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February 27, 2009

The Last TV Evangelist

(Filed under: Reviews)

2009_02_25_LastEvangelist.jpgA year ago I reviewed Branding Faith: Why Some Churches and Nonprofits Impact Culture and Others Don't, by Phil Cooke. It's a great book, especially for church leadership that is unfamiliar with marketing and branding.

Phil's latest book is another mouthful: The Last TV Evangelist: Why the Next Generation Couldn't Care Less About Religious Media and Why It Matters. It's not exactly the follow-up to Branding Faith I had expected or asked him to write, but what do I know.

I told Phil that The Last TV Evangelist could either cost him his career in ministry media or catapult him to cult status. The book is a pull-no-punches piece about ten years overdue. If Phil's livelihood had not depended on the very industry he's critiquing, I'm sure it would have been out sooner.

Continue reading "The Last TV Evangelist"

Posted by Brad Abare at 6:41 AM
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February 26, 2009

Lessons from a Mosque: Dealing with Negative Stereotypes

(Filed under: First Impressions & Beyond)

In Minnesota, the heavily Muslim Somali community has been rocked by recent terrorist associations. In October, Shirwa Ahmed, a Somali man from Minneapolis, returned to Somalia and killed himself in a suicide attack. The FBI claims Ahmed was indoctrinated in extremist beliefs while living in Minnesota. Ahmed attended the Abubakar As-Saddique Islamic Center, which has received a barrage of nasty voice mail messages and accusations that the mosque is a recruitment center for terrorists.

So what does a religious institution under attack do? Abubakar officials threw the doors open last night and invited the community. The mosque sought to embrace neighbors, educate the curious about Islam and dispel rumors.

"If people don't know one another, they may think something is not good," said Abdirahman Sheikh Omar, president of the mosque. "We are part of the Minnesota community. We are good citizens. We are taxpayers working for the good of Minnesota society. We are not here to harm anybody."

My first thought was good for them. It seemed like a good way to respond and I was about to move on when I came across this paragraph:

John Ratigan and his wife, Kristin Green, who is eight months pregnant, were thrilled with the center's open house invitation and brought along their 5-year-old daughter, Tona Ratigan Green. "There are a lot of bad stereotypes out there," Green said. "I came here to say I don't share those. ... The people here are real friendly to let all these strangers in here. Our church has never done this." (emphasis mine)

Continue reading "Lessons from a Mosque: Dealing with Negative Stereotypes"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 12:33 PM
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To Create or Copy?

(Filed under: The Christian Walk)

It's a huge question among churches. One side says, "Now now, there's no need to reinvent the wheel." The other side says, "But it's about artistic integrity and beauty, man!" When it comes down to it, you could also argue in terms of stewardship. After all, creation is pretty doggone expensive. But then again, you could argue in terms of integrity. We have a responsibility to explore the creativity God has given us, and copying is just plain wrong.

In other words, the argument could go on forever.

Recently, Tim Stevens took the position of "Create if you can, and creatively copy if you can't." He argues that:

You can be innovative without being original. Sometimes the most innovative idea for your church or your community is something that was borrowed from somewhere else. That is okay, because being original is overrated ...

... It is 2009, and there are amazing resources available to you. Most our ideas come from taking someone else's idea and making it work for us. We Grangerize it. That is, we make it work for our culture, and that is okay with us. We truly do not care whether what we do is original or not--we just care if it works. If it is effective, who cares whether we got the idea from a church in Tupelo or off of YouTube? If we can use the idea to impact our community, why does it matter if it is an already-been-used idea from LifeChurch.tv or Willow Creek?

[Note: And just to be clear, borrowing someone else's idea and building on it does not mean stealing their work. It's OK to be inspired by someone else's work. It's not OK to steal their work.]

Continue reading "To Create or Copy?"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 8:03 AM
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February 25, 2009

How Would Your Church Respond to a Drunk Pastor?

(Filed under: Examples)

Monday Morning Insight has been covering compassion on all cylinders recently. We talked about the church that cut off their electricity for missions, but have you heard about the pastor who wanted to test his congregation's grasp of compassion?

