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April 30, 2008
Flickr Goes Video, So Does the Church Marketing Lab
(Filed under: News & Updates)If you haven't heard, Flickr added video capabilities to their photo-sharing site. And if you didn't know, the Church Marketing Lab runs on Flickr. What does that mean to you?
Well it means that while you could always submit graphics and photos to the Church Marketing Lab for review and discussion, now you can submit your church's videos as well. Got a series bumper? A skit? Something else?
hsojeel, a Church Marketing Lab member, explains it a little more deeply.
Keep in mind that video is only for pro users, which is a $25/year upgrade from the free Flickr service.
Posted by Joshua Cody at 11:08 AM
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April 29, 2008
Quality Church Resources for Free (or Cheap)
(Filed under: Resources)The folks at Muddy River Media got in touch with us to let us know about their new and free church resource site. So we got to thinking, why not compile some other church resources? But Kent Shaffer of Church Relevance thought it faster. So here is his list of great free and paid church resources.
It's a great list, and I can't think of anything to add to it. Anyone else have some favorites?
Posted by Joshua Cody at 11:02 AM
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Local Labs Poll Results
(Filed under: Poll Results)
Local Labs have really been taking off. They've been organic and exponential so far, so we wanted to see how an average reader would feel about a Local Lab in their own city.
It looks like the majority of you are adventurous souls. You would love to check out a Local Lab and see what it's all about if there was one in your city. Well 23 cities nationwide (and one in Canada!) have Local Labs so far, so you might be in luck. That goes for the 36% of you who would go if it were convenient. It very well might be close to you.
That's 86% of people who would go if the conditions were right. Wow!
Another 11% of you don't really need Local Labs. Is that because you aren't a designer or church marketer? Or are you just that good? And a final 3% of you like to keep your friends on the Internet. Maybe that means we need a Second Life Local Lab on our very own Church Marketing Sucks Island?
And if you want a Local Lab, but there's not one in your area, just head over to the Church Marketing Lab, start a discussion thread titled "Local Lab [your city]" to hook up with some people in your area!
This week, it's a quiz time. The results of this quiz are out there on the Internet, so answer before you find them! And we'll post the study next week. So click through from your RSS reader and check our right sidebar to answer, what percent of churches would you guess have a web site?
Posted by Joshua Cody at 10:29 AM
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April 24, 2008
Church Marketing Lab: Flickr Gets Video
(Filed under: Peer Review)If you're familiar with our Church Marketing Lab, you know it runs as a Flickr group. And if you're familiar with Flickr, you know they recently started allowing the upload of videos up to ninety seconds. Folks in the lab have used the occasion to upload videos containing unicorns, gnomes, peeing dogs, moving heads and the numbers one through thirty. Here's what I mean.
This is a promo for a series inspired by Napoleon Dynamite.
Continue reading "Church Marketing Lab: Flickr Gets Video"
Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:59 AM
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April 23, 2008
Socially Just Poll Results
(Filed under: Poll Results)
As we launched our new Social Justice category, we wanted to know whether your church puts a priority on social justice. Here's the breakdown of what you had to say:
31% of your churches are hit or miss. Some things you emphasize and others you don't. Maybe you drink fair trade coffee but all drive Hummers. There are just some issues that don't resonate with your church.
And slightly less of you, 30%, say your church only has a few issues it emphasizes. Of those of you, what issues seem to be favorites for churches?
17% of your churches are all about the gospel justice, not the social justice. Hey, people need both, so keep bringing that gospel message.
16% of you hit social justice issues most of the time, but not quite always. Are there certain issues you stay away from, or you just can't quite get to all of them?
The final group is the 7% of you who are social justice junkies. If someone shows up in a Hummer without information about the child they sponsor, it's straight to the altar for some laying-on of hands. This is the small, but (probably) vocal minority.
This week, we're looking to find out would you attend a Local Lab meet-up in your area?
Posted by Joshua Cody at 12:54 PM
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Facebook for Pastors
(Filed under: Technology)Chris Forbes just released a free 32-page e-book, Facebook for Pastors. The booklet can help you make the most of Facebook for your church (beyond just playing Scrabble). Check it out.
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:33 AM
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April 22, 2008
The Church & Earth Day
(Filed under: Social Justice)Today's Earth Day and Jason Boyett reminds us that the church can still care about creation. He points to Tri Robinson, a pastor who wrote the book Saving God's Green Earth. The book is all about why the church should care about the environment and includes examples of things Robinson's church has done. The book's web site features a number of resources and may give you some ideas for how your church can be more eco-friendly.
