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November 30, 2009

Church Marketing Gurus

Recently we mentioned that our own Brad Abare and CFCC board member Phil Cooke were appearing on a livestream from Conversant Life. You can now watch the archived video online:

Check it out for the engaging conversation between Brad and Phil. As a bonus, watch to see Brad use the word "funner." Though he does redeem himself with this definition of church marketing: "How we can tell the story of what God is doing and what people will do as a result of hearing that story." He also adds that "everything communicates." Watch the 60-minute video yourself to find your own nuggets.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 5:31 PM
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November 25, 2009

Paper or Electronic Poll Results

In some places, the church bulletin has already died. And we first discussed the electronic replacement of the bulletin four years ago. But we were curious how our readers respond to paper bulletins versus electronic versions. And the results were fairly evenly distributed.

The biggest chunk of you are double-dipping. You read the e-mail newsletter and the paper bulletin. A Sunday school gold star goes out to those 31% of you.

28% of you just do the digital version. It's more convenient, easier to file, more cost-friendly and more earth-friendly, so you just go that route.

The next biggest group? The honest rude other ones of you. These 24% of you are taking both, and you're sending them straight to the trash. If you want news, you'll get it from the grapevine, thank you very much.

And finally, 16% of you are just in love with the paper bulletin. It certainly still has its advantages, and this chunk of our readers are taking a stand against the digital revolution in favor of some good, old-fashioned paper. Here's to you, paper-bulletin-reader.

This week, it's time to get funny. We've got a few hilarious, real church names, and we want to know: Which is your favorite funny church name?

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:18 AM
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November 24, 2009

How Pastors Should Deal with Reporters

Larry Kroon is pastor of Wasilla Bible Church in Wasilla, Alaska. If that sounds vaguely familiar, it's the home church of former Alaskan governor and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. As such, the church and Kroon faced an onslaught of reporters during last year's campaign.

Journalists were roving the aisles of the church, harassing members and trying to find an inside scoop on Palin. Members felt trapped by the satellite trucks blocking the way to the parking lot.

“We can look back and say, ‘Whoa. We really should have done this or that differently,’” Kroon told religion reporter Terry Mattingly. “I was naive enough to think this wasn’t going to affect us--but it did. We ended up scrambling to get from day to day. We had that deer-in-the-headlights look for quite a while.”

When things calmed down Kroon called in a professional to help him sort out how he should have handled the situation. He came up with seven tips to help pastors deal with reporters.

“Pastors need to understand that there are really good reporters and there are some really bad ones, too,” Kroon said. “You also have to understand that even the really good ones are going to push you to your boundary lines. That’s what they do.”

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 5:51 AM
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November 19, 2009

Joshua Blankenship on Copying

If you're not familiar with Joshua Blankenship, he's the web guru behind the scenes at NewSpring Church in Anderson, S.C.

A couple times recently, he's tackled the difficult question of churches, copying and the problems that come along for the ride. We have wrestled with this question a few times recently. But it's always worth another visit.

He answers the question, why does it hurt you to "borrow" from other churches' web sites?

Continue reading "Joshua Blankenship on Copying"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:38 AM
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November 18, 2009

Live Interview with Church Marketing Gurus

Tune in tomorrow, Nov. 19 at 1:00 p.m. ET (10:00 a.m. PT), as Conversant Life does a live interview with Phil Cooke and Brad Abare. They'll be talking church marketing and religious media and taking questions from the online audience.

Phil Cooke is a writer, media consultant and filmmaker. His company, Cooke Pictures, advises many of the largest non-profit and faith-based media organizations in the world. He also serves as a board member for the Center for Church Communication, our nonprofit parent.

Brad Abare is an entrepreneur at heart and currently serves as the director of communications for the Foursquare Church. Oh yeah, he's also our founder.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:17 AM
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Boon or Bust Poll Results

Just yesterday, Michael Buckingham said,

The Internet isn't powerful because it connects you to information, but because it connects you to other people.

And that's what social media aims to do. In theory, social media is the technology that is connecting the church--to one another, to the world, and even to God. But is it really working?