Pastor Tommy Jackson disguised himself in raggedy clothes, reeking of alcohol, and he meandered around his church during a Sunday service. The idea was to test how much his church was grasping the current series on love and compassion. A local TV station has the video from the morning. And from the looks of things, it seems they passed. His members took time to help the man, talk with him and pray with him on their way into church.

Oh, and he's planning more surprises in the future ... no telling where this will lead, but it has us interested.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:55 AM
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February 24, 2009

Web Weight Poll Results

(Filed under: Poll Results)

2009_02_24_webweightpolllresults.jpgYes! Only 4% of you don't have a web site! Amen.

Excuse me. What I meant to say was: Last week, we were wondering how important you would say your church's web site is. Is it just a level above your families in importance? Could you live without it? Is it worthless? I had a hunch there would be a lot more of the latter than the former, but thankfully, I was wrong.

The biggest chunk of you say that it's absolutely essential to your church's function. You're tapping the full power of the web to bring people in and keep them connected, and we support that.

Slightly less of you would describe your site as "helpful" but not "essential." Maybe people can figure things out there, but they could certainly live without it. It's just a hair above the next option of "auxiliary," both of which hover around 25% of you.

16% of you still say it's useless, so there's still some work to be done (Hint: Church Marketing Lab and Freelance Lab). But hey, at least you have a site, that's a start. Right? Right?

For this week's poll, we would love to know, which Sunday blunder irks you the most?

Posted by Joshua Cody at 9:28 PM
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February 23, 2009

Seth Godin Asks: Is Marketing Evil

(Filed under: Philosophy)

Marketing guru Seth Godin asks the question "Is Marketing Evil?" in one of his latest posts. Seth starts by saying that marketing, done well (aka that doesn't suck), will:

1. Tell a story that spreads. 2. Influence people. 3. Change actions.

Oh yeah, I'm definitely on board with that.

"Marketing is powerful when it sells a product to someone who discovers more joy or more productivity because he bought it. Marketing is magic when it elects someone who changes the community for the better."

Those who think the church should never be involved in marketing by saying we aren't "selling" a product etc. should let that sentence marinate. While I understand the word "sell" is tough to swallow isn't selling about consuming and don't we want people to consume the Word and who Christ is? Once we get past that little word and look at the outcome--wow.

So when does Seth think marketing is Evil? Read for yourself.

Posted by Michael Buckingham at 8:27 PM
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Dallas Willard on Church Growth

(Filed under: Philosophy)

In a post last week we tried to generate some thinking and discussion on church growth. Ryan Guard offered this nugget from Dallas Willard's The Divine Conspiracy:

"We may not soon have bigger crowds around us--and in fact they may for a while even get smaller--but we will soon have bigger Christians for sure. This is what I call 'Church growth for those who hate it.' And bigger crowds are sure to follow, for the simple reason that human beings desperately need what we bring to them, the word and reality of The Kingdom Among Us."

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 12:38 PM
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Lights Out

(Filed under: Philosophy)

lightsout.jpgThree years ago this month, I wrote a post about experiencing church, stripped down. I included the hypothetical scenario of lights going out to suggest that what we as the church have without power is really the only "power" worth having. I've used this analogy many times since, including a brief presentation I made to an Internet/marketing class at a local college last week.

It was a pleasant surprise to learn that Jerry Hendrix, a pastor in Abilene, Texas, is in the middle of just such an experiment. "Crosspoint Fellowship is eschewing electricity, save for the children's class, this February and devoting the money it saves to mission work. No heat, no lights, not even coffee," says Scott Kirk, in his online report of the story.

I'm always encouraged to see church communities that are concerned more with church taking place rather than church just being a place.

Posted by Brad Abare at 6:51 AM
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February 20, 2009

Less Advertising, More People

(Filed under: Advertising)

Granger Community Church has realized they can reach more people with less advertising. Executive pastor Tim Stevens explains. Every month they used to mail out thousands of postcards to their community plugging the upcoming series. At first it worked, but now it's just noise.

So instead of adding to the noise with 12 mailers every year, they're going to focus on two big series each year and do a big push for those.