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:01 PM
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What To Do When Someone Steals Your Church
(Filed under: Evangelism & Outreach)
Kinetic Church got in touch with us to tell us a story about themselves, which you may or may not have heard about.
One weekend in early March, our portable church trailer containing about 75% of Kinetic Church's equipment was stolen; leaving our church with virtually nothing.As a result, Kinetic Church created five billboards and multiple web banners in hopes of grabbing the attention of the thieves (and everyone else for that matter).
You think church marketing sucks? Well getting everything your church owns stolen sucks way more. So they ended up getting some billboards loaned to them, and they leveraged the Internet in a couple more ways to try to get their trailer
Continue reading "What To Do When Someone Steals Your Church"
Posted by Joshua Cody at 10:49 AM
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April 21, 2008
Going From Corporate to Non-Profit
(Filed under: Church Business)I'm sure we've got at least a few readers out there who are in the corporate world and thinking of dabbling in the realm of churches. If you're thinking of leaving a job with a profit-making company to one with a nonprofit, there are some issues you need to concern yourself with.
The New York Times writes in a question and answer article "Your True Calling Could Suit a Nonprofit":
Q. What are the biggest misconceptions about switching from the corporate world to the nonprofit world?A. Many people are surprised to find the hours longer and stress greater than in the corporate world. Brian Olson, who left the private sector for a nonprofit in 2006, found the decision-making process to be unfocused.
“No matter how good a volunteer board is, it’s not the same as a corporate board, because everyone has a different agenda,” said Mr. Olson, who returned to the private sector a year later to be vice president for public affairs at Video Professor Inc., a company in Lakewood, Colo., that sells self-tutorial programs. “There was a purity to corporate life I missed,” he said.
Continue reading "Going From Corporate to Non-Profit"
Posted by Joshua Cody at 12:30 PM
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April 18, 2008
Local Labs: How it Worked for Tulsa
(Filed under: News & Updates)I'm sure some of you have heard the buzz surrounding Local Labs, and you're even considering getting involved, but it's a little intimidating. What will they do there? Will I be singled out? What if they hate me? Well, have no fear. Kent Shaffer is to the rescue, telling us a little bit about the Tulsa Local Lab:
The first Tulsa Church Communications lab went pretty well. Six people showed up. Four people were staff at churches, and two worked for design and marketing firms. There were graphic designers, web developers, marketers and IT professionals.Prior to the meeting, we set up a Facebook Page. It helped us get to know each other a little better.
Continue reading "Local Labs: How it Worked for Tulsa"
Posted by Joshua Cody at 10:06 AM
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April 17, 2008
Just Ideas: Make That Coffee Fair Trade
(Filed under: Social Justice)This is part four of a four-part series called "Just Ideas," looking at ways your church can commit itself to fighting for justice and righteousness in the society around you.
The Presbyterians like their sweatshop-free shirts, and the Episcopalians have another idea for you to seek justice. Fair trade coffee. Here's how they describe it on their site:
A growing number of congregations and individuals are buying fair-trade, organic, shade-grown coffee. This means coffee growers in developing countries receive a fair wage for their product, which is grown in an environmentally friendly and sustainable fashion.
So when you're hanging out before and after church, drinking coffee and talking with your friends, what's that cup of joe supporting? Heck, maybe when someone is visiting your church, they'll take a sip of that cup, think about what you're doing and decide they want to be part of something like that.
When we support the economics and fairness of coffee growers around the world, we make a statement about Christ's love for those people and our love for those that Christ loves.
A Google search for "Fair trade coffee" will be your best friend as you start your search for a steamy cup of justice.
Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:18 AM
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April 16, 2008
Job Lab and Freelance Lab: Now 100% More Free
(Filed under: News & Updates)If you haven't been keeping your eyes on the Job Lab and Freelance Lab lately, you might not have noticed a little change in our language. You used to see text that told you postings were free for a limited time while we worked out the kinks. Now, you'll see this:
Post a job: It's free!
That's right, we're now out of beta and into full-speed ahead, and the Job Lab and Freelance Lab are staying free.
So if you have a job opening (designer, marketer, communication pastor, etc.) or need a one-time project done (new logo, new site, rebranding, etc.), then visit our Job Lab or Freelance Lab to post your opening.