42% of you say social media has been a wash for your church. People haven't been so zealous about replying you that they've crashed Twitter, but they also haven't gone out of their way to publicly berate you on Facebook.

The next biggest chunk of you are the 25% who haven't tried. I'd love to hear more about this. Are you folks simply not willing to try? Is it not where you want to spend your time? Do you believe computers are possessed?

The next 20% are connecting with people like never before. Social media has been a serious boon for you, and you're loving the way God is using you. But only slightly less of you, 14%, have found it to be a total bust. (Cue sad trombone.)

If ever there were a time for you to step out and comment, this is it. What have you had success with? Why do you think it was successful? Where has your church crashed and burned with social media? If we really want to tap into the connective power of emerging technologies, we've got to share our ideas and stories with one another. To get things started, here's how one church makes use of social media.

And in the mean time, participate in the Church Marketing Sucks battle: Which are you more likely to read: bulletin or e-mail newsletter?

Posted by Joshua Cody at 5:25 AM
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November 17, 2009

The Internet Is Not Your Delivery Boy

The Internet is more than a delivery method.

As I was reading a report on the meeting of the European bishops and reps from Facebook, Google, YouTube and Wikipedia, one of the quotes really grabbed me. It points out why so many miss the power of the internet.

From the article:

During a press conference, [Bishop di Falco] described the Internet "as important as the invention of the printing press," saying just as the printing press helped make the Bible available to everyone who could read, the Internet can make the gospel accessible to everyone who uses the Internet.

Too many times this is how we've viewed the Internet, as another delivery vehicle and why we see so many sites as nothing more than electronic brochures. While the Internet certainly is great at delivering information quickly and does make that information accessible to millions what makes it so much more is people.

The Internet isn't powerful because it connects you to information, but because it connects you to other people.

A great example of this can be seen in LifeChurch's YouVersion. If they had looked at the internet as a delivery option, it would simply spit out scripture. Instead they looked deeper and created something that's about interaction with the scripture and each other.

This lesson is true for all of our marketing. It's not about delivering information, it's about making a connection.

Posted by Michael Buckingham at 6:23 AM
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November 16, 2009

Church Marketing Plan

The United Methodist Church has put together an online tutorial to help churches create a marketing plan. It's a seriously-involved, 5-step effort that includes homework with PDF downloads, action steps and a worksheet to fill out your marketing plan. It starts with with values and vision and ends with ongoing evaluation and adjustment to make sure your plan is working.

This is a meaty resource, ideal for any church that wants to get serious about marketing (and no, you don't have to be Methodist). The biggest downside is that it's entirely online, so you're on your own. There are lots of resources and downloadable helps, but not everything is completely explained and if you're left scratching your head, you're out of luck (though you could always seek help in the Church Marketing Lab). But it looks like a good (and free) way to get started with a marketing plan.

Check out the overview of the tutorial and consider using it for your church.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 5:54 AM
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November 12, 2009

Other Churches Suck: How Not to Market Your Church

We've covered plenty of churches who are trying to be edgy, stay relevant and communicate in a way that's never been done before.

• Satan hates [insert church here]
• The 30-day sex challenge
• Che Guevara Baby Jesus
• Church sucks
• Church advertising sucks

Adam Metzger tried to go that route, and he ended up with a big headache.

He wrote to us to tell us about his campaign and see if we had any insight into what went wrong:

I used the phrase "church sucks" in an advertising campaign two weeks ago, and I sort of regret it. It was to advertise the launch of our church. Totally underestimated the continued stigma of that word. Massive feedback (Bad feedback. People called and yelled, threatened to "investigate" and turn me in to Fox News, etc.) from the Christian community (which I expected). However, zero feedback at all from the unchurched (which was the whole point). Church launched with fewer than anticipated--probably from a bad campaign message planned by me…

Continue reading "Other Churches Suck: How Not to Market Your Church"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:23 AM
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November 11, 2009

Five Ways to Sabotage Creativity Poll Results

Our pals over at Media Salt recently penned an article on five ways to kill the creative process at your church. But what's the best way? Well, only your collective wisdom can answer that question.