It's a brave idea. A good way to shake things up and try something new. And they're able to do it because they paid close attention to the result of their advertising. It's no-brainer stuff (tracking your numbers), but that's the important stuff.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:11 AM
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February 19, 2009

Are All Healthy Churches Growing?

(Filed under: Philosophy)

So earlier this week Tony Morgan got all a twitter about a quick little post from the Out of Ur blog that poked fun at megachurches:

"Is this helpful to the Kingdom? Don't you just love it when Christianity Today blogs attack churches?"

Christianity Today even tried to distance themselves from the Out of Ur post.

Really? Over-reacting much?

Believe it or not, this all reignites that age old discussion on church growth.

Continue reading "Are All Healthy Churches Growing?"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 12:06 PM
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Fair Use and Your Church: Part 3

(Filed under: Church Business)

by Richard Byrd, guest blogger

This is part three in a three-part series on fair use law and your church. This article is written by a copyright professional, but it is not to be considered specific legal advice for your church. As each situation is unique, if you have specific questions, please consult an intellectual property attorney.

Last time, we started asking questions to help determine if copyrighted material is suitable to use. Two final questions will finish our discussion of fair use for your church:

How much of the work are you using?

It has been said less is more. Nowhere is this truer than in use of copyrighted materials. Another key factor under this section will be whether you are using the “nut” of the copyrighted works. Are you using the portion that defines the essence of the copyrighted works? Parodies are a little different and are an issue unto themselves. Please be reminded there is no magic length or number of measures, etc., that constitutes infringement.

Continue reading "Fair Use and Your Church: Part 3"

Posted by Guest Blogger at 7:12 AM
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February 18, 2009

Another Lesson from Starbucks

(Filed under: Brand & Identity)

Starbucks is often used as an example within the world of church marketing. They have an experience, they knew how to tell their story.

Yes, I said "knew how to tell their story."

I've had numerous conversations with church leaders about Starbucks' concept of a "third place" and how the church could harness that feeling. We have work, we have home ... Starbucks was that third place, a getaway, a place to relax, etc. etc.

Then they installed a drive-thru. So much for a third place, it was just a stop on the way to either home or work. They've put another nail in the coffin now with instant coffee. Doesn't get any less third place than that.

Continue reading "Another Lesson from Starbucks"

Posted by Michael Buckingham at 7:07 AM
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February 17, 2009

Fair Use and Your Church: Part 2

(Filed under: Church Business)

by Richard Byrd, guest blogger

This is part two in a three-part series on fair use law and your church. This article is written by a copyright professional, but it is not to be considered specific legal advice for your church. As each situation is unique, if you have specific questions, please consult an intellectual property attorney.

Last time, we talked about some of the essence of copyright law, and we left our conversation wondering how to decide if copyrighted material can be used. Here are a couple questions to use as a litmus test before using copyrighted material:

What is the purpose/intent of your use?

Some of the first questions we ask in our office, what is your intention with the use of the copyright? Are you trying to make a point, create a new use, and how will the work be used.

For Example:

Fairside Fictional Baptist Church takes a series of copyrighted quotations about leadership and puts them under photographs of leaders in action in the Sunday Slide presentation. The combined use of the quotations with pictures have changed the original purpose of the creating a new commentary or insight into the original work. This is usually a “fair use” under the copyright law.

Continue reading "Fair Use and Your Church: Part 2"

Posted by Guest Blogger at 9:12 AM
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If You Had a Free Conference Poll

(Filed under: Poll Results)

2009_02_17conferencepoll.jpgLast week we asked which conference you'd attend if you had a free ride. The clear winner was the Catalyst conference with 25% of the vote (Don't forget about 10% off to Catalyst West).

Next came the famous "Somewhere else" conference at 19%--wait, that's not a real conference. So where else would you rather go? NRB? CSC? SXSW? WOA? OK, SXSW, totally. But let us know in the comments what conferences you think are worth attending.

