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April 30, 2007
Q Conference Recap
(Filed under: Events)Just finished a whirlwind week. It began with the National New Church Conference in Orlando and then ended, as it did for many others, with Q in Atlanta (Q, whew?). Q was packed with great thinkers and presenters, formatted to flow fairly quickly. Most presenters had 18 minutes to make their point while the clock was counting down in front of them and the audience. In an effort to keep our filter here to church marketing/communication, I'll let the rest of the blog world, including some recaps from Scott Hodge, fulfill your fodder-looking fancy.
As for the subject of marketing and communicating the church, allow me to highlight some takeaways:
Continue reading "Q Conference Recap"
Posted by Brad Abare at 3:01 PM
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Notes on the National New Church Conference
(Filed under: Events)I had a great time in Orlando on Tuesday of last week at the National New Church Conference. I flew from Los Angeles to Orlando and arrived late Monday night. I woke up six hours later and finished off the creative communications session that Mark Batterson began the day before. It was a jam-packed two hours and I loved it! Mark had four hours on Monday and got to share his wisdom, wit and work from National Community Church, so when I spoke on Tuesday I got to tell everybody that just because it works for Batterson doesn't mean it works for you.
Here's an outline of what I covered:
Continue reading "Notes on the National New Church Conference"
Posted by Brad Abare at 7:27 AM
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Help Review A Web Site
(Filed under: Peer Review)We always love to give a little power to the people in the Church Marketing Lab. WheatonGuy18 wants you to step into action. He's looking for feedback regarding his church's new web site. What do you guys thinks? What can they be doing better? What are they already doing great?
Update: Due to a certain intern (read: me) making some minor (read: glaring) mistakes, this post isn't actually active anymore. I love the feedback you guys have been giving, however, and I hope you'll continue working to make the church more effective together in the Church Marketing Lab. Thanks again for the conversation you guys are sparking.
Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:11 AM
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April 27, 2007
Taking Outreach Lessons From Denny's
(Filed under: Evangelism & Outreach)by Brenton Balvin, Guest Blogger
I love what Denny's restaurant is doing to try and attract the college crowd, via Nation's Restaurant News (subscription required):
Denny's plan is to become a "social gathering" place for students who want to study for exams or meet with friends over a sit-down meal instead of grabbing a quick burger at a fast-food drive-thru, Polydoroff said.To lure them in during the promotion, Denny's is offering meal deals because students are on a budget, he said, and using free Wi-Fi , text messages and banner ads on Facebook to communicate with students because they are heavy users of those media.
"It's pretty new and significant for us," Polydoroff said. "We never did text messaging before."
Marketing support also includes direct mail, coupons and ads in college newspapers.
Continue reading "Taking Outreach Lessons From Denny's"
Posted by Guest Blogger at 8:05 AM
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It Came From The Lab!
(Filed under: Peer Review)Another week at the Church Marketing Lab and I know everyone is asking the same question: "Well Josh, what kind of stuff went up this week?" So here you have it, a roundup from the past week's contributions.
A developing logo for a children's ministry.
Continue reading "It Came From The Lab!"
Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:14 AM
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April 26, 2007
When Church Members Leave
(Filed under: Philosophy)It seems that everyone has been talking lately about leaving churches and how to be graceful in doing so. And if it's not how to leave a church, it's how to take in someone who left another church or fire someone from your own church.
It's a marketing nightmare. Churches are playing tug of war over staff members, pouting over laypeople leaving, and pointing the finger at everyone else for stealing people. Maybe this isn't how it is everywhere, maybe I'm reading too much into it. I don't think so. I would imagine that everything we see played out is only a fraction of what goes on in the hearts of church leadership.
Continue reading "When Church Members Leave"
Posted by Joshua Cody at 5:21 AM
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April 25, 2007
9 Ways to Use Google Apps in your Church Marketing
(Filed under: Church Business)In the computer world, there's three things I'm crazy for. Macs, Quicksilver, and Google. (No, it's not just search.) Macs aren't so much church marketing related (except, of course, that they're better than PCs), and Quicksilver definitely isn't church marketing related. Google, I would argue, is. A little over a week ago, we asked you, and 12% of you said Google was essential to your church marketing efforts.
This is for the other 88%. Nine ways to use Google Apps in your church marketing.
Continue reading "9 Ways to Use Google Apps in your Church Marketing"
Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:05 AM
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Theater Church Movies
(Filed under: Resources)Just wanted to pass the word along to everyone that National Community Church has begun making their video efforts public and open source. Make sure you check them out and be inspired, but don't copy!