Or if you're looking for some work, here's just a small bit of what we've seen recently:
- Jr. Graphic/Web Designer at Westgate Chapel
- Web Designer at Hill Country Bible Church NW
- Project Manager, Media & Events at The Foursquare Church
- Graphic Artist at Christ's Church of the Valley
- Create a survey or a web site for Wyalusing Presbyterian Church
Big thanks to Ekklesia 360 for making these sites happen.
Posted by Joshua Cody at 1:47 PM
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Just Ideas: Be A Home for the Homeless
(Filed under: Social Justice)This is part three of a four-part series called "Just Ideas," looking at ways your church can commit itself to fighting for justice and righteousness in the society around you.
A while back, we covered a piece of satire discussing churches as a rotating homeless shelter. One of the most encouraging parts of the post (as the original link was a little discouraging) was the response in the comments. So many people have already been part of something like this or heard of something like this.
If you were to join with some other local churches, you could certainly share the burden of this and become a local network in support of local needs. If you could find ten or fifteen churches, you could give the homeless a roof every night in a month by just donating two or three nights yourself.
It puts minimal strain on church resources to be a homeless shelter for two days a month, yet it gets tons of people in your doors (in the shape of those experiencing homelessness and those looking to serve) who wouldn't normally attend. From a marketing standpoint, folks will see that you care about people, and everyone wants to be a part of that. Not to mention Jesus was homeless, so you surely get some extra bling on your heavenly mansion for that.
Check out a story of one church that did this for some inspiration. And in the comments, we'd still love to hear stories of churches doing this or thinking of taking the plunge.
Posted by Joshua Cody at 8:02 AM
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April 15, 2008
Survey Says Poll Results
(Filed under: Poll Results)
We were wondering this week if your church has ever done a church-wide survey. Tons of churches do them and swear by them, other folks think they're a gigantic waste of paper. Our Church Marketing Sucks readers--an avant-garde bunch, if I do say so--had this to say:
53% of you have done it at least once, but you don't go on a regular basis. Did you have a good experience, or not so much? My church is in the middle of our yearly survey effort, and it's pivotal for us. 12% of you are in the same boat, repeating your survey again and again.
23% of you have it on the drawing board, but you haven't actually done it yet. There's something keeping you from taking the leap into surveying. And a final 13% of you are the anti-survey crowd who don't see the need for it yet.
Thinking of going for it, but not sure how to write it, what to say, or where to go? Sounds like a project for our Freelance Lab if you ask me.
This week, we're looking to find out, does your church put a priority on social justice?
Posted by Joshua Cody at 12:31 PM
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Pagan Christianity
(Filed under: Reviews)
George Barna and Frank Viola are getting a lot of heat for Pagan Christianity: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices. Although I think that's fairly inevitable when you use that title; probably even what they were aiming for. Tons of reviewers have lit up the blogosphere with their opinions on the book, spoof videos have been born and Frank Viola has answered questions and objections on his own site.
Now, I'm as big a fan of the local church as the next guy, if not a bigger fan. But I'm 100% all right with the house church movement and with progressive church models. I think megachurches and modern churches have some great things going for them, but I also think that they have some glaring holes. All that is a total disclaimer of where I stand going into Pagan Christianity.
Continue reading "Pagan Christianity"
Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:56 AM
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April 14, 2008
Just Ideas: Give Blood, Give Life
(Filed under: Social Justice)This is part two of a four-part series called "Just Ideas," looking at ways your church can commit itself to fighting for justice and righteousness in the society around you.
Tons of churches do blood drives. It's a great idea and a simple way to help out people in need--not to mention free juice and cookies (and Chick-fil-a coupons in my neck of the woods).
Your church is probably just as big a fan of saving lives as the next guy, so if you aren't already sponsoring blood drives or hosting them at your church, then get on it! It's a great way to save lives and let your community know you care. The thing about people is that if they feel like you want them to be alive, they're a lot more likely to listen to you.
The Seventh-Day Adventists of Australia had a marketing campaign this year called "ucan2." The premise is simple: Jesus gave his blood during the Easter season for us, you can too. They encouraged all their members to give blood in the lead-up to Easter to celebrate what Christ did for us. It's a great marketing campaign with a great cause behind it.
If you're interested, the Red Cross is a great place to start, as they provide resources to tell you how to sponsor a blood drive.
Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:52 AM
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April 11, 2008
Church Marketing Lab: Try, Try Again
(Filed under: Peer Review)The Church Marketing Lab is all about peer review. It's good to post your designs and ideas after you've executed them. It's better to share them before go time so the brilliant minds that hang out over there can help you out. That's what paulcarson did. Check out how the Church Marketing Lab can help a great design to be:
The design is born for the series "Pure," looking at trends in worldviews.
