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February 15, 2007
Testimony Billboards
(Filed under: Advertising)The Atlanta-Journal Constitution reports on a church billboard campaign that's personal. Love this quote:
"Marketing and evangelism are the same thing," says Mara Einstein, associate professor of media studies at the City University of New York and author of the forthcoming book Brands of Faith: Marketing Religion in a Commercial Age. "A product becomes a part of a user's personality, and the users of the product become evangelizers of the product."
(link via CT's Weblog)
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at February 15, 2007 7:16 AM
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But marketing and disciple-making are not the same thing. Jesus never commands us to evangelize. He does command us to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19-20). "Believing" in a "product" is not the same as modeling a "product". Believing in Christ is not the same as modeling Christ with your life in order to disciple others. I think this article is way, way off the mark.
Posted by: Gene Mason at February 16, 2007 7:04 AM
Did you read the article, Gene? Ms. Einstein is using "evangelism" in the marketing sense of the word. It's quite common these past two decades or so.
But it works in the "Christian" sense of the word, too. The people on the billboard are testifying (briefly) about what God has done for them through their local church. They're sharing the good news as it has impacted them. That's evangelism.
Sure, it's not the end of the process. But it's a beginning! Anyone who responds to the "marketing" that these churches are doing will surely be welcomed into a process that involves worship, discipleship, fellowship, service, and all the rest. Nobody thinks these billboards are going to do all the work.
Posted by: Rich Schmidt at February 19, 2007 5:51 PM
Kevin - thanks for posting this. The actual billboard designs can be viewed in the Church Marketing Lab... link is:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/33871324@N00/378417148/in/pool-cfcc/
The response from these billboards has been great for our church. People really connect to the stories that are being shared and the idea that you don't have to have it all together to be a part of a local church. Rich's comments above are correct, Christ's love for us is an "as is" love. Evangelism in its truest form takes people where they are... in the midst of hurt...confusion...unbelief...sickness.. and shows them that there's a better way. By sharing other's stories, people can connect to those who have journeyed before them and more quickly come to the life-changing, eternity-altering knowledge of Christ.
The true beauty of using real stories is also exactly what Gene said above... the people that shared their stories are, in fact, modeling Christ with their lives and using their stories of change to disciple others.
And, in Atlanta, what better place to reach people "where they are" - in their cars - stuck in traffic! :o)
Posted by: Pam Parish at February 25, 2007 10:05 AM
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