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November 30, 2006

Lessons Learned from Skipping Church

Pastor Gary Lamb of Ridge Stone Church in Georgia recently took a Sunday off (gasp!) and blogged about lessons learned from NOT attending church.

Some of the best lessons have to do with evangelism:

• The large majority of people DO NOT go to church.
• Men don't go to church.
• People are craving community and they will find it SOMEWHERE.
• A lot of people work on Sunday mornings.

When you spend all your time in the church you have to constantly remind yourself that some people do something entirely different on Sunday morning. I remember realizing this in 8th grade when all my friends at school talked about watching Ren & Stimpy on Sunday mornings while I was at church like a good little Baptist.

It's also a good reminder that Sunday morning doesn't work for everybody. Some people work, some people stay out too late on Saturday night, some people just aren't morning people. Alternate service times are a must if you want to reach unchurched people.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 2:52 PM
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November 28, 2006

Church Plant Poll

Last week we asked about church plants and where they should spend their money. We got quite a few responses, especially for a poll that appeared over the holidays, but we also let the poll run a few extra days.

The big initial item on the church planter's budget was staff with 30%. But not far behind were the 29% who asked what money. 14% saw launch marketing as a worthy initial investment. 9% voted for an appealing temporary location, 8% for a web site and 7% for brand identity. 4% had other ideas, including proof reading, technology, coffee and--my favorite response--"a fancy new car with cool graphics about the church on it!"

We've mentioned it before, but a helpful resource for church planters is the Ridge Stone Backstage site, which chronicles the lessons of a church plant in Georgia. And while it's not specifically about church planting, the Momentum Conference is about portable churches and might be worth checking out.

This week we're asking which of our new Church Marketing Sucks T-shirts is your favorite. We also went all high-tech and fancy and posted some images in our poll. Pretty snazzy, huh? Maybe next week we should poll you on which type of poll you prefer.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:30 AM
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November 27, 2006

CMS on Creative Synergy Podcast

If we haven't mentioned the new Creative Synergy Podcast before, it's worth checking out. Hosted by Greg Atkinson and Anthony Coppedge, they cover all kinds of creative issues for the church, from volunteers to communications to technology. Previous shows have included interviews with Kem Meyer from Granger Community Church, Mark Batterson from National Community Church, and--oh yeah--Brad Abare.

Check out the latest episode for an interview with our own Brad Abare and some background on Church Marketing Sucks and our non-profit parent, the Center for Church Communication.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:04 AM
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November 22, 2006

CMS T-Shirts FAQs

When we announced the new CMS T-shirts late last week, the e-mails started coming in about questions you never really know people have until they ask. So below are the frequently asked questions, and you can also join the discussion at the Church Marketing Lab about the shirts.

Are the shirts sweatshop free?
Yes. The material is made in Honduras and the shirts are produced here in the United States (California).

Why are the shirts so expensive?
We're producing a limited run so the cost per shirt is higher than if we were printing a big run. The idea is also to help support a good cause (the Center for Church Communication). You can always make a tax-deductible donation if you prefer to help the cause without buying a shirt.

Continue reading "CMS T-Shirts FAQs"

Posted by Brad Abare at 11:19 AM
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Purpose Driven, Branding, Telegrams and Rejected Ads

• ABC dumps Assemblies of God ad - It's a rehashing of the rejected UCC commercials, but getting much less coverage.
• Churches using online promotion - "We're talking about the evolution of communication. Can you imagine if I insisted on sending telegrams?"
• U2charist - You'll have to forgive my U2-fandom, but I just love the stories of U2 and church coming together. Of course in this case it's more than just singing U2 songs in church--it's also backing the UN's Millenium Development Goals.
• Burned by Branding - A rant comparing multi-site churches to Starbucks that are out of touch with locals, which misses one of the key features of going multi-site--a local connection.
• Purpose Driven is No More - The organization Purpose Driven is being shut down. Maybe now people can cut back a little on the anti-Purpose Driven rants.
• Oaktreeidea - Connecting Christians outside the walls of church to accomplish great things.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 10:07 AM
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More Pastors on MySpace

Churches using the latest technological tool (gasp!) gets more attention with a feature from San Antonio on pastors using MySpace. The piece includes some good examples of pastors making use of MySpace, including one pastor who received some four-letter tirades via MySpace for a direct mail piece the church sent. But rather than end with a tirade, the pastor was able to apologize and interact with the offended people.

"MySpace might be history in a year," [Pastor Robert] Emmitt said. "I'm not saying everyone's got to do this. Let's try it for a while and see what happens."

