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April 30, 2009

Churches Moving from Success to Significance

(Filed under: Social Justice)

We've talked about Jim Collins' Good to Great before, but a Leadership Journal article (admittedly from 2003, but relevant for today) explores churches that are moving from great to good.

The article notes that many companies, people and churches have sought after success, doing all they can to be great. But there comes a point when success is no longer fulfilling and those companies, people and churches turn to doing something significant (it's the opposite of the stereotypical mid-life crisis: instead of buying a red convertible, the 50-year-old becomes a missionary).

Instead of focusing on being great, these churches are focusing on doing good, following the model Jesus set (Acts 10:28: "he went around doing good"). Whether it's helping the homeless or teaching people to read, these churches are doing good instead of being great, and the good news goes with them.

The world could use some good today.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 5:40 AM
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April 29, 2009

Religions are Changing

(Filed under: Think Ahead)

CNN reports on a new survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life about the way people change their faith. These changes can be within a single religion or between religions, and they include people who claim no affiliation to a religion. The findings? People are changing affiliations, and they're changing them quickly.

If you're a numbers person who digs into the survey, you'll notice especially those who are raised unaffiliated with a religion but are now affiliated with one. 74% of them are attracted to services or styles of worship, 51% were feeling unfulfilled while unaffiliated and 55% felt called by God.

But probably the bigger takeaway is that people are switching faiths. Catholicism to Protestantism to no affiliation to a different denomination of Protestantism and back again. We are no longer in the age where you just continue in the same manner you were raised. In this age of constant switching, how are you creating a place people want to come? And how are you fighting against attitudes of, "I'd better get what I want, or I'm leaving this church"?

Posted by Joshua Cody at 5:57 AM
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April 28, 2009

Best Publicity Poll Results

(Filed under: Poll Results)

Recently, Seth Godin lauded the advantages of YouTube over traditional advertising. (We assume he was motivated to write this after seeing our poll question this week. Thanks, Seth!) And it seems like the new measure of success these days is YouTube views. All this online video got us to wondering just how much churches have hopped on the bandwagon of "viral videos."

There are still 41% of you who would prefer the lead story in a local or regional newspaper about your church over a YouTube hit.

But a whopping 59% of you would prefer tons and tons of views on a YouTube video done by your church.

You have to ask yourself questions of target audience, end goals and, in these days, whether you're all right with people being a part of your church only online. All in all, these were some surprising findings. Let's just hope your YouTube aspirations don't end up like this.

This week we're asking if your church has an emergency plan to deal with tragic situations.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 3:10 PM
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Church Saves $268,000 By Going Green

(Filed under: Church Business)

The First Baptist Church in Springdale, Ark., which has about 6,000 in attendance on Sunday mornings, implemented an energy savings plan in the last year and managed to save $268,000. The plan involves simple, practical things like shutting off the lights, powering down computers at night and turning down the thermostat over night.

"We tell our [staff]: Hey, act like you're at home," says Ben Mayes, the church's executive leader of finance, explaining how simple the changes are. "I think biblically, you're called to be good stewards of what God blesses you with, and I think that's the underlying reason why you do it."

Continue reading "Church Saves $268,000 By Going Green"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 5:39 AM
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April 24, 2009

Church Marketing Lab: Posters, Newspaper Ads and More

(Filed under: Peer Review)

It's been another great week in the Church Marketing Lab. It's so great to see conversations start and grow there in a way they couldn't on Church Marketing Sucks alone. Here is a taste of the graphics we've been seeing pass through the Church Marketing Lab this week:

This is a possible newspaper ad for a church's vacation Bible school offerings.

Continue reading "Church Marketing Lab: Posters, Newspaper Ads and More"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 12:03 PM
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The Soloist

(Filed under: The Christian Walk)

Thanks to the kindness of a well connected friend, I attended an advance screening of The Soloist, releasing in theaters across the country today. The movie stars Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey, Jr., and is based on the true story of Nathaniel Ayers (Foxx), a homeless musical prodigy living on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles, and his relationship with LA Times reporter Steve Lopez (Downey).

Being both a resident of downtown LA--my wife and I live a few blocks from Skid Row--and a regular fan of Steve Lopez's column, it was as if home had hit the silver screen. Or had the silver screen hit home?

The Soloist is the perfect movie to take a small group to see and then discuss afterward. Warning: your discussion may quickly turn to action so this is not the movie to see for the good-intentioned. It's a shining example of friendship and the implications such a relationship can have on both the homeless and home-blessed.

