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May 31, 2007
3 Fundamental Rules of Church Marketing
(Filed under: Philosophy)Kent Shaffer of Church Relevance, in the February 2007 edition of their newsletter, covered the 3 Fundamental Rules of Church Marketing. Here's a sampling of what he said, and head on over to read the rest.
Rule 1: Don't begin with marketing.
First, determine if your church is marketable. Ask yourself if there are things you need to change. Do you have a church that people will want to return to if they come?
Rule 2: Map it out.
Have a starting point, a destination, and a route. Effectively determine the specifics of all three of these.
Rule 3: Cost does not always equal quality.
Just because a medium is expensive does not mean it is effective. Consider your target audience and the cost efficiency of a marketing method before you go ahead with it.
Posted by Joshua Cody at 9:15 AM
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May 30, 2007
The Blogging Church: Sharing the Story of Your Church Through Blogs
(Filed under: Reviews)
Brian Bailey and Terry Storch have put together a book that's near and dear to our hearts. It lays out the why and the how of church blogging. We're big fans of blogging, in case you couldn't tell (I've been at it personally since 1998). It's a natural tool for a community-based organization like the church, and its tendency for open, honest communication makes it a valuable antidote to the misconception of churches as weird, unfriendly, judgmental, hypocritical, corrupt or whatever negative adjective you've heard.
If you're looking for a new way to communicate about your church--whether you're a pastor, staff member or lay person (OK, it doesn't directly address lay people, but lay people like me can recommend it)--The Blogging Church is for you. It includes helpful interviews with pro bloggers like Robert Scoble (author of another book on blogging), Kathy Sierra and Guy Kawasaki, as well as church bloggers like Mark Batterson, Perry Noble, Craig Groeschel, Mark Driscoll and Tony Morgan--oh yeah, and us. We should probably say up front that we're interviewed in the book (page 75, in case you're wondering) and mentioned a few times as an example.
Continue reading "The Blogging Church: Sharing the Story of Your Church Through Blogs"
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:03 AM
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A Visionless Church
(Filed under: Philosophy)Over at the nakedpastor blog, there's a two-part post entitled "My Vision is to Have No Vision." Any feathers ruffled yet?
He argues that vision is actually a killer. It crushes the natural growth and flow of things, and it inhibits the exponential, New Testament growth and love evident in the book of Acts. (Please note that I'm taking a bit of liberty in describing his position--connecting the dots instead of citing verbatim, if you will.)
Continue reading "A Visionless Church"
Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:35 AM
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Summer Church Worries Poll Results
(Filed under: Poll Results)
This past week at the polls, you let us know what worries your church the most as summer approaches. Of course, there are some worries we didn't provide, so let us know about those and how you deal with them in the comments. Here's what scares you:
The big winner is that 44% of you worry that attendance will drop as everyone heads off for vacation. No worries, the numbers will go back up by September.
Far less of you are worried about youth group girls not wearing one pieces (10%), your pastor never returning from his study retreat (7%), and skyrocketing costs of air conditioning (4%).
The good news to me is that 35% of you are just kicking back and shooting the breeze, enjoying the summer. Given that it's already almost June, summer planning is winding down, and it's time to move to the camp of not worrying about tomorrow.
Here's us at CMS wishing a great summer and safe traveling to all of you, but remember, we don't take summers off. So this week, head on over and keep voting in our polls, we're asking you what would make you leave a church.
Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:32 AM
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May 29, 2007
Communications Linkfest
(Filed under: Link Round Up)We just wanted to share a few links with you of communications stories cropping up the last few weeks. So get you mouse ready, and read what our friends have to say.
- Tony Morgan of NewSpring Church reveals communications lessons learned from Perry Noble.
- Todd Rhoades of Monday Morning Insight gives their seven worst communication habits for church staff.
- Perry Noble reveals his seven reminders for effective communication--part one and part two.
Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:01 AM
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May 25, 2007
Job and Freelance Lab Roundup
(Filed under: News & Updates)Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired? Ready for a change in the day-to-day? Well we're here to help. Our Job Lab and Freelance Project Lab are still going strong, and here's a little bit of what's been going on this week:
Living Word Church needs some help designing a new logo.
An opening has come up for a web developer at WorshipHouse Media
Continue reading "Job and Freelance Lab Roundup"
Posted by Joshua Cody at 8:00 AM
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Chick-fil-A and Church Marketing
(Filed under: Examples)Some of you out west might have no idea what I'm talking about. My Church Marketing Sucks colleagues probably don't have a strong idea of what I'm talking about. But down South, it's all about the Christian Chicken.