Up next was the HOW Design conference at 17% (our own Michael Buckingham will be there again this year). The whole "I'm rethinking conferences" idea came in next with 15%. Considering we were asking about a free trip and not just your favorite conference, maybe it's not just the cost and people are serious about conference overdose. Next came the Q conference at 12% (Don't forget about the CFCC meetup, though you missed the discount deadline), Innovate at 6% and MinistryCOM at 5%.

You can always check out the Events Lab for a complete list of upcoming church communications-related events. This week we're asking about the importance of your church's web site.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 5:31 AM
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February 16, 2009

Fair Use and Your Church: Part 1

(Filed under: Church Business)

by Richard Byrd, guest blogger

This is part one in a three-part series on fair use law and your church. This article is written by a copyright professional, but it is not to be considered specific legal advice for your church. As each situation is unique, if you have specific questions, please consult an intellectual property attorney. We encourage you to read this material, digest it and put it to use at your church. We're going to be taking this material in bite-sized chunks since it's a lot to digest, so stay tuned all week as we continue looking at fair use.

Fair use is one of the most complicated and ambiguous sections under the copyright law. It is very open to interpretation and can only reasonably be looked at on a case-by-case basis. However, there are some basic guidelines and uses that can be applied to your situation. I will try not to burden you down with legalese in this article. For most of the people reading this article, this will not be new ground, my goal is to lay the groundwork for the subsequent parts of this series.

What is Fair Use?

Fair use is the general name given to a set of limitations of copyright found in section 107 through 111 of the Copyright Act. Specifically, the statute states:

The fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright.

Continue reading "Fair Use and Your Church: Part 1"

Posted by Guest Blogger at 7:01 AM
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February 13, 2009

Church Marketing Lab: Logos, Easter and Wine

(Filed under: Peer Review)

Maybe you're not following the Church Marketing Lab on Twitter yet. And if that's the case, you wouldn't have been kept up on the stuff that was passing through this week. If that's you, we have a roundup for you so you won't feel too left out:

Logos for Project Hope
Respond Home focuses on caring for orphans through adoption, and they're working on a logo.

Continue reading "Church Marketing Lab: Logos, Easter and Wine"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:16 AM
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February 12, 2009

Thinking Before Clicking: Returning to Graphic Design Basics

(Filed under: Graphic Design)

The New York Times offers a reflection on what graphic design looked like 30 years ago. It was all T-squares, X-Acto knives and rubber cement. You had to do it by hand, like a skilled craftsman.

That all changed with computers, but it's not always a good thing:

"The technology we have at our disposal is dazzling, and our efficiency is such that clients expect fast solutions and nearly instantaneous updates. We are proud to deliver them. Still, I wonder if we haven’t lost something in the process: the deliberation that comes with a slower pace, the attention to detail required when mistakes can’t be undone with the click of a mouse. Younger designers hearing me talk this way react as if I’m getting sentimental about the days when we all used to churn our own butter.

Computers can do amazing things for design, but sometimes we need to slow down and step back. I always remember the advice of our own Michael Buckingham: Before you turn on a computer, pick up a pencil.

Putting solid thinking into design shouldn't be an archaic concept like churning your own butter. Your work will be better for it, and your church will thank you. (link via kottke.org)

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:10 AM
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February 11, 2009

Churches Could Learn From Dentyne

(Filed under: Brand & Identity)

Last fall I wrote a four-part series called "The Illusion of Community." I talked about online community networks, building community in our weekend gatherings, why community 'online' and 'offline' might be an old school way to think and why our overall value proposition might be a little backwards. The conversation was lively!

In light of this series, you can imagine my delight to see the latest campaign from Dentyne. The whole premise of their print and TV ads center around the theme "Make Face Time."

The Dentyne web site complements the entire campaign by setting a three-minute time limit to be on the site, just enough time to make a face time request, find a place for some face time and even make fun of emoticons in the smiley chamber of doom.

Is your church community known for facilitating face time?

What things could you tweak or even eliminate that might be getting in the way of helping others make face time?