Continue reading "Church Marketing Lab: Try, Try Again"
Posted by Joshua Cody at 12:01 PM
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Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!
(Filed under: Advertising)The Stuff Christians Like blog has been around since January. Unfortunately, I just found out about it today. Prodigal John explains how Christians like myriad things, such as: not knowing how to hold hands, calling people "seekers," metrosexual worship leaders and comparing Braveheart to Christianity. I wish I could go on.
Apparently, Christians also like "Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!" What he means by that is this: churches make a lot of racket and want to bring people in through said racket. But there are problems with that.
"If a special sale is why you first bought your watch, then if that watch store ever wants to get you to buy again, they have to run a similar sale. Study after study has shown that we are creatures of habit. We repeat ourselves, so if you attract a big crowd with a car giveaway or hot new worship band or anything else, you create a relationship built on a reward not a redeemer. And when you try to take away that reward you'll lose a lot of your guests. It's hard to transition to God when you started the conversation with a gimmick."
Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:49 AM
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April 10, 2008
Just Ideas: Buying Sweatshop-Free
(Filed under: Social Justice)This is part one of a four-part series called "Just Ideas," looking at ways the church can commit itself to fighting for justice and righteousness in the society around them.
Think sweatshops died out before the turn of the millennium? Think again. Many companies are still producing goods in conditions that are less than fair. The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 helped out some, but then globalization led to a rebirth of sweatshops in the 90s and 00s. So here we are today.
For some, buying sweatshop-free is a matter of conviction; they feel there is no other just alternative. For others, the additional cost of buying sweatshop-free is better used elsewhere. But every single church should at least be opening a dialogue about their clothing and where it's coming from.
The Presbyterian Church takes an official stand on sweatshop-free clothing, helping congregations buy sweatshop-free and offering "hands-on options for congregations to participate in the global economy in faithful, just and responsible ways."
Continue reading "Just Ideas: Buying Sweatshop-Free"
Posted by Joshua Cody at 4:24 PM
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Tony Morgan Thinks Your Branding Sucks
(Filed under: Brand & Identity)Staying on the brandwagon (I apologize; I'm ashamed; It probably won't happen again for a little bit.), Tony Morgan follows Seth Godin in discussing bad branding ideas. And he's got some great insights to branding and where churches should place their insight. There's a great conversation over there, so here's just a couple nuggets to whet your appetite:
- It makes sense for us to brand a series over the church itself. That's no different than Fox branding American Idol ahead of the network. People are interested in following American Idol--they're not interested in following the Fox network. That's why we brand "The Man Series" ahead of NewSpring Church.
- We're making a concerted effort, though, to make sure we don't promote any sub-brands without making it clear that it's "a ministry of NewSpring Church." We haven't done a good job of that in the past.
Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:00 AM
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April 9, 2008
Chasing Justice with Mark Van Steenwyk
(Filed under: Interviews)More and more churches are trying to do the right thing, beyond simple evangelism. They're reimagining everything they do and each step in their processes to see if they're glorifying God.
We're huge advocates of this process, and we want churches to seek integrity in every single thing they do. To celebrate this journey, we're launching a new category today, called simply Social Justice. We've got a few entries coming your way to get our momentum up and running, and we're going to start off by talking with Mark Van Steenwyk. He's a leading face in the "New Monasticism" movement, so check out what he has to say about the church's movement towards justice:
Mark, thanks for doing the interview. Why don't you go ahead and let us know a little bit about who you are.
Mark: I'm 32, married to Amy (coming up on 11 years of marriage) and our first kid is due April 1 [Editor's Note: Their first son was born in late March--Congrats Mark!]. I'm a Mennonite pastor, and my community Missio Dei sorta fits into the "New Monasticism" movement. A handful of us live in a community house together, most of us live within a couple miles of each other. Our rhythm of life together includes a Sunday evening gathering, a Wednesday evening hospitality meal, a urban community garden, and a Saturday afternoon meal in the park (that we call the "hospitality train"--you can find out more on our web site). Some of us also work and volunteer in the neighborhood. We're also exploring prayer rhythms together. We have a book of morning and evening prayers that we published (called the Missio Dei Breviary). The folks in our community house are trying to pray every evening together through our prayer book, and we encourage all folks in Missio Dei to pray the breviary morning and evenings.