Continue reading "The Soloist"

Posted by Brad Abare at 6:12 AM
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April 23, 2009

Is Your Church Cooking Guinea Pigs?

(Filed under: Off the Wall)

You read the post title and thought I had a real home run metaphor for you, a lá Killing Cockroaches or Chasing Lions. Well, consider yourself disappointed. You might not learn too much from this one, but hopefully you'll at least get a kick out of it:

PETA is up in arms (a common place for them to be) over a recent church cookbook called Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread. The controversy? One of the recipes involves boiling and skinning a guinea pig.

Church leaders argue that "[a guinea pig] is easily digested and has a lot of good nutritional content." The Stuggart Guinea Pig Association, who I'm sure you're all familiar with, argues "It is shocking. Eating pets is not part of our culture."

The lesson for your church? It's probably not a good idea to encourage parishioners to eat things that are cute, cuddly and generally considered pets. Keep your eyes out for the "Is eating pets part of your church culture" poll question in the coming weeks.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:41 AM
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April 22, 2009

Seth Godin Says Poll Results

(Filed under: Poll Results)

A couple weeks ago, Seth Godin said some things about design capabilities that set off a firestorm in the Church Marketing Lab. So we wanted to know what kind of design skills our readers have.

30% of you are better than Average Joe. But after all, that's why so many people have lakefront property at Lake Wobegon. Kidding of course, I'm sure those 30% of you are truly better than 50% of the population.

A solid quarter of you are mediocre by admission, but you're on the up-and-up. And another 18% of you are subpar, but you want to get better. For both of those groups, the Church Marketing Lab could be a great place for you to hone your skills.

23% of you have no worries because you're a design professional. You need Seth Godin talking to you about graphic design about as much as you need another pastor telling you to "grunge it up a bit."

A final 4% of you admit that you suck, and you're all right with that. And we're proud of you for admitting it and being all right with it.

This week, we want to know, which of these two sources of publicity would you prefer for your church? A viral YouTube video or a lead story in a local paper?

Posted by Joshua Cody at 5:48 AM
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Marketing the Church or Your Church?

(Filed under: Philosophy)

Marketing guru Seth Godin has an interesting post (as usual) about whether you should be marketing for your category in general or for your specific product over the competition:

Confusion sets in, though, when you compare a pitch designed to get someone to buy any product in the category (you need an mp3 player because you can listen to music) vs. buying your product instead of the competition (ours is cheaper and bigger and better).

Are you trying to make the market bigger, or just grow your share?

This strikes me as an especially sticky question for the church (not only because it uses plenty of market lingo that makes some people uneasy). Most Christians want to say we're promoting our category in general (Jesus!), not just my local church (First Community Church of Your City).

Continue reading "Marketing the Church or Your Church?"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 5:00 AM
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April 21, 2009

The Gated Community Church

(Filed under: First Impressions & Beyond)

Rick Warren's Saddleback megachurch opened a new campus in time for Easter--in a gated community where you can only get in if you're a resident or escorted by a resident. A gated community church?

The move has raised all kinds of questions, forcing Saddleback to issue an apology and retract a previous statement that the general public would be able to attend services at the new campus in the Laguna Woods retirement community.

Saddleback defends the move by noting the number of current members and small groups in the community who wanted the new campus. With an average age of 78 in Laguna Woods, this could be seen as an attempt to bring church to the people.

What do you think? Should churches ever be in a position to allow exclusive membership, or is this a good way to reach an exclusive community?

Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:56 AM
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April 20, 2009

3 Tips for Getting Better Freelance Design (A Parable)

(Filed under: Church Business)

by Hal Thomas, Guest Blogger

I walked into my local coffee shop, excited to be meeting with a prospective client who had contacted me only days before. I introduced myself to Jill (not her real name); we ordered lattes and sat down to talk.

Jill told me about a new company she was launching. She said she would need a logo, business cards, a brochure and a web site with e-commerce features and a registered user section. And she needed it all in four weeks.

After Jill gave me a few more of the project details I asked her, “What it your budget for this project?”

Jill seemed flabbergasted. After hemming and hawing for a few minutes, she finally responded to my question with a question of her own: “What is your hourly rate?”

Me: “I prefer to quote projects based on a price for the total job rather than by the hour. I’ve found it usually works out better for both me and my clients that way.”

Jill: “But if you had to charge by the hour, what would you charge?”

