Church Marketing Sucks: July 2007 Archives

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July 31, 2007

Welcome to the Internet Poll Results

(Filed under: Poll Results)

Last week we asked if your church utilizes any web 2.0 technologies. Here are the results:

The good news is that the most used technology is social networking. Networking socially is important, you know? The bad news is that the most used technology is only used by 20% of respondents. Right after social networking is blogging, which 19% of your churches use. It's really a great tool, you other 81% should check it out (The Blogging Church can help get you started).

Lately, we've talked a lot about online video. And 16% of you are already on that train; good for you! 12% of you post pictures to a photo site. What kind of innovative things do you use photo sharing for? You guys should link to those in the comments.

Rounding out the bottom, 7% of you do something else web 2.0ish and 1% of you have a wiki. Cool.

15% of you are still working on web 1.0, and 10% of you have no idea what web 2.0 is. Wikipedia can tell you, or you can check out our series on What Web 2.0 Means for the Church.

This week, we want to know how you feel about our new Job Lab and Freelance Lab. Make sure to vote!

Posted by Joshua Cody at 11:29 AM
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July 27, 2007

Building A Network

(Filed under: Evangelism & Outreach)

by Kevin Peterson, Guest Blogger

Call it church marketing if you want, but Southeast Christian in Louisville, Ky. (my own church) is taking a unique approach to reaching the community.

Kyle Idleman has taken a three-part sermon series and turned it on its ear. The series is focused on prayer, not so much how to pray, but why we should pray. In an effort to connect the community to prayer, 25 small ballot boxes were placed around town.

You’ll find them in restaurants, doctor’s offices, bus stations, stores and even a prison. Each box has a simple sign letting people know they can write their prayer request on a slip of paper and a church in their community will pray for them. Or if they would like they can visit www.prayerboxnetwork.com and enter their request or praise online.

Continue reading "Building A Network"

Posted by Guest Blogger at 11:48 AM
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Church Marketing Lab: T-Shirts, Car Shows and Beyond

(Filed under: Peer Review)

As the weather heats up, there's no better place to go than the beach. Or the pool. Or if neither of those are an option--the Church Marketing Lab! We've got our weekly sampling of what's been going on so you can click on in and head over.

Here's the logo for a Russian outreach program.

Continue reading "Church Marketing Lab: T-Shirts, Car Shows and Beyond"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 12:52 AM
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July 26, 2007

Church YouTube Contest

(Filed under: Advertising)

A few days ago we talked about online church video. We encouraged everyone to embrace the phenomenon of online video and harness its power. One church in Boston is doing just that.

The Greater Boston Vineyard is having a YouTube video contest for their fall kick-off service. It's certainly an interesting way to harness the power of web 2.0 and mobilize church members outside of church walls. I see some really good things coming of this.

Continue reading "Church YouTube Contest"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 11:25 AM
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July 25, 2007

Top 20 Church Logos

(Filed under: Brand & Identity)

Church Relevance has compiled a list of the top 20 church logos. According to Kent Schaffer, blogger and co-owner of Bombay Creative, a good logo is:

Distinctive. Memorable. And timeless.

It is aesthetically pleasing.

It is scalable, looking good while as large as a billboard or as small as a dime. It looks good in color as well as black and white. And it is simple enough that it can be applied to a media spectrum as broad as paper to plastic and t-shirts to websites.

Most importantly, a good logo communicates the unique qualities of its brand.

What do you think? Do you agree with his definition of a good logo? Do you think these are good selections for the top 20? Who would you have included?

Posted by Joshua Cody at 8:30 AM
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Three Years Poll Results

(Filed under: Poll Results)

A few weeks ago, we broke a new record in low responses by polling you about what polls you liked best. This week, we challenged that by asking you another question about CMS history. The moral of the story? CMS readers are so forward-thinking and ahead of the curve that what we used to do doesn't matter.

Either way, here's what you thought about our favorite offerings in our first three years:

The most popular response was that you enjoy hearing about what churches are doing. 24% of you enjoy these posts the most, so we'll keep them coming! In the same range, 22% of you enjoy our Lab offerings and 20% of you like when we talk about the future of church marketing.

16% of you are more in touch with our philosophical side and like to hear our musings on church marketing philosophy. 7% enjoy our polls more than anything else. Keep checking back on Tuesdays and we'll keep updating those. Remember to vote from as many IP addresses as possible! Not really, that was a joke.