Continue reading "Chasing Justice with Mark Van Steenwyk"
Posted by Joshua Cody at 1:45 PM
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How Important Is Your Church Logo?
(Filed under: Brand & Identity)Here's some interesting research that looks at Apple's branding and its impact on viewers:
[Researchers at Duke University] found that exposing people to a brand's logo for 30 milliseconds will make them behave in ways associated with that brand ...Surveys found that people felt similarly about the two companies in every way except creativity, where Apple came out ahead, and competence, which was IBM's perceived strength. After exposing them to the brands, the researchers asked subjects to describe as many uses for a brick as they could.
Most people mentioned a door stop or a paperweight. "But the subjects who had seen Apple's logo also came up with uses like tying it around my roommate's foot and throwing him in a deep pond ... "
So Apple's brand makes you a creative psychopath. This follows Scott Magdalein's recent post, Brands Are Bigger Than Logos. Your logo is the figurehead for your brand; when people see it, do they feel creative? Bold? Confused? Your brand is who you are; your logo is a way to reinforce your brand at a glance. (link via clusterflock)
Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:40 AM
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April 8, 2008
Free Wordpress Blog Installs for Church Leaders
(Filed under: Web Sites)56% of you pastors out there haven't started blogging yet, according to a super scientific poll done by the Church Marketing Sucks Polling & Research Department. Now, a lot of you might be interested, but you have no idea where to start.
Scott Magdalein has something interesting to offer you. Here's what he has to say:
God impressed on me something much more simple and less spiritual than I expected that I should do for church leaders around the globe.It's simple really. I know how to install Wordpress. Most church leaders don’t know how to install Wordpress and don't have the time to learn or the money to hire someone to do it for them. Everyone knows that a hosted Wordpress blog is more powerful, flexible, and freeing than any free blogging account (Wordpress.com, Blogger, even Typepad though it's not free). So, here it is.
I'm offering to do free Wordpress installs for church leaders that want to use blogging as a tool in their ministry.
Continue reading "Free Wordpress Blog Installs for Church Leaders"
Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:21 AM
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Heathen Marketing Poll Results
(Filed under: Poll Results)
A few of you were very excited to see the poll results this week, and that's exactly what Tuesdays are about--hanging out at your computer, constantly refreshing Church Marketing Sucks for poll results. Well, we've talked about this before, and we even asked the same question two years ago, but have times changed?
Well, 56% of you are game for any good marketing, regardless of who's doing it. I still assume you'd be a bit discerning and not pay up to some marketer on the run from the law, leading a strange cult or leading a group of terrorists. But all in all, you wouldn't deny a marketer based on faith.
Another 22% of you would have to judge the marketer to make an assessment. If it was a good enough guy or girl that seemed to have values in line with your church and would reflect positively on you, then you'd give it a go. And the final 22% of you think that only a person of faith can market the faith.
How do those numbers stack up with two years ago? Well, then we saw a split of 56%, 18% and 21% (with an extra 5% comedy answer thrown in); so, that's pretty remarkably similar. This one might be stacking up as a timeless debate for churches as they look to hire people to help with their marketing.
This week, let us know, has your church ever done a church-wide survey?
Posted by Joshua Cody at 5:06 AM
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April 7, 2008
Q in New York
(Filed under: Events)
I'm heading to New York this week for the Q conference. Last year was the debut of this event and I really enjoyed it so I'm going again. This year looks to be equally engaging. Huge plus that it's in NYC--one of my favorite U.S. cities. I get to hang out with my younger brother who just moved there too.
If you're planning to attend and want to connect, drop an e-mail to me at brad [at] cfcclabs [dot] org.
Posted by Brad Abare at 11:58 AM
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Brands Are Bigger Than Logos
(Filed under: Brand & Identity)by Scott Magdalein, Guest Blogger
If you read Church Marketing Sucks often, then you'll see the word "brand" come up here and there. It's used as a noun, meaning the collection of your logo, letterhead, visual identity, design guide, etc. It's also used as a verb, as in the action of standardizing all those things mentioned above.
Here's another point-of-view: If traditional marketing is dead (not yet, but almost), then you're going to have to move beyond the traditional view of branding, which tells you to get a good logo and plaster it everywhere. Your brand needs to become more built-in, natural and part of everything you say, do and think -- not just everything you publish.