Me: “No less than $100 an hour. Maybe more for the web site coding. Depends on who is available to slice and code it on such a tight deadline.”

Jill: “You mean you don’t do all the web design yourself?”

Me: “No ma’am. Have you seen my portfolio or been to my web site?”

Jill: “I’ve been meaning to. I’ve been so busy I just haven’t had a chance yet.”

---

As a result of the current economic challenges, we are all looking for places to save money, and using a freelance designer versus having a full-time staff person is now a serious consideration for many churches. Contracting freelance design can seem like an intimidating process to the uninitiated, but it doesn’t have to be.

Churches can learn from Jill’s mistakes, as they are the same ones churches often make when they contract freelance design, as evidenced by my own experience and a number of the projects listed in the Freelance Lab. Follow these three tips the next time you have to outsource a design project and you’ll already be ahead of the curve.

Continue reading "3 Tips for Getting Better Freelance Design (A Parable)"

Posted by Guest Blogger at 5:05 AM
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April 17, 2009

Church Marketing Lab: New Taglines, Logos and more

(Filed under: Peer Review)

This week in the Church Marketing Lab, we've seen some incredible designs and discussions. Don't miss out on all the great action. If you have a mind and you've ever used it for church marketing, you could be a great asset to the community there.

Here is a sample of some designs we've seen passing through this week:

This graphic is for an upcoming series called, When God Doesn't Seem Fair.

Continue reading "Church Marketing Lab: New Taglines, Logos and more"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:09 AM
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April 16, 2009

This Isn't What I Ordered

(Filed under: Philosophy)

I love a menu with lots of pictures, I'm much more apt to order what looks good than what sounds good. I'm a visual guy, that's just how I'm wired. But when I order that steak that looks so good on the menu and you bring me something that looks like something just short of a hamburger ... big fail. (here are some great examples) I think there's something for the church to learn here.

I'm a big advocate of setting expectations that you can achieve and better yet, go way above. So often marketing fails to set up a realistic expectation, which leaves nothing but a bad taste in your mouth (pun intended).

Continue reading "This Isn't What I Ordered"

Posted by Michael Buckingham at 6:47 AM
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April 15, 2009

Flickering Pixels: How Technology Shapes Your Faith by Shane Hipps

(Filed under: Reviews)

How's this for fitting? I read Flickering Pixels: How Technology Shapes Your Faith by Shane Hipps on a plane to Ethiopia when I'd be all but disconnected from the technology I love so much for 10 days.

The main premise of Flickering Pixels is that technology has a profound impact on how we think, feel, react and, well, everything. The take away isn't so much that technology is bad, but that we need to be aware of how it shapes us.

In some ways Flickering Pixels reads like a love letter to Marshall McLuhan. If you're not familiar with McLuhan, he coined the phrase "The medium is the message," and pushed other ideas about the importance of the medium in communication. That's the primary purpose here, as Hipps translates McLuhan's ideas to our deeply connected technological age.

Continue reading "Flickering Pixels: How Technology Shapes Your Faith by Shane Hipps"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 10:50 AM
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Holy Week Poll Results

(Filed under: Poll Results)

Last week, we asked which of the Holy Week festivities your church would be observing this year. Here's what you had to say:

Coming up first was, of course, Easter Sunday. A third of you celebrated Easter in some way, shape or form that was different from your normal services. Maybe you had a play, maybe it was a "Resurrection Sunday" or perhaps you just did that whole "He is risen/He is risen, indeed!" thing a bunch of times.

In a virtual tie after that were Palm Sunday and Good Friday. About a quarter of you broke out the palm fronds, and a quarter of you observed Jesus' death, likely with a side of grape juice and a cracker.

After that is Maundy Thursday, where you might have chosen some feet-washing, ringing of the bells or a good old-fashioned "last supper" feast.

5% of you also celebrate Holy Saturday, which I'll admit, I didn't know existed except for Wikipedia. Even the Big Picture, in all their Holy Week photography glory, failed to mention this one. It's the forgotten Holy Week holiday.

A tiny sliver of you don't celebrate any of the week's festivities at your church, and an equally tiny sliver only celebrate Mardi Gras. (Or you're just picking the smart aleck option.)

This week, we're asking you the following question: Seth Godin thinks you should have some design competency. What's your skill level?