Update 1: Perhaps open source isn't the best term. As you'll read in the comments, that's the direction NCC is looking to head, but these videos aren't quite there. They're just for the public to see and learn from and critique.
Update 2: "...but don't copy!" OK, so maybe copying is a good alternative to not creating at all. But at least do your best to tailor everything you do to your own environment, and move towards a greater understanding of creativity and contribution.
Still go check out their videos, they're well-planned and well-executed. We can all at least use them as a creative resource.
Posted by Joshua Cody at 5:38 AM
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April 24, 2007
Mascot Poll Results
(Filed under: Poll Results)
Last week, we asked what you thought of using mascots for children's ministry. Here's what you said:
8% of you are overachievers who have already been doing this. Has it been working out good for you? 16% of you think it's a great idea, and you wish it could start up at your church. Talk to your children's pastor. Talk to your pastor pastor. Talk to anyone, but remember, you're the agent of change.
51% of you are pretty leery of the cheese factor. It's understandable. We don't need to just create Mickey "Melchizidek" Mouse or a Jewish, bearded, carpenter bee. Let's be honest, an idea is only as good as its execution.
10% of you think it won't work for your church. That's perfect. Kudos to you for having the guts to say, "It sounds cool, but it won't work for us." There's something to be said for your idea-temperance. Finally, 16% of you think it takes the focus away from Christ. If you feel that your church couldn't execute it to keep the focus on Christ, then never put good marketing ideas before good theology.
If you're just jumping in on the discussion, head back to the original post to see some success stories in the comments about churches using mascots. And feel free to post more here.
This week we have a Church Marketing Sucks SAT practice question for you. Which one of the following words could also be called "church marketing?" Unlike the SAT, we're opinions only, and everyone gets an A. Enjoy.
Posted by Joshua Cody at 12:48 PM
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The Marketing Challenge of Limbo
(Filed under: Philosophy)Today, we heard the words "Marketing Challenge," and immediately sprang into action. (It's kind of like the bat symbol for us.) Then, as we read on, we found that we were even called out. Advertising Age asked what we would think of the Catholic church's position paper on Limbo. And how do we feel about this?
First things first. Theology precedes marketing. I trust the Catholic Church put a lot of effort into understanding this matter theologically, and that's paramount to all the marketing in the world. If we're marketing the wrong message, we ought not be marketing at all. For quite some time, the Catholic Church has abandoned the idea of Limbo--this is just pointing out the elephant in the closet.
The principle to be drawn here? Never change what you believe for marketing's sake. If you believe that all babies are going to hell, then defend yourself. Don't shy away from that because it won't go over well. I'm pretty sure that there's no free passes on Judgment Day for sweet marketing ideas. Don't live like there is.
Continue reading "The Marketing Challenge of Limbo"
Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:17 AM
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April 23, 2007
Meet Joshua Cody, CFCC Intern
(Filed under: News & Updates)You may have noticed the name "Joshua Cody" showing up on a ton of entries lately. Just who is this guy? Glad you asked. He's our intern and has been stepping up in a major way to keep us moving towards our goal of helping the church matter.
Unfortunately he's on the opposite side of the country, so his ability to make donut runs is limited. But he makes up for it with plenty of ideas and hard work. Check out our Q&A with Joshua over at the CFCC blog and get to know our intern.
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:10 AM
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Help Wanted: Good Videos
(Filed under: Peer Review)Last time we posted a help wanted ad, we were pretty much just making fun of someone. This time we're serious. Seriously. Over in the Church Marketing Lab this week, terrell_sanders has an announcement. He's looking for church videos to showcase at MinistryCOM 2007. Don't know what MinistryCOM is? It's a conference that we here at CMS love. Check it out.
Head over to the discussion and consider submitting your videos.
Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:01 AM
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April 20, 2007
The Church Responds To Virginia Tech Tragedy
(Filed under: The Christian Walk)As Virginia Tech and all of America continue to mourn and grieve, the church has begun to respond. In instances like this where there is little physical and monetary relief to provide, the primary responsibility of the church is obviously to be the hands of God--to bind up the broken-hearted and heal their wounds. Through love, prayer and godly counsel. Here's a little insight to how the church is responding so far ...
- New Life Christian Fellowship posts prayers and encouragements.
- Gateway Ministries church sends 15 people on a four hour ride to offer comfort.
Continue reading "The Church Responds To Virginia Tech Tragedy"
Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:15 AM
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It Came From The Lab!
(Filed under: Peer Review)It's about that time. Another week is winding up at the Church Marketing Lab, and we're here to show you what's been going on.
A logo for a group that meets to work on their guitar and worship leading skills.