There are a handful of churches that grasp this concept. You can tell because you know them by more than just their logo. For example, LifeChurch.tv has a brand that reaches beyond their logo, which is nothing spectacular to be honest. Their brand includes their reputation for creativity, innovation, risk-taking and scope of ministry. As another example, Elevation Church's brand is way bigger than a logo in that they're known for audacity in a city full of stale religion.
What I'm saying is that your church's brand has to be bigger than a rock star logo if you expect to be remembered. You have to become your brand and your brand has to become you. Sounds existential, huh?
Posted by Guest Blogger at 11:00 AM
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April 4, 2008
Church Marketing Lab: Worship Guides to Breakfast Designs
(Filed under: Peer Review)Church Marketing Lab time. If you're not getting involved over there, you're missing out on a ton. There's discussions on church directories, Local Labs, purpose statements and more, as well as some great graphics. It's where the church marketing rubber meets the road. Here's some of the work we've seen submitted this week.
Check out this take on infusing sermon graphics in your bulletin.
Continue reading "Church Marketing Lab: Worship Guides to Breakfast Designs"
Posted by Joshua Cody at 5:58 AM
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April 3, 2008
Branding Faith
(Filed under: Reviews)
Over the last several weeks I've been working my way through Phil Cooke's latest book, Branding Faith: Why Some Churches and Nonprofits Impact Culture and Others Don't. I've known Phil virtually for several years and have collaborated on some small projects with him in the past through my role at Foursquare. Having never met in person, you can imagine our surprise last month when not only did we find ourselves sharing a flight to Dallas, but we were seated right next to each other. Crazy!
Branding Faith is a must-read for church leadership that is unfamiliar with marketing and branding. Last time I checked that covered just about every pastor on the planet so you might as well order your copy today. It's a perfect companion to Richard Reising's Church Marketing 101 so go ahead and add them both to your Amazon cart or give them as a gift to your pastor.
If you don't know Phil or if you've never heard him speak, you gotta know up front that he is a call-it-like-it-is kinda guy. In Phil's words, he "was born with a very sensitive B.S. button." I am naturally drawn to people like this although they do tend to get on my nerves sometimes. Phil both drew me in and got on my nerves a little.
Continue reading "Branding Faith"
Posted by Brad Abare at 7:22 PM
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April 2, 2008
Church Greeting Poll Results
(Filed under: Poll Results)
Some people hate to love them; other people love to hate them; still others could care less. Church greeters.
Honestly, to me, it seems like a pretty tough gig. You have to stand out there at the mercy of whatever weather blows in the door, be happy to see each and every person and deal with awkward "I forgot your name" and "Have we ever met?" moments. But apparently some people aren't scared of any of that stuff. At the very least, if you love greeting, you have some job security.
27% of you absolutely love church greeters. Maybe you admire them, are grateful for them or love being one yourself. Either way, it's a Sunday highlight for you to be door-greeted by a smiling face.
48% of you aren't totally sold on greeters, and you judge on a greeter-by-greeter basis. Hilarious greeting experience in the comments would be greatly appreciated!
A final 25% of you don't really get greeting. You think it's a bad idea to have people who are paid to be professional smile, wave and handshakers. Yeah, you probably wear jeans to church and don't comb your hair, either.
This week, throw your opinion in the ring as we ask, would you hire someone who isn't a Christian to help out with your church marketing efforts?
Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:47 AM
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April 1, 2008
One Prayer
(Filed under: Mass Media)
LifeChurch.tv announced yesterday a bold idea to bring churches together this summer around a series called One Prayer. It's a call to churches around the world to rally around a common experience. The premise, says founding pastor Craig Groeschel, is that, "If God would answer one prayer for the church at large, what would you pray?"
Aside from the spiritual implications, the genius of the idea is the invitation to any and all churches to be a part of creating the content. Craig shares specific instructions for how pastors can participate.
I love how LifeChurch.tv continues to enfranchise, energize and encourage churches to unify!
Posted by Brad Abare at 9:06 AM
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Awaken 2008 This Week
(Filed under: Events)I'm looking forward to popping in and out of the Awaken conference this week in Pasadena, Calif. Aside from it taking place in my backyard (10 miles from my office), it will be nice to meet up with old and new friends. If you're planning to attend and want to connect, drop an e-mail to me at brad [at] cfcclabs [dot] org. It's always interesting to watch Mosaic put on events because they're some of the most genuinely gifted people on the planet, but they'll tell you themselves that they're a little event-challenged. They're actually a little 'church'-challenged too but that's what makes Mosaic so great. I love it!
Posted by Brad Abare at 6:25 AM
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