Posted by Joshua Cody at 8:29 AM
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April 14, 2009

SoulWow...Wow

(Filed under: Evangelism & Outreach)

Watch out Billy Mays, here comes Father Vic. The Roman Catholic Church of Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island (That's the RCCoBQLI) created the video and soulwow.com to go along with it. It's a parody of annoying infomercials, with the product being a visit to church and participation in confession.

When watching this, I couldn't decide if it was brilliant or ridiculous. So I watched it two more times. So I guess, at the least, it's a pretty successful campaign.

Check out the video and your local RCCoBQLI parish to "get that almost baptized feeling."

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:58 AM
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April 13, 2009

Church Marketing Lab: A Lesson Learned in Copyright

(Filed under: Peer Review)

In the lead-up to Easter, we saw some really phenomenal work come through the Church Marketing Lab. You can see one example to the right of this entry. One church, however, was unclear on the purpose of the photo pool, and they ended up using this work as their Easter art. To make a long story short, an astute member of the Church Marketing Lab noticed this inappropriate use and brought it up. This led to a conversation with the church's pastor, an apology and a lesson learned.

It's just another example of how the Church Marketing Lab is helping churches and giving us all a little bit of a lesson, and it's also an example of the importance of copyright issues with churches. This could have led to a lawsuit had the victim been less gracious, and that could be devastating for a church. So take this week's roundup as a reminder to properly value art and legal art, and err on the side of caution as your church moves forward.

Of course, we've seen tons of other activity this week. Here's a little sample of what's been coming through:

Continue reading "Church Marketing Lab: A Lesson Learned in Copyright"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 9:42 AM
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April 10, 2009

Twittering the Passion of Christ

(Filed under: Technology)

With all the headlines Twitter has received lately, it's cool to see a church get some ink for an innovative approach to Twitter. Wall Street's Trinity Church will be posting Good Friday tweets about the final hours of Christ's life for three hours starting at noon today.

The church will also have an online Stations of the Cross, allowing people to meditate on Christ's final hours with words, music and pictures.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:27 AM
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Terry O'Reilly on Selling God

(Filed under: Advertising)

Recently, the Canada Broadcasting Company published an episode of The Age of Persuasion entitled "Selling God." Of course, this is a natural fit for us.

Terry O'Reilly takes a look at current statistics on faith, the recent atheist bus ads, churches' ability to respond to changing market demands and the idea of advertising churches rather than God.

By and large, it's a sweeping survey of churches and marketing. It's well-produced and has some cognizant points to make. I'd say it's a great way to spend half an hour of your time.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:01 AM
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April 9, 2009

Don't Go to Church on Easter!

(Filed under: Evangelism & Outreach)

It looks like Easter '09 will go down as "that one where those churches got tired of helicopter egg drops and went totally nuts." This one comes to you from A Little Leaven, and my impression is they aren't too friendly to innovative marketing ideas over there.

One church is encouraging you to ditch church on Easter. They even put together a little number at ditchchurch.com to encourage you to join them. Instead of church services, they'll just be having a big party. At 10:00 a.m. On Sunday morning. At a school.

After a significant amount of digging, it appears that this is being put on by Crossroads (or Cross Roads, this is apparently still up for debate). Perhaps the idea has legs, but it seems the execution is just a little bit shaky. I think they could have used some help from the Party Planning Committee.

I'm shivering as I ask this, but what say you? Will you be ditching church? Should we be encouraging the ditching of church in general?

Posted by Joshua Cody at 9:47 AM
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April 8, 2009

The Argument Against Social Media

(Filed under: Technology)

Our own Brad Abare frequently muses on constant connectivity and social media over on his personal blog (e.g. Conundrums of Connectivity). And recently, Matt Haughey extrapolated some of these same lessons from his experience shopping for playgrounds. Here's the crux of what he said:

So maybe instead of getting your company on twitter, paying marketers to mention you are on twitter, and paying people to blog about your company, forget all that and just make awesome stuff that gets people excited about your products, hire people that represent the company well, and when your stuff is so awesome that friends share it with other friends, you may not even need "social media marketing" after all.

Zappos isn't great because they're on Twitter. They're great because they provide wonderful service, and Twitter is a part of that.

Your church will never be great because you figure out how to use Facebook and Evites. Your church will be great because you commit yourself to living the gospel in a radical way, and you can use social media as a balanced part of that gospel-centered diet.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 5:51 AM
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April 7, 2009

Pastor in a Box Poll Results

(Filed under: Poll Results)

At the risk of igniting another comment firestorm, we asked you if you were ready to put your pastor in a box. In our earlier article, comments ranged from thought-provoking and well-intentioned to simplistic and pugnacious. Hopefully, things will stay nice here as we visit this subject once more.