Within 10 miles of my house, there are 10 Chick-fil-A restaurants. One is open 24 hours a day. Well, almost. It closes at 11:59 p.m. Saturday night and reopens at 5:00 a.m. Monday morning. It's a lifestyle and an addiction--chicken sandwiches, waffle fries, and sweet tea, that is.
As you probably know, I'm a Christian. As you probably don't know, Chick-fil-A's mission statement is "to glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us and to have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A." I love this. They don't evangelize traditionally. They don't impose their beliefs, despite their position as nearly omniscient autocrat of chicken.
Continue reading "Chick-fil-A and Church Marketing"
Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:16 AM
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May 24, 2007
Church Marketing Lab: At the Beach
(Filed under: Peer Review)Over at the Church Marketing Lab, we're seeing more and more graphics pertaining to Summer trips and events. So grab your floaties, snorkels, and flippers, because here's a little sampling of graphics going to the beach!
The Blitz Extreme camp is preparing a t-shirt for their beach trip.
Fire Escape created a postcard for their beach week.
Continue reading "Church Marketing Lab: At the Beach"
Posted by Joshua Cody at 10:37 AM
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May 23, 2007
Church Marketing Moves Poll Results
(Filed under: Poll Results)
Last week, we asked you which of the church marketing moves we had highlighted lately was your favorite. We gave you a choice of five entries, and here's how you felt:
Church seven nights a week came out on top, with 30% of the vote. Some of you just aren't happy with only going once! In a close second was Vintage 21 calling members "owners." 29% of you liked this idea the best.
18% of you most liked the idea of churches taking a hard look at their environmental ethics. 13% of you chose the opening of the Job Lab and Freelance Project Lab as your favorite church marketing move. In other words, 13% of you were correct. Only kidding. Kind of. And finally, 9% of you most liked the idea of Christians taking atheists on in the world of debate.
This week, we move away from stories we've run to get ready for summer at the polls! Let us know what worries you most in the world of your church as summer approaches.
Posted by Joshua Cody at 5:21 AM
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May 21, 2007
Buzz '07 Interview with Mark Batterson
(Filed under: Interviews)
We here at Church Marketing Sucks are incredibly pleased to announce our second annual pre-Buzz Conference interview with Mark Batterson! Last year we introduced you to Batterson and Buzz, and we gave you a couple recaps of just what went down at the conference.
This year, they're gearing up to give the Conference another go. This year's conference will be held at Ebenezer's, the coffee shop location of National Community Church. The conference will be in Washington, D.C. from June 28-29, and the spots are nearly filled.
Continue reading "Buzz '07 Interview with Mark Batterson"
Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:35 AM
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May 19, 2007
Historical Accuracy or Relatability?
(Filed under: Peer Review)In the Church Marketing Lab Discussion, user 'wheres my sanity' poses an interesting question. It's one I'm sure many of you have wrestled with. Many of you have heard the term anachronism. It's placing something outside of its proper time frame. Often times, this is done to make an idea more understandable and easy to relate to.
The dilemma in this post rests in a series on the ten commandments. The design team wants to go with Hebrew numbers on the tablets for authenticity, but the pastor wants to do Roman numerals so all will understand. Have you come across this dilemma before? How did you handle it?
Head to the Church Marketing Lab and help 'wheres my sanity' out!
Posted by Joshua Cody at 9:35 AM
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Church Marketing Lab: Summer Camp, Messy Faith and More...
(Filed under: Peer Review)This week in the Church Marketing Lab, everyone started getting ready for summer. The great dialogue continued, and more and more summer series and beach camp graphics are going up. Even more exciting than summer, we're getting close to a thousand members! That's something to celebrate. And in Church Marketing Lab tradition, we always celebrate by giving you a taste of what's been going on:
A promo for a yearly junior high event.
Continue reading "Church Marketing Lab: Summer Camp, Messy Faith and More..."
Posted by Joshua Cody at 9:04 AM
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May 18, 2007
TagCrowd
(Filed under: Resources)I received an e-mail today about a new web service called TagCrowd. Many of you know that Flickr and numerous other sites use tag clouds to generate frequent topics within metadata, especially in the web 2.0 world. Some of you have no idea what at least three of the words in the last sentence mean. That's OK, too.