47% of you are watching the creative process die a quick death by not planning ahead. Half the time you're taking care of Sunday on Saturday night, and you end up defaulting to Comic Sans and crosses for t's.

19% of you have too many hands in the pot. And by the time your creative work passes around all the secretaries and through the pastor's wife, it just doesn't have that spark anymore.

11% of you are just copying how another church is doing things and hoping you don't forget to change their name to yours in any of your printed materials. And 5% of you aren't copying other churches, you're going straight to pop culture instead. You're losing some momentum with your "Extreme Makeover: Soul Edition" series and movie knockoff graphics.

9% of you have gone ahead and thrown the word "deadline" out of your vocabulary, and your creativity has suffered for it. Great ideas end up dying the lonely death of "never got it done."

And a final 9% of you are thriving by not falling victim to any of these pitfalls. Let's hear in the comments what good practices you're putting into place to avoid these. And of course, hilarious stories of failed pop-culture puns are welcomed, too.

This week, let us know: Would you say social media has been a boon for your church?

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:14 AM
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November 10, 2009

Communication You Can Believe In

If you're like me, it's often easy to be more focused on communicating the hope of what's next than it is to heed the need for accurate communication about what's now. From the men's retreat to summer camp, it's easy to get lost in the hype of tomorrow.

During the Battle of Chancellorsville, Major General Joseph Hooker was so convinced his Union Army was going to defeat Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army that he communicated it was OK for troops to barbecue the night before battle because victory would be theirs in the morning. “Fighting Joe's” embarrassing retreat the next day can be traced to his misplaced hubris about communicating a reality that did not exist, contrary to repeated attempts by advisers that suggested otherwise.

I think it's due time we stop expending so many resources telling people about our next event, next campaign or the next sermon series, and instead spend more time communicating what is happening now. The stories of transformation. The stories that inspire the imagination. The stories right in front of us. Telling stories I know are true go so much further than telling stories I want to be true.

I'm all for thinking ahead and leading people into the future, but not at the expense of communicating what God is doing now.

Posted by Brad Abare at 6:51 AM
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November 9, 2009

Deadly Viper & Racism in Marketing

Nothing says controversy like an Internet fight over racism in marketing and design. If you weren't familiar with last week's blow-by-blow, Asian author and professor Soong-Chan Rah called out racism at worst and insensitivity at best in the marketing and design of the book Deadly Viper Character Assassins by Mike Foster and Jud Wilhite. Rah accused Foster and Wilhite of fueling racial stereotypes and co-opting Asian culture in order to market their book. It was an especially interesting challenge because Foster and Wilhite's book is all about integrity and character. The conversation exploded with hundreds of comments and eventually led to a conference call between Rah, Foster, Wilhite and moderators.

Thankfully this messy situation seems to have come to a gracious solution. Both Foster and Wilhite of Deadly Viper and Rah have apologized for how they handled the situation and have agreed to move forward in reconciliation. What started with ignorance and lack of awareness has turned into an opportunity for education and greater sensitivity. For all of us (our own review of Deadly Viper completely overlooked these issues, for which we apologize).

A lot of folks have offered lessons from this confrontation, and we encourage you to check those out. We learned a few lessons ourselves from watching this conversation unfold, especially as it relates to communication and marketing:

1) Be aware of cultural and racial issues.
It's been more than 40 years but the dream still hasn't come true. Racial issues have and will continued to plague humanity, and the church is not immune. What's perhaps most discouraging about this issue is that it's not the first time Rah has spoken out against Asian stereotypes in Christian publishing. As church communicators we have a duty to be aware of what's offensive and make sure those kinds of portrayals have no place in our marketing. That sounds brain-dead obvious, but as this situation shows, it's easy to plow forward and not realize your own cultural insensitivity.

Continue reading "Deadly Viper & Racism in Marketing"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:03 AM
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November 6, 2009

Church Marketing Lab: Message Series, Winter Retreats & More

As Christmas approaches, the Church Marketing Lab is heating up. One of the busiest times of the year means lots of mailers, web sites and more as churches plan for Advent, Christmas outreaches and candlelight services. But not everyone is on track for Christmas yet. Plenty of churches are thinking about this weekend, not a holiday over a month away. Here are some of the pieces we've seen swirling through the Church Marketing Lab lately:

Overcome is a graphic for an upcoming message series.

