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February 29, 2008

Gospel, Free of Charge

(Filed under: The Christian Walk)

Reading what Paul had to say today was an interesting challenge to me as I look to share the gospel with others, and I think it will be a challenge to churches as well.

"What then is my reward? That, when I preach the gospel, I may offer the gospel without charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel." (1 Corinthians 9:18 NASB)

Free. There's a marketing term that every corporation wishes they could use more often. As you set up programming, think about how to market and consider the best way to reach out, remember that our ultimate reward is to present the gospel without charge. There's no way to market like letting people know the gospel is free.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:53 AM
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February 28, 2008

Lent as the Christian Ramadan

(Filed under: Evangelism & Outreach)

We're playing telephone today: we got a link from the Cheapertising blog who highlighted the Get Religion blog who covered a story from the Telegraph. It takes a timely look at the season of Lent in the Netherlands, and a current re-branding that's under way. I'll quote:

"Dutch Catholics have re-branded the Lent fast as the 'Christian Ramadan' in an attempt to appeal to young people who are more likely to know about Islam than Christianity."

As the season of Lent has become less important for the Dutch over the past years, they feel something must be done. Martin Van der Kull, director of Vastenaktie, a Catholic charity, had this to say:

"The image of the Catholic Lent must be polished. The fact that we use a Muslim term is related to the fact that Ramadan is a better-known concept among young people than Lent."

Defining a Christian event in Muslim terms is a foreign concept, especially here in Protestant America. But thinking deeper, is it really so bad to explain Lent as a "Christian Ramadan?" It seems like at least a good way to communicate what happens during Lent to a non-Christian listener. Either way, it's sure an interesting way to market your church in a Muslim location, and it keeps with our international theme of late.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:07 AM
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February 27, 2008

Weight Loss and Sex

(Filed under: The Christian Walk)

Being fat and being sexy are two things that generally always lead to getting attention. From Victoria's Secret to The Biggest Looser, let's face it, we like looking at people. Two stories in recent weeks speak to this fascination we have with such topics by turning our desire to feel good and look good into a challenge.

You've heard about Relevant Church in Tampa, Fla. and their challenge to married couples to have sex every day for 30 days and to singles to abstain from sex for 30 days. But before all that hanky-panky, we should probably lose a little weight. In their daily "Across the USA" wrap-up on February 19, USA Today referenced the story out of Oklahoma City about the 15 “predominately black” churches that are participating in a weight-loss challenge. Zora Brown, a health care official with Integris Health, initiated the contest. Brown wants to address the “health disparities among blacks by fighting obesity.”

Although I do have my reservations about the approach for the sex-o-rama drive, I applaud both of these campaigns for their desire to see healthy relationships and healthy bodies. These are both really practical ways for bringing people together around a very worthwhile cause. The way these campaigns include insiders and outsiders is also a home-run.

Posted by Brad Abare at 6:13 AM
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February 26, 2008

Starbucks' 3-Hour Downtime

(Filed under: Promotion)

From 5:30-8:30 this evening, there's going to be trouble. Feet will tap, heads will ache and sweat will trickle down restless foreheads. Starbucks is closing.

6 weeks ago, Howard Schultz took over the reins (again) as CEO of Starbucks. Since then, he's been on a mission to return the company to its previous form. Today, every store throughout the nation will close for three hours for "remedial espresso training." Or in Schultz' terms, "to teach, educate and share our love of coffee, and the art of espresso."

I beg to differ. This might be about a better cup of coffee, but there's a lot more to it than that, and it's pretty slick.

Continue reading "Starbucks' 3-Hour Downtime"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 11:00 AM
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NFL Gives in to Churches

(Filed under: Evangelism & Outreach)

Woohoo! Victory!

Reports are surfacing (via my investigative reporting of the espn.com main page) that the NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is giving up the fight against religious organizations holding live showings of the Super Bowl.

If you keep up with us, you've probably know of the church-NFL tension stemming from last year's Super Bowl. Essentially, churches were having Super Bowl parties and the NFL was getting mad because, unless you're a bar, you aren't allowed to have game screenings when the display is larger than 55".

We've talked about this again and again. And again. And again.