Continue reading "It Came From The Lab!"
Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:02 AM
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April 19, 2007
Church For Men
(Filed under: Evangelism & Outreach)by Michael Buckingham, Guest Blogger
Most of you have heard the debate that church doesn't speak the language of men, that the church with its tears and emotion doesn't cater to men. There have been books written, and now there's a church taking on the challenge. The goal of Church for Men is to "help churches create an environment where men can thrive in every aspect of church life. Instead of creating a little outpost of masculinity called men's ministry, we help churches unleash the masculine spirit throughout the organization."
I like a lot about this; they meet on Saturday evenings, so this isn't about replacing the family church. It's so relevant that even the press is taking notice. They're doing more than talking about a problem in the church--they're doing something!
What do you see in the church that maybe you could not just talk about but begin to take action on?
Posted by Guest Blogger at 7:46 AM
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April 18, 2007
Updating Your Furniture
(Filed under: Philosophy)"The problem is not how to get new, innovative thoughts into your mind, but how to get old ones out. Every mind is a building filled with archaic furniture. Clean out a corner of your mind, and creativity will instantly fill it." -Dee Hock, Visa founder
What old thoughts are in your mind? When you think Sunday mornings, do you start out by thinking "What do we want to change from last Sunday?" or "What do we want to try this Sunday?"
When evangelizing and marketing, maybe we should stop arranging the same archaic furniture in different ways. Maybe we should see every day as a new world and ask ourselves what we furniture we can build to make this world a better place.
Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:13 AM
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April 17, 2007
Internet Poll Results
(Filed under: Poll Results)
Last week we asked you how your church uses the Internet. Now that all of our e-ballots are in, we have the formal results for you.
Only 31% of you feel your own church web sites are integral to ministry. This is a tiny number. I think some of us might not have realized we could click multiple boxes. Either way, 69% of those polled do not feel their church sites are integral to ministry. Ouch.
19% of you think blogging is essential. This is an encouragingly high number. It really gives churches a way to reveal their pastors' hearts and passions to non-members. Moving on down, 15% of you think social networking is essential. Again, an area I think we can do better in as a church. These social networking sites are a fantastic tool.
Continue reading "Internet Poll Results"
Posted by Joshua Cody at 11:43 AM
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Origins, Mosaic Leadership Experience
(Filed under: Events)I realize it's a little late to the game on this, but for anyone in the southern California area (or those with private planes), on May 1-3 in Pasadena, Calif., the annual Origins event is taking place. It's put on by Erwin McManus and his Mosaic collaborators. For those unfamiliar with Origins, it's kind of a non-event event. In typical McManus McFashion, they do a great job at doing unique things over and over again. I shot over some interview questions to Erwin (via his staff) and received the following responses.
What's the Origins Project all about--will it help my church's communication/marketing to not suck?
The Origins Project is about helping church leaders focus on the doing the right things--focusing on risk, mission, relationships, experimentation and creativity. The greatest marketing strategy is to create a community in which people experience authentic life transformation. Through their relationships, the transformed cannot wait to connect others as well.
Continue reading "Origins, Mosaic Leadership Experience"
Posted by Brad Abare at 6:52 AM
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April 16, 2007
How To Achieve 277% Growth
(Filed under: Advertising)OK, so the title isn't fully accurate. But it is how one church did it. Eastpoint Community Church in Middletown, Del. had an incredibly simple, strategic and successful marketing campaign, detailed by Marketing Sherpa (membership required). Here's a quick summary of their story:
A small, young church, they were looking to reach a community saturated by a younger generation with a general disquietude towards the idea of church. They knew that an unobtrusive web site would bring just the proper message--we don't merely want to tally converts, but we want you to discover us. Thus the brainstorming began.
Continue reading "How To Achieve 277% Growth"
Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:28 AM
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April 13, 2007
Write a Church Tagline
(Filed under: Peer Review)We have a success story of sorts over in the discussion area of the Church Marketing Lab. User dorothea_holcomb posted a tagline her church was considering and she didn't think would work. With the help of some folks in the lab she was able to convince her church not to use the tagline. Helping the church not suck--that's what we're all about.
But now they want her to come up with a tagline that does work. Head over and help dorothea_holcomb process what a church tagline should be and help her get her church on the road to growth and changing their community!
Posted by Joshua Cody at 10:27 AM
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It Came From The Lab!
(Filed under: Peer Review)We've had a great week over at the Lab. Our members have been incredibly busy with tons of new material. Here's a little bit of what's been going on.
Four Corners Church posted an Easter bulletin cover.
Continue reading "It Came From The Lab!"