Continue reading "Church Marketing Lab: Message Series, Winter Retreats & More"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 1:23 PM
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November 5, 2009

Familiar Story

The Covent Garden district in London traces its roots back to Roman times. For most of its history, Covent Garden has been a cultural center including shopping, dining and the arts. In the 1960s and 70s, the Greater London Council wanted to flatten and rebuild the district because it had become impractical for modern life. At first, it seemed the plan would happen until residents of the district came to their senses and began to seek historical classification for many of the buildings, ultimately thwarting the plan to raze and rebuild. Familiarity had caused residents to lose site of the sacred story that is Covent Garden.

Misplaced familiarity also plays out in 1 Samuel with Eli’s wicked sons Hophni and Phineas. Their despicable disregard for the sacred story they had witnessed in their father’s life ultimately cost them their lives. I don’t ever want to get too familiar with the Story! Luke 7 tells about the centurion’s sick servant and the widow of Nain’s dead son. When the servant was healed and the son was raised from the dead, both the centurion and the widow were amazed, as were the people who witnessed both miracles. In my opinion, grandmas are the only people who will tolerate listening to a storyteller who has lost their passion and curiosity for the story.

Posted by Brad Abare at 6:53 AM
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November 4, 2009

Church Logos: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

COLLIDE magazine covers church logos and has a boat-load of good advice. We already mentioned it on Twitter, but it seemed worth the extra attention. Some of the advice is obvious, but it just needs to be said:

"Your church’s logo doesn’t have to look like the typical church logo. You don’t have to include a cross, dove, steeple, or flame if you don’t want to."

Amen. For more help on creating your logo, check out a logo project from start to finish, the top 33 church logos and our classic post, how to design a church logo. As always, you can venture over to the Church Marketing Lab for help and feedback.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 1:44 PM
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November 3, 2009

Consuming CMS Poll Results

Last week we asked how you most frequently enjoy receiving Church Marketing Sucks content. We have a number of different delivery systems, and we were curious to see which ones are used the most. Of course there is a bit of bias, since the poll only shows up on one of those methods--and I think we see that in the results.

The most popular way to get CMS is right here on the site. More than half of you do that, though it may have something to do with the fact that the poll is right here on the site. If the numbers aren't skewed, it's quite a statement that nearly half the audience of a web site doesn't get their content on the web site. There's a lesson for you.

Up next was the 24% who turn to RSS. After that comes social media with 14% enjoying @cmsucks on Twitter and 8% partaking on Facebook.

A little surprising, but a whopping 0% liked our e-mail newsletter best. Ouch. Hopefully that just means it's a secondary way of accessing CMS. Yeah, that's it.

Feel free to tell us what you really think in the comments. This week we ask which of the five ways to sabotage the creative process is your church guilty of?

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:44 AM
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November 2, 2009

Vision Correction

On August 30, 2009, 79-year-old Jud McKinney was driving a white pickup truck along a rural road in Winterset, Iowa. Riding a bike on the same road was 54-year-old Mark Grgurich. In a tragic turn of events, McKinney steered his truck into Grgurich, killing him. McKinney suffered from a vision problem known as macular degeneration—a blind spot in someone’s central vision.

I wonder how many of us are a wrong turn away from devastating consequences because of a vision problem? Vision is a picture of an unrealized future. It’s where or what you’re headed toward (how you get there is what mission is for).

Walt Disney passed away before Disney World in Orlando was built. At the opening dedication in 1971, five years after Walt’s death, someone commented to Mike Vance, creative director of Walt Disney Studios, “Isn’t it too bad [Walt] didn’t live to see this?” “He did see it,” Vance replied. “That’s why it’s here.”

If you or your team is stumbling, fumbling or grumbling for lack of clear direction about the future, it’s time for some vision correction.

Posted by Brad Abare at 6:48 AM
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