Comments on the original article show there's a possible hullabaloo coming up with the NFL exempting "religious organizations." (Although they already exempt bars.) Some folks aren't too happy about this exception to the rule. What about community centers? What about non-religious folks? It will be interesting to see how churches respond to getting this special status.

As for me, I only know of Jesus discussing football or the Super Bowl once...

Posted by Joshua Cody at 10:31 AM
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Sermon Formats Poll Results

(Filed under: Poll Results)

There's lots of different ways to make your sermons available. In a few years, you'll probably just be able to stream them live to a chip in your members' head while they sleep; for now, however, we wanted to know which technologies you currently use to distribute your sermons.

The most common way to share your sermons is an audio download. 30% of you are rocking this method. Digital is fun as costs are cheap and files are portable. I guess the next step is to revisit your payment plans for sermon audio.

Just a few less of you, 29% to be exact, offer your sermons on CD. It'd be interesting to hear if the rise of digital audio has brought CD sales down at all in your church.

The next best thing, and rounding out the audio portion of our poll, is the cassette tape. Wowzers. 10% of you make cassettes of your messages available. Hey, if folks need it, more power to you. The last cassette I can remember buying myself is Ace of Base.

Video doesn't seem to be catching on quite as strongly as audio. 9% of you offer DVDs of messages, and 8% of you offer a video download of sermons. There's other options here, too -- video podcasts and streaming video come to mind. A lot of folks these days just don't have time to sit and watch a whole video.

4% of you offer a text download, and 4% offer a paper copy. It's nice to see that reading isn't totally dead yet.

The final 6% offer a resounding, "Be there or be square." If folks miss out, you don't subsidize their absence, you make them hear it from a friend.

So let us know in the comments, what did we forget? How do you share your church audio? And while you're at it, answer this week's question, in which way does your church most often use the Internet for ministry?

Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:42 AM
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February 25, 2008

Church Marketing: Belgian Style

(Filed under: Interviews)

We had a lot of fun interviewing Drew from England a few weeks ago and hearing what he had to say about church marketing in the UK. So much fun, as a matter of fact, that we wanted to hear from folks in other places.

So this week we'll let you in on our conversation with Philip Tregunna, a design and advertising specialist from Belgium who has a soft spot for churches.

Philip, tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do.

Philip: I'm 28, I graduated in graphic design and advertising a couple of years ago and since then I've been working as a conceptual creative for local and international brands in a number of advertising agencies. In my free time I've been helping various Christian churches and organisations with their designs and communications as a volunteer.

Continue reading "Church Marketing: Belgian Style"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 5:31 AM
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February 23, 2008

Church Marketing Lab: Easter Countdown

(Filed under: Peer Review)

There's only one month and two days until Easter. Are all your graphics ready? If not, head to the Church Marketing Lab, get some inspiration and submit your designs. The folks there will help you work out the kinks in all of your Easter plans.

We won't Christmas-fy Easter and make the whole Lenten season about pastels, fake eggs and cute rabbits. So here's a little of what's been going on in the Church Marketing Lab, with just a hint of Easter work.

Next Step is rebranding their program to go from visiting to membership to serving.

Continue reading "Church Marketing Lab: Easter Countdown"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 8:08 AM
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February 21, 2008

Association vs. Action

(Filed under: Events)

Over the last couple of years I was a part of the planning team for a Foursquare sponsored event in Anaheim, Calif., this past December. It was a gathering of 3,500 students coming around three ambitious causes: fighting poverty, caring for orphans and ending modern day slavery. In spite of lower-than-hoped-for attendance, it was a really great event with many God-moments.

I know I’m a little slow sometimes, but it is now hitting me why events with students and young adults are so different these days than they were ten years ago. Gone are the days when event-goers were content with being captivated by the energy of crowds and connected with like-minded peers. It used to be that you could put on an event with awesome experiences (technical) and spectacular content (spiritual) and it would be a winning combination with little competition. These days, events are a dime-a-dozen with often little distinction between purpose, people or participants.

