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February 25, 2010

Jobs and Freelance Gigs in the New Year

The New Year has brought plenty of jobs and freelance opportunities to the Job Lab and Freelance Lab. If you're in the market to help the church communicate and make some dough while you do it, you need to be sure to stop in over there. Here are just a few of the opening we've seen lately:

Job Lab

• Lifechurch.tv is searching for a Systems Engineer / Administrator.
  
• Are you a web ninja? Check out this posting from Gateway Church.

Freelance Lab

• NewDay Covenant has a marketing strategy, but they need some deliverables.
  

Editor's note: We had to remove this freelance posting. Still don't believe posting your opening in the Job Lab or Freelance Lab is the way to go? Here's what Sarah from NewDay Covenant Church had to say:

Yikes! We have received so many resumes in response to our job posting on the lab site that I'm a bit overwhelmed. I think it would be best to remove the listing...

Thanks so much for this WONDERFUL service. I would be even more lost without it.

If you're a church looking to fill an opening, head on over and post. It's free, and it gives you access to some of the highest-quality church communications professionals around. If you're looking for someone to do a project, the Freelance Lab is the place for you. If you're looking for a full-time employee, head over to the Job Lab.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 8:39 AM
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February 24, 2010

Social Marketing Strategy Poll Results

The Smithsonian Institution made some waves a few months ago with their social media strategy. It's hard to know if they were being frustrating over-achievers or meticulously-documented marketers, but it made us think: how well-developed is your church's social media strategy? Here's how you voted:

The big winner? Whoever the one person was that voted their church as we're thought-out and written-up like the Smithsonian. Speak up in the comments; share your strategy; let's hear it!

And the other group of you on the same track are the 10% who have devised a strategy, but now you're executing. We'd love to hear what went into your plan and how the execution is going thus far.

And what of the non-planners? 37% of you are flying foot loose and fancy free. You jumped into social media, and now you're just trying to engage in conversations and keep your head above water.

The next couple chunks of you aren't having the most social media success. 28% are trying your hand at social media, but you're wandering aimlessly and failing slowly. We'd love to hear where you've run into problems and what they were; perhaps you can help other churches with your story.

Another 24% of you are simply not engaging in social media. Do you feel like you can't give full effort, so you might as well not try? Just don't see the value proposition? Feeling lazy? We'd love to hear why you're not giving it a shot.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 8:16 AM
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February 22, 2010

Primal: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity by Mark Batterson

The premise of Washington, D.C., pastor Mark Batterson's latest book is the greatest commandment found in Mark 12:30, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." He focuses on those four components of a person--heart, soul, mind and strength--to get at the very heart of Christianity. Essentially, Primal: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity offers a full-person butt kicking.

Batterson explores how we need to use all four of these components in our journey to know God. If we lack in any area, we're not getting the full experience and we're missing out. That's where it becomes a full-body butt kicking, as we realize the areas where we're not reaching our potential. But Batterson is always encouraging, diving into each area with passion and curiosity, offering suggestions and insights into how to pursue God in each area.

Engaging the whole person is why this book matters for a church communication site. Too often our spirituality is simply about the heart or the soul. In doing so, we lose out on the imagination. Batterson argues that "the church ought to be the most creative place on the planet," (113) but instead "the greatest threat to the future of the church is a failure of our God-given imagination" (112). Dreaming and creating are two powerful acts of worship and important aspects of our journey with God. That's something a communicator can get behind.

Continue reading "Primal: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity by Mark Batterson"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 5:47 AM
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February 17, 2010

State of Church Marketing Poll Results

After five-and-a-half years of Church Marketing Sucks, we thought it was about time to check your feelings on the state of church marketing--where we've been and where we're going. Here's what you had to say:

41% of you think we're inching forward with a long road ahead. You think some churches are finally starting to get it, but there are plenty of folks out there who aren't on the boat yet, or they're just missing the point. And 20% of you are even a bit more optimistic. You see bigger steps in the right direction, and you're getting really excited about it.

Another 27% of you think not much headway has been made, but the fight must go on. Churches, for whatever reason, still aren't getting it, but we shouldn't give up. We ought to keep trying to help.

