's Friday and time for a look at the Church Marketing Lab. Mosey on over there and help church marketing not suck (see our guidelines for instructions).
Church Camp - poster for Christ Church Camp. Also see their logo, Alpha banner, invite and A-frame, bulletin, e-mail and (whew) registration form.
Continue reading "Church Marketing Lab Round Up #6"
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 2:58 PM
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Buzz Back
(Filed under: Events)The Buzz Conference began yesterday in Washington, D.C., and continues today (with our very own Brad Abare). Here's a run down of the buzz about Buzz for all those who--like me--can't be there and have to settle for reading about it. For the 32% so far who have clicked "no conferences this year" on this week's poll--again, like me--let's go live vicariously!
- Tony Morgan gives a good overview, including 5 of Mark Batterson's 10 Buzz Commandments (which you can get more detail on from the Buzz site) and Ed Young's 9 questions he asks before speaking.
- Michael from Oak Leaf Church summarizes Ed Young's general session comments on creative leadership.
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:17 AM
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May 2, 2006
Church Advertising Sucks Advertisement
(Filed under: Off the Wall)
This ad for Corner Church in Minneapolis appeared in a recent issue of The City Pages, an alternative newsweekly in the Twin Cities. A church ad proclaiming that church advertising sucks? I don't get it.
It doesn't help that the type style for the slogan "Church advertising sucks" looks pretty familiar, but I can't quite place it.
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 5:57 PM
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Church Friendly Web 2.0
(Filed under: Technology)Part 7 in a continuing series on What Web 2.0 Means for Your Church
Much of our discussion of web 2.0 sites has focused on mainstream sites intended for a mainstream audience and how those general use sites could be used by churches. But there's also a growing collection of Christian web 2.0 sites with obvious applications for churches.
We'll take a quick look at three of them, though there are plenty more out there. CMS Guest Blogger Tim Bednar has a semi-difinitive list of church web 2.0 projects going.
Continue reading "Church Friendly Web 2.0"
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 12:11 PM
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May 1, 2006
Is Jesus the Next Killer App?
(Filed under: Technology)by Mike Atkinson, Guest Blogger
You know what they say: follow the money. And there's lots of it coming from churches trying to match audio/video wits with MTV, concerts and TV. So the big guys have gotten involved. Here's proof:
- "Tech companies are getting religion. Companies such as Sony, Panasonic, Avid and Hitachi are helping churches spread the gospel as part of an effort to cash in on an exploding market known as 'house of worship technology.'"
- "An illustration of the market's growing clout came this week at the National Association of Broadcasters 2006 electronic media conference. For the first time, NAB dedicated an exhibit area to tech and consumer electronics companies that are catering to churches."
- "The dollar value on Lakewood's [Joel Osteen] video and production facilities is about $4 million, according to CIOinsight.com."
- "At Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill., the technology budget is $1 million a year out of a total annual budget of $27 million, CIOinsight.com reported."
- "Churches have wanted to get their hands on this technology for years," said Teagarden, managing director of Sharing His Light Productions. "In the past it was too expensive, but in the past few years, prices have dropped. This has allowed even small churches to go high tech."
None of this should be news to anyone here. But the fact that large manufacturers smell money ironically means that more affordable equipment and training may become available for churches who haven't been able to take the media dive.
Posted by Guest Blogger at 5:37 AM
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Web 2.0 Poll Results
(Filed under: Poll Results)
Last time around we asked about web 2.0 and what it means for your church. The results were fairly positive with 34% excited about the possibilities and 29% unsure but still checking it out. 25% were still working on web 1.0, which is where I'd expect more churches to be. Only 12% wrote off web 2.0 as just another techno fad.
The Buzz Conference is coming up later this week, so this week we thought we'd do a quick survey of what conferences and conventions people are attending.
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 5:19 AM
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