Continue reading "Association vs. Action"

Posted by Brad Abare at 10:25 AM
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February 20, 2008

The 30-Day Sex Challenge

(Filed under: Promotion)

Here's an interesting tidbit about a church campaign to promote, well, sexuality and um, effective sexual habits. (And their current series, of course.) Here's the skinny:

• Married couples: Have sex daily for 30 days.
• Singles: No sex for you. Not even in a committed relationship. At least for 30 days.
• Everyone: Follow with Relevant Church in their series and study guide for a month.

Continue reading "The 30-Day Sex Challenge"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 12:22 PM
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February 19, 2008

Valentine's Day Poll Results

(Filed under: Poll Results)

Cupid has come and gone, chocolate is now on sale and star-crossed lovers are no longer smelling the roses. Last week, we asked how many of you would be celebrating Valentine's Day at church with a love, marriage, dating, sex, etc. series. Here's what you had to say:

25% of you are jumping on the opportunity. You're looking to convince the world that the Bible has something to say about this whole love thing.

Slightly less of you, 22%, are sticking to the liturgical calendar. If the schedule says to celebrate St. Valentine, then by gosh, you'll do it.

But by far, the big winner are those of you who are kicking love to the curb this Valentine's Day. Maybe you don't want to use a series to talk about these things, maybe they just didn't fit in or maybe you just hate love--whatever it might be, we hope you enjoyed your non-romantic Valentine's Sunday.

This week, we're asking you, how does your church make its sermons available to those who want them?

Posted by Joshua Cody at 5:18 AM
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February 18, 2008

Lessons from 15 Compassion International Bloggers

(Filed under: Technology)

Last week the child sponsorship organization Compassion International took 15 Christian bloggers to Uganda to see what child sponsorship looks like firsthand. Among those bloggers are musician Shaun Groves, BooMama blogger Sophie, worship leader Carlos Whittaker and Church Marketing Sucks guest blogger Anne Jackson among others. It's quite a group.

And they've been taking pictures, shooting video and penning words about their experience, describing how the $32 a month of child sponsorship can change a life. And not just a life, but an entire family's life.

It's big. You have to be made of stone to hear these stories and turn away unchanged. If I weren't saving every penny and selling half my crap for my own adoption, I'd be sponsoring one of these kids (even though I have my own questions about sponsorship).

What's central here is the power of a story.

Continue reading "Lessons from 15 Compassion International Bloggers"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 9:29 AM
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Church Marketing Lab: Logos and Provocative Posters

(Filed under: Peer Review)

We've had a great round of our typically beautiful and provocative designs in the Church Marketing Lab this week, and we're here to show you a little bit of that, so check it out:

This is a cover, born of a collaboration between two Church Marketing Lab members, for a student guide on issues in Africa.

Continue reading "Church Marketing Lab: Logos and Provocative Posters"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 8:42 AM
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February 13, 2008

One Word Marketing

(Filed under: Brand & Identity)

Recently, our own Brad Abare raised the question, "What word do you own?" on the Personality™ blog.

He discusses a recent Advertising Age article (subscription required) exploring the importance of your brand owning a single word. They look at political rhetoric to make this point as the nominees seek to associate a single word with their campaigns. Brad quotes from the article:

If you want to run for office, if you want to launch a new brand, if you want to jump-start your business career, the first question to ask yourself begins: 'What word do I want to own in the minds of my prospects..."

So here's the question for you: What word are you trying to own? When people think of your church, is there one word that you seek after most, and are you doing a good job of chasing that word?

Posted by Joshua Cody at 10:58 AM
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February 12, 2008

Obama Disses Church Marketing

(Filed under: Off the Wall)

All right, so it wasn't that bad, and it's probably a statement most of you would agree with, but here's a quote from a Barack Obama speech (video or text), where he takes a shot at church marketing while explaining why church marketing is necessary:

"Americans are a religious people. 90% of us believe in God, 70% affiliate themselves with an organized religion, 38% call themselves committed Christians. Substantially more people in America believe in angels than they do in evolution. This religious tendency is not simply the result of successful marketing by skilled preachers or the draw of popular megachurches. In fact, it speaks to a hunger that is deeper than that, a hunger that goes deeper than any particular issue or cause. Each day it seems, that thousands of Americans who are going about their daily rounds--they're dropping off their kids, they're driving to the office, they're flying to a business meeting, they're shopping at the mall, they're trying to stay on their diets--and they're coming to the realization that something's missing. They're deciding that their work, their possessions, their diversions, their sheer business is not enough. They want a sense of purpose, a narrative arc to their life; they're looking to relieve a chronic loneliness, a feeling supported by a recent study that shows Americans have fewer close friends and confidants than ever before, and so they need assurance that someone out there cares about them, is listening to them. That they are not just destined to travel down that long highway towards nothingness."