8% of you are here as spies looking to frown upon us for our liberal, scamming, blasphemous ways. Welcome! 3% of you like something else we do. What's that? Let us know in the comments. And finally, a whopping 0% of you enjoy our Q&As the most. Perhaps we'll do some more of those in the future.

This week, we're away from questions about CMS and back to the good stuff. What web 2.0 apps does your church use? We've asked this before, and we're checking in to make sure you guys are keeping with the curve. Head over and vote now!

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:50 AM
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July 24, 2007

Cheap, Fast and Good?

(Filed under: Peer Review)

In the Church Marketing Lab, 'shawncampbell' asks the following question:

The concept is simple--There are three choices for any project: budget, timeline, and quality, but only two can be a priority. If it needs to be good and fast, it'll be expensive. But, if it must be cheap and good, it'll take a while. Cheap and fast will lack quality.
Can you have all three?

What have your experiences been with this? Have you seen all three work in any situation? Is this a policy worth using, or have you seen it proved otherwise?

Head over and help 'shawncampbell' out!

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:22 AM
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July 23, 2007

Embracing Online Video

(Filed under: Evangelism & Outreach)

According to comScore, 75% of Internet users watched online video in May 2007, averaging 158 minutes per viewer. Nearly 8.4 billion videos were streamed online in the month of May. That's a lot.

Online video isn't a market that's too saturated to succeed in, either. It's not even a market that can become too saturated to succeed. If you missed the boat on the whole web 2.0 craze, you should read up on it. No matter how many videos stream online (in our case, 8,357,000,000), if you have a solid message and something fresh to offer, you can succeed.

Continue reading "Embracing Online Video"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 3:56 PM
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July 21, 2007

Church Marketing Lab: Barbecues and Coffee Shops

(Filed under: Peer Review)

This week in the Church Marketing Lab, we did what we do best. Help change the world. Here's some samples of how we saw that working this week:

Here's a sermon graphic for a question and answer series.

Continue reading "Church Marketing Lab: Barbecues and Coffee Shops"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 1:33 PM
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July 18, 2007

Grow Your Church By Asking People to Leave

(Filed under: Evangelism & Outreach)

Craig Groeschel at LifeChurch.tv has an interesting series of blog posts on getting people to leave your church. It seems completely counter-intuitive, but it makes sense. If people aren't moving your church forward, they're dead weight (which is kind of scary--am I dead weight?). And it's not just about helping your church, it's also about helping those people find the church for them.

Craig gives an example where he preached on the church's vision trying to get everybody on board. If people weren't on board with the vision, he asked them to find another church. He even offered brochures from 10 other churches he knew and recommended. It was a serious challenge and 500 people ended up leaving. Most people would freak out at that thought. Not Craig:

The next week, we had about 500 new seats for people who could get excited about the vision. Within a short period of time, God filled those seats with passionate people. Many of those who left our church found great, biblical churches where they could worship and use their gifts.
Everybody won!

That's why I sometimes say, "You can grow your church by asking people to leave."

Craig focuses on making leaving a church a graceful option and a positive thing and not the bitter experience it often is.

Or for a, uh, slightly different perspective, there's Mark Driscoll from his book Confessions of a Reformission Rev:

"The church is a body, and one of the most important parts is the colon. Like the human body, any church body without a colon is destined for sickness that leads to death." (page 131)

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:24 AM
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July 17, 2007

New Church Location Poll Results

(Filed under: Poll Results)

For the first time at CMS, we decided to take our poll head to head with another poll. Last month, we asked the question, "Where should a new church meet?" In that post, we cited a report that asked the same question as us; here's the result comparison:

60% of CMS readers say it makes no difference whether you meet in a church building or a non-church building. That number was a bit higher, 73%, in the North American Mission Board's poll.

Only 9% of you thought it would negatively impact your decision of joining a church if they met in a non-traditional church building, while 19% of the previous poll's respondents answered the same.

The largest disparity is that 20% of you would be positively affected by not meeting in a traditional building, while only 6% agreed in the earlier study.

Finally, 11% of you are unsure, while only 2% of the previously mentioned poll were unsure. The results? I don't know about you, but I think they all point to one answer: CMS readers are far superior to the general public.

This week, make sure you let us know what you like about us! The new poll is up, so head over and vote.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 9:24 AM
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July 16, 2007

Job Lab & Freelance Lab Roundup

(Filed under: News & Updates)

Our Job Lab and Freelance Lab are still going strong, and we wanted to make sure all you churches and communicators are effectively connecting, so here's a reminder and a little tip to what's been going on in our newest Labs:

CJF Ministries is looking for an assistant editor.
Word of Life Fellowship, Inc needs a creative art specialist.
Ginger Creek Community Church is searching for a communications intern.
Williamsburg Community Chapel hopes to find a webmaster.
Summit Heights Church is hoping for help building a homepage.