The reason this service is different is that it takes user-generated text and creates a tag cloud for you. While the different sizes in the midst of a tag cloud usually triggers an outbreak of obsessive compulsive disorder for me, it's still a really interesting tool. If nothing else, you can at least see a visual depiction of what you're communicating.
Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:50 AM
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May 16, 2007
Church Building Sucks
(Filed under: Building Design)Here's a post with no answer. I was browsing through a list posted by Andy at Think Christian, and he linked to Neatorama's post, 10 Divinely Designed Churches. This stirred up a question building in my mind for quite some time.
At last year's Catalyst Conference, Donald Miller talked about church design then and now. He discussed the differences in the geometry and architecture of Renaissance churches compared with contemporary churches. Essentially, with an illiterate society, churches had to present God through symmetry and beauty of design, and with our modern, corporate society, churches tend to look like businesses.
Continue reading "Church Building Sucks"
Posted by Joshua Cody at 8:30 AM
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Environmental Ethics Poll
(Filed under: Poll Results)
Last week, we asked what you thought about all this environmental ethics and going green. I'll have to admit, I'm pleasantly surprised with the results.
A true majority, 58% of you, think that it's pretty important, and we ought to show the world we care. How are you doing this? Recycled paper? Compact fluorescent light bulbs? Hybrid church vans? Communion with organic crackers?
15% of you think it could go either way. Less of you, 13%, think there are more important things to be worried about. You find yourselves amongst the American majority--the unconcerned. No judgment passed here, feel free to wait for some more evidence, but don't be ignorant or apathetic for the whole world to see.
11% of you think it's one of the most pressing issues for the church today. While 3% of you think the opposite, you say it's ludicrous. Just make sure you're not majoring on minors or ignoring a major.
All in all, you agree that there's no simple answer to this problem. Approach it prayerfully with a mind for the world around you and for the future.
This week, we want to know what church marketing moves that we've looked at recently you liked best. Let your voice be heard and let the world know what you liked!
Posted by Joshua Cody at 8:12 AM
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May 15, 2007
MacRumors Thread 500
(Filed under: Philosophy)I'm an Apple nerd. I've mentioned it before. And there's something Apple-related I've been sitting on for awhile now.
MacRumors is where I get my Apple updates and info. Around their forums, there's a famous thread. It's referred to by its number, thread 500.
I'm not going to say too much about it here. Just go over and check out a few of the comments about this "gimmick," "toy," and "not exactly revolutionary" device. Today, over 100 million have been sold.
Not many people in this world truly think outside the box. Not many people can see a truly revolutionary thing when it is in front of them. What are you doing that the majority of people think is crazy? How is your church risking looking foolish because you know you'll change the world?
Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:27 AM
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Help Name Marriage Classes
(Filed under: Peer Review)This week in the Church Marketing Lab Discussion, timschraeder asked for some help. He's looking to name pre-marriage and post-marriage classes, and he wants to avoid the usual cliche names. We wanted to bring the call for help to all of our loyal CMS readers to see if anyone had any ideas. Ever been daydreaming and come across the perfect name? Check out his post for details and help timschrader out!
Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:20 AM
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May 11, 2007
Job and Freelance Labs: In The Beginning...
(Filed under: News & Updates)In the beginning, there were jobs. And projects. And they were free. You surely heard about the launch of our Job Lab and Freelance Lab, but maybe you haven't been so bold as to venture over and check them out. For those timid visitors, here are some samplings of what we've seen in the short life of the new labs:
High Desert Church in Victorville, Calif. is looking for a communications director.
There's an opening for a webmaster at Eagle Brook Church in Minnesota.
Continue reading "Job and Freelance Labs: In The Beginning..."
Posted by Joshua Cody at 11:59 AM
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Church Marketing Lab: Body Piercing, Language School and More..
(Filed under: Peer Review)This week in the Church Marketing Lab, we had some incredible creations and dialogue. Simply head over and click on a piece of work; you'll see what I mean. Here's a small glimpse of what's been going on this week:
A church ad in an underground newspaper.
Continue reading "Church Marketing Lab: Body Piercing, Language School and More.."
Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:36 AM
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May 10, 2007
Ownership, Not Membership
(Filed under: Examples)Earlier, we highlighted The Church at Pembrook Pines' interesting marketing strategy of church seven days a week. Today, we have a new move for you.