The article also includes a quote from yours truly going off on the proliferation of Christian MySpace knock-offs, but otherwise it's an interesting read.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 9:54 AM
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November 21, 2006

CMS T-Shirts Now Available in Small

We've responded to your demands and added small sizes to the Church Marketing Sucks store. Now you can support CMS, look ridiculously good and not drown in your T-shirt.

Remember that the shirts will only be available until December 4, so order now.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:35 AM
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Church Loses Domain to a Porn Site

Here's some bad news for your marketing efforts: You lost your domain and a porn site snatched it up. Too bad you just handed out fliers at the local Apple Harvest Day with the old site--now sending lots of unexpecting potential visitors to a porn site. Doh.

True story. It happened to Hope Community Church in Dover, N.H. The mix-up happened when the church was switching Internet service providers and the ISP that sold the url admitted fault. But it's still a good lesson for any church--especially if your annual domain renewal could easily get overlooked by a non-techie staff member or volunteer who hasn't had the time lately. (link via Cory Miller)

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:22 AM
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November 20, 2006

Stewardship Poll

Last week we asked about stewardship, the dreaded sermon series topic of choice in October. 52% have a holistic approach and cover finances in general. 22% apparently need to talk about stewardship more. 10% hear it too much (I wonder if that number would be a lot higher if we asked a general audience). 7% want to try that money-back guarantee idea.

An interesting spread of responses overall. Not nearly as much table-flipping rage as I expected (which is probably a good thing).

This week we ask where church plants should first spend their money.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 10:56 AM
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November 16, 2006

The T-shirts Have Arrived

Church Marketing Sucks T-shirts are now available.

We've been hinting, dreaming and hoping, and now we finally have some Church Marketing Sucks swag. Visit the new Church Marketing Sucks Store and take your pick of five new shirts. We're only taking orders until December 4, so act now. We'll ship shirts on or before December 13 so you can have them in time for Christmas. And all the proceeds support the Center for Church Communication and help keep this blog blogging.

Thanks for your support!

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 4:32 PM
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November 15, 2006

Using Whipped Cream and Gay Marriage to Start Conversations

With membership declining as much as 20% in the last decade, the United Church of Canada needs to try something drastic. So they've launched a $9.3 million ad campaign. The ads touch on hot button issues, including sex and gay marriage. The ads direct people to a web site, wondercafe.ca, that attempts to engage people in conversations about spiritual issues and the big questions of life. They site also offers a church locator.

The campaign will run for three years and is backed by more than a year's worth of research and testing. It's also more than just advertising. According to a Q&A about the campaign, almost half the $9.3 million pricetag includes support and training to help local congregations be more open and welcoming to visitors.

Continue reading "Using Whipped Cream and Gay Marriage to Start Conversations"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:58 PM
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November 14, 2006

Operation Christmas Child Bans Christmas to Spread the Message

It's collection week for Operation Christmas Child, the high profile project of Franklin Graham and Samaritan's Purse, and while shoeboxes are being packed for kids across the world, they're also being unpacked of any religious message. According to the Daily Mail Samaritan's Purse has banned any religious items from the boxes, including Bible stories, images of Jesus and any other religious items (though these don't make the list of other banned items on their web site, which also includes war-related toys, chocolate or food, breakables, medicine and liquids).

Shocking, isn't it? A Christian charity banning its own message. But it's part of making sure the message gets through. They need to respect local cultures where the boxes will be distributed--which are often primarily Muslim. Giving a Jesus doll to a Muslim boy could cause problems on the scale of a certain cartoon that caused worldwide riots. Samaritan's Purse hopes the simple act of giving will speak for itself, followed up by the ongoing interaction with the organization. The idea is that there will be other, better avenues to spread its message, so they voluntariy opt not to put the message in the shoeboxes. Instead the shoebox itself is the message.

Continue reading "Operation Christmas Child Bans Christmas to Spread the Message"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:40 AM
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November 13, 2006

Web Stats Poll

Last week we polled to see how many web stat addicts we had in the house, and thankfully only 17% of you were true addicts. Another 17% check their numbers weekly, while most (38%) only do it when they think of it. 28% don't check their stats, don't have access or don't know what we're talking about.

Confession time: I used to be a daily stat checker. I'm not sure how much it helped knowing every daily dip and rise in traffic. It can be a nice encouragement that what you're doing pays off, but it can also turn into a daily time suck. Now I just check the stats when I think of it, and that seems to work a little better.