Do you fit the bill? Do you have a friend who could do the job? Help us help the church, and get connected! Click on over to our Job Lab and Freelance Lab to see just what's going on.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 12:47 PM
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New to the CFCC Ad Network

(Filed under: News & Updates)

This month, we are pleased to welcome three new additions to the CFCC Ad Network:

The Internet Ministry Conference
Training to improve your online ministry.

Outreach Cinema
Engage your community with feature films!

Power2Show Media Player
Use Power2Show to announce activities/events.

We're grateful for the support of these advertisers and the CFCC community.

Posted by Brad Abare at 6:21 AM
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July 13, 2007

Contagious Joy, Use It

(Filed under: First Impressions & Beyond)

"When hundreds of you come flooding out of the church after services every weekend, your heads are high, your shoulders are back and your enthusiasm is obvious. Take that same joy and energy and put it into the community."

These were the words spoken by a member of the local city council in the community where our church is located. The small group my wife Jamaica and I are a part of attended last night's city council meeting to present a preliminary proposal for portable shower stations that could be strategically placed around the city as a courtesy to the local homeless population; a city with one of the highest concentration of homeless in Los Angeles county.

Continue reading "Contagious Joy, Use It"

Posted by Brad Abare at 7:40 AM
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Church Marketing Lab: Logos, Buttons, and More

(Filed under: Peer Review)

Last week, we took a week off from our Church Marketing Lab to celebrate our big milestones of a thousand members and two thousand submissions. This week, we're back to business and letting you know just what's been going up in the Church Marketing Lab.

Ladysmith Lutheran Ministries is working on a new logo.

Continue reading "Church Marketing Lab: Logos, Buttons, and More"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:10 AM
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July 12, 2007

Why Your Fancy Web Site Sucks

(Filed under: Web Sites)

by Tim Wall, Guest Blogger

Your web site really sucks when you try to be fancy. Yes, I'm talking to you, Mr. Front-Page-Guy with your blinking animations and scrolling text. But I'm also talking to you, Mr. High-End-Web-Guy with all that stunningly beautiful functionality few people care about or use.

No matter our skill set, we all fall victim to the insatiable desire for fanciness. I know I did. I had lots of resources. I was working in a big ol' church with a big ol' budget spending lots of time and money creating new features that, once implemented, were rarely used by more than 5% of our congregation. That's right. I wanted to innovate. I wanted to be different. I wanted to be fancy. Too bad I didn't actually create something useful.

Continue reading "Why Your Fancy Web Site Sucks"

Posted by Guest Blogger at 6:20 AM
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July 11, 2007

Buzz Film Fest

(Filed under: Multimedia)

The Buzz Conference wrapped up in Washington, D.C., a few weeks back and the results of their film festival are now online. You can watch the four top church films to see some examples of cool church videos.

For those who didn't get to attend (like me), you can also download audio or watch video from the main session speakers (folks like Mark Batterson, Tim Stevens and Craig Groeschel).

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 5:39 PM
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July 4th Poll Results

(Filed under: Poll Results)

We at Church Marketing Sucks hope that you had a great 4th of July. That being said, last week, we asked you just how you would be celebrating. Here's what you said:

39% of you are focusing on Jesus rather than the Fouth, ignoring the holiday altogether. I feel a controversy a-brewin'. How did this go over? Did you guys get some heat? Slightly less, 17%, went with a patriotic song. God Bless the USA, I'm Proud to Be an American or our national anthem, I'd presume.

11% of you went with the full-fledged emotionally stirring patriotic tribute during the service. Go big or go home, right? And 10% of you went with a picnic, grill-out extravaganza. On a pyrotechnically disappointing note, only 6% of you had fireworks.

8% of you decked out the sanctuary in red, white, and blue, and 6% opted to spend the day serving the community. Coming in last place was an outreach to troops and their families, with only 3% of churches taking that route.

Now that it's a week later and hindsight is 20/20, how did it work out for you? Did you guys have successful Fouths? What would you change?