Vintage21, a church in Raleigh, N.C., does some interesting things with their church members. Most importantly, they don't actually call them members. They call them owners. According to their site, this minimizes the exclusive connotations of membership and maximizes the emphasis on ourselves as heirs to the kingdom. Beyond this, they also want to communicate that owners are investing in the church, not only consuming its resources.
Continue reading "Ownership, Not Membership"
Posted by Joshua Cody at 8:26 AM
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May 8, 2007
Who Are You Results
(Filed under: Poll Results)
Last week, we asked the question, "Who are you?" 256 of you let us know. According to our calculations ...
30% of you are on staff at a local church in a non-pastoral position. Congratulations on being in the majority! Another 28% of you are actually in the pastor's seat at your local church. That means nearly 60% of you are actually in the trenches, working hard to make sure the church doesn't suck. Hopefully. Keep trying new things and telling us what's working and what's not!
18% of you aren't actually on staff with a church or a marketing firm, but you do help with your church's marketing. What kind of roles are you in? Volunteer? Friend of a church staffer? That guy in the congregation who stands up and screams crazy ideas in the middle of a sermon? Another 14% of you aren't actively involved in church marketing, you just think about it from the pews. I'd be willing to bet you have some great ideas, don't be ashamed to speak up.
A slim 4% of you are actually on staff with a church marketing organization. Which means we're not reaching the professional church marketer, which is probably OK. It's the folks in the trenches who really need the help.
Lastly, 8% of you said other, mostly folks who fell under multiple categories or wanted to be more specific.
This week, we're asking how exactly you feel about all this crazy tree-hugging creation care we've been talking about?
Posted by Joshua Cody at 12:46 PM
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May 7, 2007
Job Lab & Freelance Lab Now Open
(Filed under: News & Updates)Churches looking to fill marketing and communications positions or find help with short-term projects have a new place to go. Our non-profit parent, the Center for Church Communication, has just launched new job posting and freelance project sites, the Job Lab and Freelance Lab. Churches in need of marketing help can list job openings and post their needs for freelance projects.
For a limited time all listings are free while we work out the kinks, so head on over and post your job or freelance project today.
And of course this means all the creative professionals out there eager to help the church have a new place to go as well. If you're looking for a job helping churches communicate--check out the Job Lab for the latest listings and details for how to apply. If you do freelance work and want to help church marketing not suck, check the latest listings in the Freelance Lab and contact the churches directly. Both sites have RSS feeds so you can easily track what's new.
We're excited to see the latest CFCC offering roll out and offer another way to help the church matter. And the sites do work. One of our early listings had four responses in the first four days--before we really had a chance to get the word out.
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:04 PM
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Church Seven Nights A Week
(Filed under: Examples)The Church of Pembroke Pines in Pembroke Pines, Fla. has a pretty interesting strategy. You've heard of multiple services. Sometimes two on Sunday. Sometimes one on Saturday. Heck, sometimes even one on Wednesday. We've got something new and interesting for you though: Seven nights of worship at 7 p.m. That's what the Church of Pembroke Pines does. Every night has a different feel, a different aim, and a different team. It's crazy, but I think I might be sold. (link via Monday Morning Insight)
Update: The Church of Pembrook Pines is now Oasis Church, in case you're looking for it. You can also hear more about the church at Pastor Guy Melton's blog.
Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:19 AM
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May 4, 2007
Christians vs. Atheists on Nightline
(Filed under: Evangelism & Outreach)Grab the popcorn and call your friends--ABC's Nightline is staging a smackdown confrontation with eternal consequences. It's a debate between Christians and atheists. In the atheists' corner we have Brian Sapient and Kelly (last name withheld) of the Rational Response Squad, an atheist group best known for their Blasphemy Challenge. In the Christians' corner we have Growing Pains star Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort of Way of the Master.
Anybody sense a coming train wreck? Check this out:
Comfort--who claims he can prove the existence of God, scientifically, without mentioning faith or the Bible--stated, "The network originally offered me only four minutes to present my case. After speaking with Kirk and conferring with the atheists, they settled on 13 minutes. I'm ecstatic. I can prove the existence of God in that amount of time.
Comfort also told Nightline, "We cannot only prove that God exists, but we can prove that the atheist doesn't."
Wow. The single question humanity has wrestled with since the dawn of time--does God exist?--will be answered by a former sitcom star and a preacher with no theological training in a mere 13 minutes. Let's just hope they leave the banana out of it.