Posted by Brad Abare at 6:45 AM
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February 10, 2009

The Strip Church: Not Your Average Church

(Filed under: Examples)

2009_02_03stripchurchlogo.pngThe newest project of Fireproof Ministries (the guys behind XXX Church) is The Strip Church. As in the Las Vegas strip (though Vegas and the other kind of strip kind of go hand in hand). And perhaps you know of some, but I've never heard of another church of its kind.

As XXX Church ministered at pornography exhibitions, they constantly got the question, "Where is your church?" And that eventually got them to thinking, "Why don't we start a church?" So they decided to start a church, not just for the pornography business, but for all of Las Vegas.

The idea is that people are constantly coming through the city for conventions or working in the city at conventions, so if they have a presence at all conventions, not just pornography, they can reach tons of folks. With such a transient population, a big part of their ministry will be giving people another, more wholesome option for their weekend, then connecting them with churches back home.

You can read more about them at their about page.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 9:48 AM
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MLK Day Poll Results

(Filed under: Poll Results)

2009_02_10_mlkpollresults.jpgEach of the last two years, we've hit on our perceived importance of MLK Day. And we're big believers that it's a holiday about giving, not receiving (unlike that big red and green one that's close to the shortest day of the year in America), and churches can make a lot of headway by leveraging the natural momentum of the holiday. But what's important is what your churches are doing, so let's check that.

59% of you don't necessarily share our ideas. You don't do anything for similar holidays, so you don't go out of your way for MLK Day. You're all about second-tier holiday equity, lest anyone feel left out.

8% of you did take some time to reflect on Dr. King, and we'd love to hear what that looked like. Another 9% of you just didn't feel like it, and you don't want to hear about it. I feel like Dr. King would be a-OK with you having that right.

Just over one in ten churches seemed to go with a pulpit shout out for the good doctor, giving him some form of a mention. And the remaining tenth either aren't sure what MLK Day is or aren't from around these parts.

All in all, it looks like our love for MLK Day is far from being espoused by most churches, but hey, there's always next year. As for this week, let us know, if you could have a free conference trip, where would it be?

Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:32 AM
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February 9, 2009

Deidox and The Power of Story

(Filed under: Evangelism & Outreach)

Recently, Deidox.com wrote to us to let us know about their film project. They make incredibly moving short clips telling the stories of everyday people God is using, and then churches can buy and use the clips. It's a fascinating idea that's brilliantly executed, and it speaks to something much larger.

Several conversations in my life lately have been revolving around this idea: Stories matter. I don't simply mean that they interest people or that they can be funny. I mean stories change the world. When people hear a story, it connects with their imagination, and they can place themselves in that story. When they hear someone in your church is serving the poor and making a difference, they imagine what their life would be like if they were playing the lead in that movie. When they hear that people are helping orphans rise from a hopeless life, they feel the dirt of an African village crackling beneath their own feet.

Continue reading "Deidox and The Power of Story"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:10 AM
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February 6, 2009

2009's Marketing Trends that Matter to Your Church

(Filed under: Think Ahead)

The always-insightful Kem Meyer recently discussed nine marketing trends for 2009 (originally at Adverblog). She framed them in the context of churches and how these nine issues create a perfect storm of opportunity, and she's spot on. Check out a couple of these:

Trust economy. In turbulent times we look to organizations who share our concerns, manage anxiety and take the lead.

New realism. Economic conditions will profoundly affect our context going forward. The speculative affluence era will be replaced with a grounded and socially creative phase. Our culture will become more tangible and honest forcing us to be much more realistic. The human story will be one of value reassessment; examining our priorities and purchases in light of what is truly meaningful to us.

There's more at Kem's blog or at the original article. If you're involved in your church's marketing, don't miss out on this.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:15 AM
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February 5, 2009

Seth Says Marketing Should Come Before Product

(Filed under: Philosophy)

BackwardsI completely disagree with the wise sage Mr. Seth Godin in his recent post that asks, "Which comes first, the product or the marketing?"

Seth says "...it's pretty clear that the marketing has to come before the product, not after."

Pointing to the Toyota Prius and Jones Soda as examples of products that came after the marketing, Seth suggests that "just about every successful product or service is the result of smart marketing thinking first, followed by a great product that makes the marketing story come true."