Don't forget to head over and vote this week as we want to know what it would matter to you where a new church meets.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 4:01 AM
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July 10, 2007

Oops: Mistakes in Church Leadership

(Filed under: Church Business)

Craig Groeschel is sharing four mistakes he's made at LifeChurch.tv. I think it's always helpful when people share their mistakes so you can learn from them and hopefully not make the same ones.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 12:31 PM
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July 5, 2007

Turning Churches into Homeless Shelters

(Filed under: The Christian Walk)

I stumbled on this satirical and presumably fictional piece last month. The fact that it quotes big-name mega-church pastors in the Twin Cities gives it an eerie feeling of authenticity. But what if it were true?

A network of large Christian churches in Minnesota's Twin Cities has announced a multi-point plan to fight homelessness. The announcement of the "Twin Cities Open Door Campaign" comes in response to what leaders are calling a "crisis of conscience" and contains many bold measures, most notably, plans to make church building spaces available to overnight guests that will be bussed to and from city centers.
"There are thousands on the street in this town and we've got these big, beautiful buildings just sitting here most nights," said Leith Anderson, Pastor of Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie. Anderson, who also heads the National Association of Evangelicals, acknowledged skepticism, "Oh, we know people will think this is a joke, but we're quite serious. We hope we can provide a brand new model of how something like this might work for churches in other cities where shelters are overcrowded." ...

Some shudder to call this marketing, but as many have said before--doing what you're meant to do is the best form of marketing (which is why everyone is so excited about the iPhone).

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:46 AM
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You Said It: June Comment Roundup

(Filed under: Comment Spotlight)

Around here, it's 50% what we say, and 90% what you guys say that matters. Wait, no. Oh well. Without your comments, we couldn't spread our message with nearly as much conviction or success, so here's some interesting things you all had to say in June...

"I think this shows that it's not cool worship bands that draw people to a church ... it's the people that live like Christ that draw people to a church." -Big Mike Lewis on Keeping A Church Poll Results
"I'm pretty sure that 2000 some-odd years of church history has shown make disciples to be the most sure fire way to keep'm coming back ... Well that and serving up fresh Starbucks with fresh Krispy Kremes never hurts either." - Mean Dean on Keeping A Church Poll Results

Continue reading "You Said It: June Comment Roundup"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:30 AM
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July 3, 2007

Marketing, (Re?)Defined

(Filed under: Peer Review)

Over in the Church Marketing Lab, there's some good discussion going on about the definition of marketing.

It all started when user 'blogpaul' put forth this marketing definition:

mar·ket·ing /ˈmɑrkɪtɪŋ/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[mahr-ki-ting] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
1. the act of buying or selling in a market.
2. the total of activities involved in the transfer of goods from the producer or seller to the consumer or buyer, including advertising, shipping, storing, and selling.

Is the current definition obsolete? In the context of contemporary life, what are goods and services? If you're into the church, marketing, photo shopping, arguments, John Maynard Keynes, or dictionaries, you'd better get in on this discussion.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:23 AM
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Church Marketing Lab Poll Results

(Filed under: Poll Results)

Last week, we wanted to know what your current position was in our Church Marketing Lab. You weighed in, and here's what you had to say:

The majority of you said 'A member of the what now?' 38% of you, to be exact. Well, welcome first time visitors and extremely busy or possibly inattentive frequenters! Our Church Marketing Lab is our effort to help improve the quality of design work in the church and move churches forward in marketing themselves. Read some more here on our 'What We Offer' page.

Moving on, the next biggest group of you, 29%, are quiet lurkers. Get in on the discussion! I wish we could do a sub-poll of those 29% to see why you guys lurk. I'm sure some of us are just too busy, but realize that everyone is a consumer of media, and you all know what works best! So let people know!

There's a tie between those who are integral to the CML and those who are too busy for the CML. Special thanks to the first, and we'll reiterate on the second: No, we don't believe you. Only kidding. Kind of. Drop by sometime and let us know what you think.

Thanks so much for letting us know more about your interaction with our Church Marketing Lab. This week, tell us what kind of celebration your church is doing for the 4th!

Posted by Joshua Cody at 12:49 AM
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July 2, 2007

Mad Church Disease Awareness

(Filed under: Interviews)

The good thing about Church Marketing Sucks is that we're people. People have friends. Thus, we have friends. Anne Jackson comes out of this simple logic. She's written for us before, and she likes to hang around and help church marketing not suck. We're pretty proud to know her.

She's got a new project she's working on called Mad Church Disease. It's about the epidemic of burnout among church staff and volunteers. Church marketing and communication sucks when it burns out your staff, so this is an important issue to consider. I sat down (virtually, via e-mail) with Anne to get the proper diagnosis.

Continue reading "Mad Church Disease Awareness"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:57 AM
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