Posted by Joshua Cody at 10:11 AM
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Andy Crouch on Culture
(Filed under: Evangelism & Outreach)Andy Crouch of The Christian Vision Project was recently interviewed on the Catalyst podcast. He made some interesting points which I'll summarize for our loyal CMS readers. Essentially, Andy presents a picture of the way we, the church, relate with the world around us (keep in mind that these are his ideas in my words).
There are two basic ways we present ourselves to the world as believers: gestures and postures. Gestures are the things we do, and postures are the way we carry ourselves. For example, bending over might be an appropriate gesture, but it's not an appropriate posture, as it's not good for everything.
Continue reading "Andy Crouch on Culture"
Posted by Joshua Cody at 9:14 AM
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April 12, 2007
Where's the Church's Ask a Ninja?
(Filed under: Evangelism & Outreach)Online entertainment has been taking the world by storm. Homestar Runner. Ask a Ninja. lonelygirl15. ZeFrank. For the most part these were projects started by small groups of people with small amounts of money. They are media empires on shoestring budgets. They can be created by folks in their pajamas and they have incredible impact.
While watching Ask a Ninja co-founder Kent Nichols talk about his rules for success in this new entertianment world in a video from Pop!Tech, I wondered where the church is in this new online entertainment phenomenon.
Continue reading "Where's the Church's Ask a Ninja?"
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 11:23 AM
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WikiChurch
(Filed under: First Impressions & Beyond)There's been a little experiment going on over at the Swerve blog. They advertised a project to improve Wikipedia's article on church planting. This was of particular interest to me.
I've been frustrated for awhile at the lack of quality in church Wikipedia articles. Essentially, Church Wikipedia-ing Sucks. (Hmm ... sister site?) I'd checked out the quality of Wikipedia articles for various well-known churches in my area and in the states as a whole. It's not pretty. So I thought I'd outline a few things from a Wikipedia amateur that your church can think about.
Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:29 AM
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April 11, 2007
Billboarding For God Results
(Filed under: Poll Results)
This past week, we asked you to vote on which billboard method you thought was most effective. The big winner this week was that billboards are for truckers. 30% of you didn't like the idea of billboards for churches. Judging from the poll and our comments on previous billboard-related posts, that's not surprising.
27% of you are the shock-and-awe type. You like church billboards to cause whiplash and 16-car pile ups (Exaggeration alert, please no hate mail) so people will come to see what all the fuss is about.
Continue reading "Billboarding For God Results"
Posted by Joshua Cody at 9:01 AM
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April 10, 2007
Help Wanted: Good Editors
(Filed under: Writing & Editing)I couldn't help but give everyone a good solid example of how little mistakes become big ones. The Dallas News Religion Blog reported on a press release blunder for a new book, The Spiritual Fragrance of a Woman. I quote the press release:
"Many are comparing the books popularity to Bishop T.D. Jakes' "Woman, Thou Art Loose."
Oops! I guess a little editing would have gone a long way to fix the numerous mistakes in the release, especially that big one. I can't imagine Bishop Jakes would have had the same success with this title. From the perspective of an optimist, at least it's free press, right? (link via Monday Morning Insight)
Posted by Joshua Cody at 8:32 AM
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April 9, 2007
Authenticity Wins Again
(Filed under: Brand & Identity)Values like transparency, authenticity and connectedness date back to some of our earliest entries when we started Church Marketing Sucks three years ago. When I'm given the opportunity to speak at church communication events, these themes are always met with resounding affirmation and rejuvenated commitment. The Story we're communicating is beyond Photoshop and nifty web sites. It's about connecting people to a Story that they're a part of. Not for us to fill a pew but so that Christ can fill a heart.
The March 26 issue of Adweek has an article by Christine Champagne that affirms this point about authenticity, especially in advertising. Champagne points out the recent campaigns by Kleenex and Secret (deodorant), as well as Commit (lozenges to stop smoking). All three were taking cues from Dove with the continued success of their "campaign for real beauty" that began in 2004.
Champagne suggests that reality television--in all of its transparent, confessional, cry-to-momma-moments--has helped facilitate the trend in advertising toward using real people and real problems to connect with consumers.
Continue reading "Authenticity Wins Again"
Posted by Brad Abare at 8:43 AM
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April 6, 2007
T-Shirts Ain't Cheap
(Filed under: Peer Review)Last week in the Church Marketing Lab, you suggested ideas for how to plan a creative meeting. Some of your feedback included nuggets like:
- Use rotating members to keep your meetings fresh
- Stay a couple months ahead in your planning
- Think from an un-churched perspective
This week, Cami618 is having some trouble with t-shirt expenses. She's tried local and it's too expensive. She's looked online, but it's too overwhelming. Maybe you could help point Cami in the right T-shirt direction?
Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:07 AM
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April 5, 2007
It Came From The Lab!
(Filed under: Peer Review)I know you've been wondering, "What's going on over in the Church Marketing Lab this week?" Luckily, I have the answer to that question for you. Check out some of what has been created this week.
A color palette for a church whose property borders a nature trail.
A logo/slide for a series at Keypoint Church
A Myspace advertisement for a youth group volleyball night.
A logo for a weekly men's group meeting .
See something you like? Something you don't? Have a question? Head on over and join the discussion.
Posted by Joshua Cody at 11:18 AM
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April 4, 2007
Church "Mascots" for Children's Ministry?
(Filed under: Evangelism & Outreach)by Brenton Balvin, Guest Blogger
Recently I was part of a team of people that used a store mascot to do some local marketing. OK, I was the guy dressed up as a giant A&W Root Beer Bear. My team visited an elementary school in the community that was having a family carnival night. From the nasal perspective of my costume (I see out of the nose), the evening was a massive success for the school, the families and our store. In fact, I even overheard a few kids talking about when the Bear mascot had refereed their hockey game a few months ago.
It reinforced an idea I have been thinking about for awhile. Why don't children's ministries in church utilize some kind of mascot or character to connect with kids? I have seen how much my own kids love going to Chuck E. Cheese and singing and dancing with the mouse mascot there. And my experiences in the Root Beer Bear suit have given me first hand, experiential knowledge of the fact that most kids really enjoy interacting with an over-sized animal. I think churches need to get on board with this and use it as a way to get kids excited about visiting church each week.
Continue reading "Church "Mascots" for Children's Ministry?"
Posted by Guest Blogger at 7:09 AM
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April 3, 2007
Passion Poll Results
(Filed under: Poll Results)
With five days left until Easter, we have our Passion Week poll hot of the press.
Surprisingly, only 3% of your churches place their strongest focus on Good Friday. I expected Friday night Passion plays and the convenience and opportunity of Friday (as opposed to Sunday morning) would drive this number higher. I imagined wrong.
The majority winner is the 50% of you whose church places the most marketing emphasis on Easter. I can't say enough about how great Easter is, so kudos to you guys.
20% of you really emphasize both equally. There's something great to be said about this, as the two events must both exist for Christ to be Lord. And let's never lose the history and true meaning of Passion Week.
Finally, 27% of churches in our incredibly reliable and extremely scientific poll gave up marketing for Lent. I don't think Jesus did much marketing in the wilderness for 40 days, so I think you're following a good strategy!
This week, we look at the flood of recent billboard campaign news and see what our loyal readers think is the way to go.
Lastly, what exactly is your church doing for Easter and Good Friday? Easter egg hunts? Pictures with the Easter bunny? A mock funeral for Jesus? Comment now!
Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:57 AM
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April 2, 2007
Understanding Attack Blogs
(Filed under: First Impressions & Beyond)by Bill Seaver, Guest Blogger
There's a new and unfortunate trend in church disputes that you've likely heard of by now: the attack blog. Attack blogs are most commonly established by members within the church who take issue with some aspect of the church leadership or direction. In some cases, the attacks come from outside the church, like in Mark Driscoll's case last fall, but the majority of cases seem to be from within.
I personally know of four churches that are dealing with this to some degree right now. Here are two examples from Bellevue Baptist in Memphis, Tenn. (these are not blogs in the purest sense of the word but are text-only web sites that serve the same purpose).
The issues that prompt the attacks vary, but in each case the church is under fire from a small group of individuals who disagree with the leadership (either the pastor himself or the leadership as a whole). Also, in every case the churches had no idea what hit them.
Continue reading "Understanding Attack Blogs"
Posted by Guest Blogger at 7:53 AM
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April 1, 2007
Palm Sunday, Going Green
(Filed under: Brand & Identity)I read a great article in the New York Times this morning about churches that have gone green for Palm Sunday by purchasing eco-palms. These palms are slightly more expensive, but they arrive in a "green" friendly way.
"The program began in 2005 with 20 American churches that bought about 5,000 palms. It grew last year, with 281 congregations placing orders for 80,000 palms. On this Palm Sunday, 1,436 churches will distribute 364,000 eco-palm stems."
According to the article, churches in America use 25 to 35 million palms on Palm Sunday. These eco-palms represent about 1 percent of the overall palm order.
It's encouraging to see churches demonstrating their care for the environment in a way that is authentic and practical.
Posted by Brad Abare at 10:27 AM
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