These days, politicians aren't known for being in touch with the common person. But even politicians can see that Average Joe is looking for something deeper. Are you letting your community know you're there and you're open? Are you doing remarkable things?

Posted by Joshua Cody at 8:12 AM
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Wifi Sharing Poll Results

(Filed under: Poll Results)

So we've talked about your church, the wifi sharer, and last week, we wanted to put stats to our speculation. Here's what you told us about your own church's wifi sharing habits:

Much better than the frequent poll where a single choice gets 90% of the vote, we had a tie at the top this week. Hooray for competition! 28% of you thought, "No way!" on the grounds that folks might end up hacking the Pentagon or viewing inappropriate content on your dime. You either don't want the legal liability or the moral liability of contributing to their shenanigans.

Another 28% of you are silent sharers. You like to keep things looking tight, but if someone asks for the password, they can easily get it. That way, you can profile the person asking for the password and determine whether to give it out to them--kidding, of course.

Next up are the 26% of churches who run a public, open hot spot. You like to keep people hanging around, and perhaps you even serve some coffee or pastries or even something else. How does this work for you? Any run-ins with the law yet?

A final 17% of you ask, "What's wireless access?' I say...well, I don't know what to say to that. You could drop a line to al.gore@algore.com. He should be able to tell you.

Now, with love abounding this week, we want to know, around Valentine's Day, is your church doing a love/marriage/dating/sex series?

Posted by Joshua Cody at 5:22 AM
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February 11, 2008

Microsites, Through the Launch Lens

(Filed under: Web Sites)

You've probably heard of it, seen it or even participated in it. Many churches launch microsites these days to go with new ventures. Some folks have never even considered a microsite or why it might be of any help. Well, that's why we're here. We heard of a church who had particular success with a microsite to promote a new campaign, and we have their story for you.

Scott Morris, creative pastor of NORTHchurch.tv, sent us an e-mail regarding the marketing push they recently made. Check out the campaign and what he had to say:

"Our church is NORTHchurch. It started five and a half years ago with three people and no church or organization sponsoring us. Up until September of '07, we had grown to about 650 people. In September, we decided to add two new Saturday night services. We came up with the idea of LAUNCH (and his roomies) to help us promote it. It started with a video introducing the four characters, then a couple of odds and ends videos (all with volunteers--even the video guy). Our last video was with the Mayor of Oklahoma City. It’s really cool! Anyways, it was totally a viral campaign (our first)--we had a Flickr, MySpace, Wiffiti, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, on and on. We used Google Analytics to track it and ended up with over 8,200 hits from 70 countries. So on the first weekend of our new Saturday services, we added about 250 new people. Now it's been a month, and we averaged 840 people in January.

Continue reading "Microsites, Through the Launch Lens"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 1:41 PM
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February 8, 2008

How to Write Scannable Copy for the Web

(Filed under: Writing & Editing)

I feel like I talk about how to write for the web all the time (and even wrote a long how-to back in August), but we could always use a refresher. Here are six quick tips for writing scannable copy:

• Use an appropriate line length.
• Break the text into many paragraphs.
• Use headers and subheaders.
• Lists and bullet points, please!
• Use bold and italics typefaces (but not at the same time--that's just stupid).
• Images are your friends (but the image has to be real and relevant).

Church Copy Sucks
And these tips still apply to all things churchy, including sermons, event announcements, letters from the pastor, business meeting minutes, theological exhortations or whatever copy you have.

Basically, if you want people to read it, you need to make it easy to read.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 5:37 AM
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February 7, 2008

Jesus' Ministry Marketing

(Filed under: The Christian Walk)

If you have a free minute, you might want to check out what Kent Shaffer has to say over at Church Relevance. He's currently on part three of a four part series--Jesus' Ministry Marketing--considering what ideal church marketing looks like.