Continue reading "Christians vs. Atheists on Nightline"
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:00 PM
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Church Marketing Lab: Special Edition
(Filed under: Peer Review)It's that time again. We want to give you a glimpse of all the great material being posted over in the Church Marketing Lab. This week, however, there's a special twist. Be sure to check out the final sample to hear what's so special about this week. Here's a little of what we've seen:
A bulletin concept for an Urban Legend series.
Continue reading "Church Marketing Lab: Special Edition"
Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:01 AM
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May 3, 2007
Rate a Church
(Filed under: Evangelism & Outreach)Just stumbled across the unique and somewhat tongue-in-cheek site ChurchRater from Off the Map (the guys who bought an atheist on eBay). It's exactly what it sounds like, a site to rate churches. It reminds me of much less serious and more open source version of Guest Reflections.
It also seems like a promotional after-thought for the book Jim & Casper Go to Church: Frank Conversation About Faith, Churches, and Well-Meaning Christians. (link via Knightopia)
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 5:49 PM
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Environmental Ethics And Church Marketing
(Filed under: Philosophy)Creation care. Environmental ethics. Going green. All right, go ahead and pull your jaw off of the floor and calm the smoke from your ears. Many evangelical Christians hate the idea of acknowledging environmental issues. They believe there are much more pressing issues of moral decadence where we ought to be doing battle instead. Some churches, however, disagree.
Many Christians have joined the environmental movement. Some have even apologized for their initial reaction. (Now if we could only lead the way in culture instead of shunning it to finally give up and apologize.) The growing minority of environmentally-minded Christians is growing--slowly, but surely.
Continue reading "Environmental Ethics And Church Marketing"
Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:10 AM
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May 2, 2007
You Said It: Comment Roundup
(Filed under: Comment Spotlight)Sometimes here at Church Marketing Sucks, you say something and we think, "Man, why didn't we say that?" Sometimes it's a great story of agreement. Sometimes it's a sharp quip. Sometimes it's a harsh rebuke. It's most always more interesting than what was said originally. So here we are with a solid evidence that commenting is good. Enjoy some great comments we've seen on recent posts:
- "When I did children's ministry, especially outdoor. Mascots were the best 'marketing' I could do; kids remembered my lion as he walked the streets handing out balloons and invites to our street event. Every week we used the mascot to go out and bring the kids in for our street event." - Tim Bednar on Church "Mascots" For Children's Ministry
- "I get my gossip from the pews ... Feels more hot off the press that way." - Drew on Understanding Attack Blogs
Continue reading "You Said It: Comment Roundup"
Posted by Joshua Cody at 4:22 PM
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Church Marketing Synonyms Poll
(Filed under: Poll Results)
Last week, we asked you how you would describe church marketing. The majority of you, 56% actually, would describe it as "intentional communication." That sounds to us like 56% of you are right on board with us.
13% of you believe church marketing is perfectly correlated with evangelism. When you tell someone about Christ, you are marketing. When you create something, you are marketing to have people come to Christ. Another 19% of you took the positive stance describing marketing as "community outreach." Church marketing is your way to let people know you exist and know you care.
A lesser number of you don't look on church marketing so fondly. 9% of you describe it as "manipulation," and 3% of you think it "heresy." You ought to check out these entries to understand why we do what we do.
As always, tell us what you said and why in the comments. How does your church treat marketing?
This week, we want to know a little bit more about you, so let us know who you are and what you do!
Posted by Joshua Cody at 5:44 AM
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May 1, 2007
What Makes a Church Grow?
(Filed under: Evangelism & Outreach)Wanting your church to grow isn't enough. You have to take intentional action to make it happen. (Disclaimer: Yes, God makes it grow, not us. But God uses us to make it grow--by inviting our neighbors, living out our faith, etc. OK? Put the stones down.) And now we have stats to back that up. The Facts on Growth report from Hartford Seminary explores key factors in making a church grow. And it comes down to planning for growth. Among the common factors for churches that have grown:
- Multiple services.
- Launching or maintaining a web site in the past year.
- Racial diversity.
- Involving children in worship.
- Avoiding major conflict.
It's important to note that none of these are clear paths to bringing more people into your church to hear about Jesus. They're all indicators that these are mission-minded churches doing what it takes to draw people in. And as we all know, the number of butts in pews means nothing if you're not also seeing Christ in hearts. (link via Turtle Interactive, which also shares some best practices for church web sites)
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:11 AM
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