This week we ask about how often pastors talk about stewardship.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 5:21 AM
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November 10, 2006

YouTube, Multi-Site and Pews

• Building Rockin' Church Web Sites - Church Communications Pro Cory Miller just keeps the series coming.
• Projection Blues - Jim Walton at Church Tech Matters shares some simple tips for improving your projected worship lyrics.
• The Oddness of Pews - Dan Kimball from Vintage Faith Church explores the oddity of church pews.
• Getting Good Press - It's an older piece from CT (who still uses a fax?), but it still has some good advice.
• 5 Truths About Multi-Site Churches - Nicely re-packaged by Church Relevance. For more on Multi-Site, check out our review of The Multi-Site Church Revolution.
• Promoting Churches on YouTube - Jonathan Blundell wonders what would happen if church members made videos to promote their churches.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 10:44 AM
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November 8, 2006

Ted Haggard and Church Marketing

It seems painfully ironic to me that the same week I posted about Christians taking each other down, we have a high profile example of Christians taking themselves down in Ted Haggard. It seems the church's biggest marketing problem isn't typos or cheesy graphics, it's false advertising.

So what should we learn in the light of the Ted Haggard mess?

Continue reading "Ted Haggard and Church Marketing"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:46 AM
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November 6, 2006

The Money-Back Guaranteed Tithe

Here's something different. LifeChurch.tv, the church with locations in Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona and online is offering a three-month tithing challenge. Give for three months. If God doesn't deliver on his promise to provide for you, you can ask for your money back. All of it. No questions asked.

Wow. Now there's a potentially divisive approach to tithing.

Continue reading "The Money-Back Guaranteed Tithe"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 5:37 PM
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Election Day Poll

Last week we asked about how churches should deal with politics at election time. A resounding 62% said churches should just remind their congregations to vote. 17% said politics and pulpits don't mix.

Only 8% sprung for the write-in campaign for Jesus. Maybe next election.

So if you're a U.S citizen 18 years of age or older, don't forget to vote tomorrow.

This week we ask about those ever addictive web statistics (wait--did I just reveal my vote?).

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 5:28 PM
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November 3, 2006

Look Mom, I’m Chasing Lions

I just finished reading one of the most refreshing books I've read in awhile. It was also one of the easiest books I've read lately. These two reasons alone should make you want to grab a copy of Mark Batterson's new gem, In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day.

Using 2 Samuel 23:20-21 as a backdrop, Batterson tells the story of an obscure guy named Benaiah, and the time he chased a lion into a pit on a snowy day. The book is so easy and exhilarating to read, I’m keeping this review brief. By the time you're done reading this you could be on page 30.

Continue reading "Look Mom, I’m Chasing Lions"

Posted by Brad Abare at 8:38 PM
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November 2, 2006

Snakes in the Pew

Too often the work of communicating the message of the church is ruined because of the people in the church. Dr. Ergun Caner shared the message "Snakes in the Pew" (that's the direct link to the file, you can also see find it listed here, link via Tally Wilgis) at Liberty University's campus church expanding on the point. It's good stuff.

Caner's basic point is that while Christians need to get over ourselves, this junk still happens and we can't let it get in the way of following God. We can't let stupid Christians make us cynical or jaded. It's encouraging to hear for a cynical person like myself who went away to college only to have my church fall apart.

It's also ironic because just before I came across this link, I found this link (via Tadd Grandstaff). Apparently Kirk Cameron's Way of the Master is trying to take on Rob Bell's Nooma in some kind of spoof video smackdown.

What's so troubling about Christians and the church is that we're always trying to take each other down. Can't we all just get along? Or at least ignore each other and put our energy into actually doing something productive?

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:41 AM
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November 1, 2006

Church People are Weird

That's what Gary Lamb, pastor of Ridge Stone Church in Canton, Ga. says in the post that made him famous. He originally posted it last year and it resulted in 137 comments and soaring traffic. He re-posted it this week for those of us who weren't around for the infamous rant (like me).

It's good stuff, a confessional of sorts about how he visited another church's fall harvest festival. The application is if the church is truly going to reach people, we need to do some remarkable stuff, not just cater to other Christians. Here are few of my favorite lines:

• "I want my kids growing up digging church not thinking it is lame."
• "Man the christianize language was in full affect. ... If someone called it Harvest day instead of Halloween one more time I was going to punch them. Unchurched people think we are weird because we are."
• "More and more pastors are very sissy men."
• "I am worried about the church. Overall she just doesn't get it."

I'm sure Gary's post riled a lot of people up (with 137 comments I bet a few weren't too happy), but I love his attitude of doing things with excellence and not the churchy norm--all so we can reach people.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 9:39 AM
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