He's been taking a look at the book of Mark and begins by considering the four P's of marketing: product, price, place and promotion.

Head over and follow along...

Posted by Joshua Cody at 11:46 AM
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Church Marketing Lab: Drawing Board to Final Product

(Filed under: Peer Review)

In the Church Marketing Lab, it makes us proud to see a project go from concept to completion. We get to watch the entire process and even have the chance to help out a little bit. Here's what I mean. Hopefully it will inspire you to be a part of what goes on over there every day.

Here are some original, hand-drawn concepts for a ministry, "Serve Erie."

Continue reading "Church Marketing Lab: Drawing Board to Final Product"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 8:18 AM
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February 5, 2008

Paying for Church Poll Results

(Filed under: Poll Results)

As you browse the Internet, you're likely to find tons of church resources. Some are free, some are not. Some are free digitally, but not physically. We asked how you felt about this and what you would pay for, and you let us know.

Those of you happy to buy the digital copy if you miss out on the actual experience are in the vast minority. Only 9% of you would pay for a sermon on a regular basis. I assume this is within the bounds of reasonable costs.

Another 40% of you find yourself in the "maybe" camp. You might try and find a friend who recorded it on their cell phone, look to illegally download it on the Internet or raid the church offices. But if the sermon was great, and there was no other way to get your hands on it, you would pay up.

The majority of you, 51%, wouldn't pay up for a digital copy. You're OK with paying for the physical copy, but digital should be free. After all, the cost to the church is minimal, and you shouldn't be punished for staying home with your sick kids.

This week, we're asking, does your church provide open wireless access for anyone to use?

Posted by Joshua Cody at 1:27 PM
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21 Factors to Consider Before a Redesign

(Filed under: Web Sites)

If your church is thinking about a redesign (and who isn't?), you might want to check out 21 factors to consider before a redesign. It's exactly what it sounds like and covers a lot of the important bases when considering a redesign, from content to tech to design. It's a good way to make sure you ask the questions you need to ask.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:27 AM
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February 4, 2008

Church Marketing Lessons From Haiti, Part 3

(Filed under: Examples)

This is part three in a three-part series about church marketing lessons learned from my recent trip to Haiti.

Preach the Word, Not the Problem
In a post earlier this year, I wrote about getting what you preach for. I was so grateful to learn that pastors in Haiti--at least the ones we were with--are all about preaching the Bible. In a country where the poverty is overwhelming, I thought I'd hear a lot about the physical needs in their messages. Quite the contrary. These pastors are preaching the Word passionately and boldly. The earth is just a temporary landing pad--they know eternity is what matters. And they want to make sure Heaven is crowded! I struggle with how easy it is for me to slip into the mode that says the Bible is all about me and solving my problems when it's really a lot less about me and a whole lot more about God.

Continue reading "Church Marketing Lessons From Haiti, Part 3"

Posted by Brad Abare at 6:45 AM
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February 2, 2008

The NFL vs. Church

(Filed under: Evangelism & Outreach)

I guess tomorrow there's some big game--the Super Bowl or something. They're talking about it in the Church Marketing Lab and churches across the country are having parties--though perhaps warily.

Last year we talked about the NFL's crackdown on church Super Bowl parties. It seems this year it's more of the same. If your church's Super Bowl party involves a screen larger than 55 inches, you could run afoul of the NFL.

And it all seems kind of stupid. Churches want to get a bunch of people together to have a good time (and tell them about Jesus, hope they come back to church, etc.), the NFL wants people to watch the Super Bowl (and the super commercials). Why can't they come up with some kind of solution where everybody can win? We suggested a solution last year, but apparently nobody listened. Can't we all just get along?

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 9:53 AM
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February 1, 2008

Church Marketing Lab: New Web Sites and Beyond

(Filed under: Peer Review)

The Church Marketing Lab is growing leaps and bounds--over 1,600 members and over 3,700 submissions now. And that's not even counting all of the phenomenal discussion topics. If you just check out our updates here, make sure you actually head over and see what's up. These are just a few samples of all the great things actually in the Church Marketing Lab:

Imago Dei is working on a new web site.

Continue reading "Church Marketing Lab: New Web Sites and Beyond"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 9:08 AM
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