6% of you are sitting on the fence. You're not sure exactly what you think of this, and we'd love to know if you're still there or if the comments on the entry have swayed you.

Another 6% of you are willing to do anything to shut your pastor up, including putting him in a box. We won't tell your pastors you said so.

Just over a quarter of you think this idea is a ridiculous joke. It crossed some sort of line, and you aren't ready to cross it with them. Perhaps you have a well-thought response to explain yourself, or maybe it just feels wrong.

And the winners are ... the 60% of you who give a resounding yes to boxing pastors, so long as it brings people in the doors. You're big fans of going the extra mile and doing whatever it takes to expose people to the gospel--a noble goal indeed.

This week, we'll be a bit more tame by asking: Which Holy Week holidays does your church observe?

Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:38 AM
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April 6, 2009

Creative Solutions: Sharing Buildings

(Filed under: Church Business)

In this economy we're in need of creative solutions. And I love it when the church is a part of those creative solutions.

Intermedia Arts is a local nonprofit in Minneapolis that's been having a serious budget crisis. Salem Lutheran Church and Lyndale United Church of Christ are two churches that partner to share space and were looking for a temporary home.

Salem Lutheran Church and Lyndale UCC are now renting space from Intermedia Arts. All three organizations are coming together and everybody wins. That's cool.

Even reading about the partnership between the two churches sounds like a winning plan:

This partnership is not a merger, but a way for both congregations to be better stewards of their resources while still celebrating their individual history and identity and living within this ecumenical agreement.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:01 AM
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April 3, 2009

Church Marketing Lab: Hebrews, Bulletins and More

(Filed under: Peer Review)

Another week wanes in the Church Marketing Lab. Discussions have ranged from how churches are using social media to ADD among designers to portable outdoor church signage. And, of course, discussion on photos and designs has been thriving. Here's a bit of what's passed through this week:

This graphic is for Never the Same: Stories of People Who Have Encountered Jesus

Continue reading "Church Marketing Lab: Hebrews, Bulletins and More"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 5:48 AM
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April 2, 2009

No Time Like the Present

(Filed under: Evangelism & Outreach)

No, seriously, there is no time like the present. USA Today is reporting that people are going to the church for help in record numbers. Here are some highlights from the report:

• Nearly two in three pastors (62%) report more people from outside their church asking for help
• Nearly a third (31%) see more such requests from church members
• 27% of pastors have paid for more ministry items out of their own pocket than normal.

Just in the last few weeks, we've talked about this a couple times. It's a better time than ever to make an economic impact with your church. How is your church helping out when times are tough?

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:27 AM
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April 1, 2009

Seth Godin Says: Learn Some Design!

(Filed under: Graphic Design)

All right church marketing professionals, Seth Godin is calling out you and your secular brethren. He makes this argument:

Ten years ago, you had a wide range of excuses for being a lousy visuals person. Starting with no talent, leading to no skill and going from there.

But now, in a world where it is expected that professionals will be able to make beautiful powerpoint slides, handsome business cards, clever bio photos and a decent website, it's as important as driving. And easier to learn and do, and requiring less talent.

We've been talking about this in the Church Marketing Lab, and our own Michael Buckingham argues that Godin gets it wrong.

Initially, I thought that for sure Godin missed the boat here as well. But I think he just suffered from some noise in his communication. His article's title reads, Why aren't you (really) good at graphic design?

Continue reading "Seth Godin Says: Learn Some Design!"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 8:23 AM
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Your Role Poll Results

(Filed under: Poll Results)

We're always curious to know exactly what you do as we plan and discuss our scope and content. We've asked this question three times before, and we wanted to see what this looked like in 2009. Here's what you had to say:

Over half of you are church staffers. After all, if you weren't, you couldn't justify reading Church Marketing Sucks on company time. We'd love to keep getting feedback on how we can serve your churches.

38% of you volunteer at your church, and therefore you volunteer your time to read Church Marketing Sucks. For that, we're incredibly grateful.

The final two groups of you are handfuls. You either keep the pews warm and think about church marketing just because it crosses your mind (or you cross paths with us via Google) or you don't know what church has done for you. We're glad to have these two groups stopping in as well. We'd love to hear more from you or have you join us via RSS.

This week, we want to know, Are you ready to put your pastor in a box?

Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:57 AM
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