I don't disagree with Seth that this trend of marketing coming before a product exists, but I take issue with the approach. When it comes to church marketing, we would do well to avoid this becoming a trend.

Marketing is how you tell the story of who you are. If you figure out how to tell your story and then attempt to pursue making that story real, you've got things backwards.

Very backwards.

Posted by Brad Abare at 6:45 AM
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February 4, 2009

Making Online Video Work for Your Church

(Filed under: Multimedia)

Everyone talks about the allure of online video. But can it be useful for anything besides Super Bowl commercials and amateur video of a man getting hit in the groin with a football? Absolutely. Just ask a New Orleans restaurant that paid $1,000 for a 1-minute online spot that brought in 300 new customers in the first month. That's online video that works.

The restaurant turned to a video production company, TurnHere, that churned out 1,000 videos per month last year, primarily for local businesses. TurnHere definitely has their system fine-tuned, but part of their success is in knowing how to tell the story of a local business.

"We want real people telling real stories, authentic and full of information," says TurnHere founder Brad Inman. "The Web demands believability."

Continue reading "Making Online Video Work for Your Church"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:32 AM
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The Church and Hooters Poll Results

(Filed under: Poll Results)

2009_02_03hooterspollresults.jpgA few weeks ago, Rice Temple Baptist Church met Hooters. And their community saw great dividends from their partnership. You might originally be taken aback if you heard a Hooters was moving in next to your church, but we wanted to know how you think your church would actually respond. Here's what you had to say:

Over half of you think your church would welcome them and work with them, just like Rice Temple did--joining with them for Bible studies if possible and looking for any opportunity to share God and do life with them.

Another third of you would "love them from a distance." You know, the way you love a friend who can't stay out of trouble or a family member you've already had to forgive 490 times.

The final 17% of you would stay away--far, far away. You don't want your husbands and children being corrupted with the lustful lure of death-tinted orange shorts. For you, it's better to stay away than to risk the trouble that comes with a Hooters.

This week, we want to know: Did your church do anything special for MLK Day?

Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:25 AM
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February 3, 2009

Tough Times: More Them, Less Us, All Him

(Filed under: Evangelism & Outreach)

While one source reports a 5% increase in churchgoers in the UK, the Gallup reports for the U.S. are showing no growth. While we find ourselves in tough economic times, and the news is filled with doom and gloom our churches are not growing.

I was expecting otherwise. While we might pat each other on the back since church attendance is stable, in these tough times we need to ask ourselves where are people turning and why aren't they turning to the church.

As I pondered this I looked at a few churches, to see how they might be addressing this and while some churches seem to have the pulse of the people, many are missing the boat. I see sermon series like:

  • Strategy for Spiritual Success
  • Finding your place of ministry
  • James : Time to Grow Up

These are all great and powerful teachings, but maybe today people need to know that God is here for them, has a plan for them. Maybe it's time that we made it more about them, less about us and all about Him.

We are facing tough times and the church should be, can be, a place of refuge. I wonder what else we can do to be that place.

Posted by Michael Buckingham at 7:06 AM
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February 2, 2009

Help the Church Get Their Online Act Together

(Filed under: Technology)

One of the good guys over at Monk Development recently approached us about a survey they're conducting to examine the state of the church online. They figured our readers are a generally tech-savvy bunch who are passionate about the church using relevant avenues to communicate the gospel. And we figure they're a good-hearted bunch who really want to help out.

So if you have a few minutes, take their survey about online church communities and what matters in them.

Here's what they had to say about the study:

Are churches using the Internet to gather, disciple and build community? In the last couple years a number of new private church community networks have been launched in addition to numerous social networking sites. We are still very early on in understanding what churches are doing effectively online. We invite you to participate in this first survey of several that examine the State of the Church Online. This survey in particular begins by examining what churches are doing with social and community networks. How pervasive are the use of these web applications? Future surveys will expand to examine what Christians are doing with social networks, how churches are using their web sites and other online strategies. Our prayer is that these studies help bring clarity and guidance for churches to pursue excellence online to the glory of God.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:31 AM
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