Next up are those 11% of you who aren't on board with the idea that churches should be marketing. Are you sitting on the fence on it? Do you just read Church Marketing Sucks to get your blood boiling?

And finally, a paltry 2% see a 180 degree turn around. Given the size of that number, it looks like we have a lot of work to do on the road ahead!

We'd love to hear you comment on some of the ways you've seen church marketing move forward and some encouraging signs you've noticed. It's always good to celebrate these victories together.

And this week, we're looking to hear: How has your church developed a social media strategy?

Posted by Joshua Cody at 11:51 AM
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February 15, 2010

Our Marketing Budget is $0

by Danielle Hartland, guest blogger

This year our church made the decision to pull all of our traditional marketing dollars (phone book, newspaper, radio, etc.), and we moved it to equipping our people and staff to engage and connect with the lost. That sentence makes it sound perfect and glamorous. It wasn’t, but the end result and current culture shifting has made it all worth it.

As the director of communications I spent the first month talking to, let’s say, “established” members of our congregation and leadership who were deeply concerned, and even offended that we had pulled our weekly newspaper blurb noting the sermon title and preaching pastor. Our executive pastor also had many conversations with people who were confused and worried. It was a rough few weeks, but once we were able to articulate our reasoning (see catalyst #2, below), everyone was pretty much on board.

Continue reading "Our Marketing Budget is $0"

Posted by Guest Blogger at 7:45 AM
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February 11, 2010

What Do You Do When Your Church Is Attacked in the Media?

There's nothing quite like sweeps week investigative journalism from the local TV news for over-the-top drama, tenuous facts and hit job reporting--especially when the focus of those reports is your church. Doh!

That happened to Ed Young and Fellowship Church last week. "Prominent Grapevine pastor linked to luxury," read the headline, and the story was packed with melodrama and even the disguised voice of an anonymous source! The accusations include a secret church jet, a 10,000-square-foot "parsonage" and a $1 million salary.

Ed Young's response? Initially he ignored the story and insisted he has no secrets. Then at Fellowship he addressed specifics from the platform (jet is leased, home is 7,000 square feet [take a tour!], salary isn't close to $1 million, etc.) and two board of directors shared their confidence in Ed, as well as the level of accountability and integrity the church leadership has.

We'd send out our own investigative team of reporters, but we've all got better things to do. The real story here is what your church can learn from this mess. So we asked two Center for Church Communication board members, Kent Shaffer and Kem Meyer, to offer their perspective.

Before we get to their advice, the point here isn't to pick on Ed Young and Fellowship from afar with no context or experience. As Kem shared when I asked for her input, "My heart here isn’t to use Ed and Fellowship as an example, but to take the opportunity to use this as a case study for me to ponder and learn from." If your church were attacked in the local media, how would you respond?

Continue reading "What Do You Do When Your Church Is Attacked in the Media?"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:26 AM
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February 10, 2010

The Big Game Poll Results

The most important game of the year played with an oblong air-pocket covered in leather, which airs around the beginning of February, is no stranger to us. We've covered it time and time again. And again. Just looking at our archives, you can tell we think this is something that matters. It's a yearly playground for the church to learn the hard lessons of copyright law, advertising and community. So we wanted to know if your church was planning to host its own event. Here's what you had to say:

44% of you weren't doing a darn thing for the game. You figured small groups would likely throw something together, but corporately, you had no plans to support it. And that's all right.

27% of you took the opposite approach and threw a big party. You had people invite their friends, made pigs in a blanket and, probably, talked through all the commercials (Even though you swore you wouldn't.)

And another 18% of you were using the game as an opportunity to hang out, but not necessarily outreach. You didn't want to make a festival out of it, but you wanted to have fun and watch the game.

And a last, humble, 11% of you just went on with life-as-scheduled. Plus, of course, plotting how you'd drop condescending hints to people who skipped church.

However you spent your big game Sunday, we hope you took the opportunity to pay attention and learn some more about how your church can communicate Jesus to your community.

This week, it's time for a philosophy question! Let us know in our new poll, what are your thoughts on the state of church marketing?

Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:05 AM
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February 8, 2010

Snowmageddon Cancels Church: Communicating a Crisis

by Ryan Spilhaus, Guest Blogger

Welcome to Washington, D.C., the snow capital of the country. In the past month and a half, we've had two major snowstorms of over 20 inches (affectionately named "Snowpocalypse" and "Snowmageddon," respectively). Plus a smaller storm of about eight inches. For a city where it is unusual to get more than three inches of snow, having three storms of that magnitude has been unprecedented. What's more, they have all happened just in time to wreak havoc with our weekend services here at McLean Bible Church. So since Dec. 19 we've had to cancel our services three times.

However, each time we've had to cancel we've still been able to run our Internet Campus. On a normal weekend we normally have about 3,000 people attend services online, but during each of these three snowed-out weekends we've seen almost double that. We also added the Saturday night service, which we normally do not broadcast.

So how do you best communicate in a mini-crisis, like an enormous snowstorm?

We've learned a few things this winter:

Continue reading "Snowmageddon Cancels Church: Communicating a Crisis"

Posted by Guest Blogger at 7:50 AM
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February 5, 2010

Christian Advertising at the Super Bowl: Subtle & Controversial

The commercials are by far my favorite part of the Super Bowl. The last couple of years have been pretty mediocre in terms of the million dollar ads, but I'm hoping this year is different.

Where the commercials have usually been made up of beer, cavemen and the GoDaddy girls, this year is different. This year one, and maybe two, commercials have connections to the church. And they're a study in opposites. One is a blatant commercial message for a consumer product--but it has subtle spiritual overtones and you wouldn't guess a church is behind it. The other is from a Christian nonprofit and has raised all kinds controversy.

Doritos & Mosaic
The first isn't out to save any souls directly, but it sure is a lot of fun. Erwin McManus and the team at Mosaic entered and are now in the top 6 for Doritos' Crash the Superbowl contest for their commercial "Casket".

While this commercial is certainly not what you'd expect from a church (which is why I love it) and you'll not see any scripture quoted in their spot, I do imagine it has already created quite a buzz around the church and community.

"We're not trying to use Doritos to propagate a message, but I think we want people to know that we have a sense of humor, that it's OK to laugh," McManus said. "So much of what comes out of the faith community seems so dour and somber and we want to say, 'Hey, we're real people. You can be a person of faith and really enjoy life and laugh."

"Nobody's going to fall on their knees and accept Jesus as a result of this spot. But advertisers on Madison Avenue spend millions on a Super Bowl spot because they know it influences people. It might not get someone converted, but I think it will get someone to say, 'Maybe there is something I ought to investigate.'"

Continue reading "Christian Advertising at the Super Bowl: Subtle & Controversial"

Posted by Michael Buckingham at 7:41 AM
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February 4, 2010

The Church, Haiti and Disaster

Last week, we talked about your feelings on the way churches responded to the Haitian disaster.

Us? We were beaming with pride. And dreaming of a future where the church is known for responding this way, even when there is no natural disaster to be found.

Here's just a shade of what we were reading:

• Amid Rubble, Seeking a Refuge in Faith
• In Haiti's 'new era' Episcopalians around the world offer help
• Religious Groups Fill Haiti Government Gaps
• Haitians everywhere united by faith
• Churches Respond

Grass-roots efforts were springing up everywhere. Nearly every Christian organization was offering some sort of plan to give to Haiti. And despite a few folks trying to steal some children, things were positive.

It's moving to see churches in the news for this sort of thing instead of pickets, protests and silly billboards. News organizations are ready and willing to chronicle our generosity, love and hope. But we have to tell the stories first.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:39 AM
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February 3, 2010

Fight Church: Mixed Martial Arts as Ministry

Recently the New York Times examined the growing practice of churches and evangelical groups creating mixed martial arts ministries.

[A particular martial arts ministry] is one of a small but growing number of evangelical churches that have embraced mixed martial arts — a sport with a reputation for violence and blood that combines kickboxing, wrestling and other fighting styles — to reach and convert young men, whose church attendance has been persistently low.

The article continues to discuss some of the logic and justifications behind these types of offerings. Essentially, churches are seeing young men disinterested in church participation. What better way to bring in young men and communicate the gospel than by leveraging the popularity of hand-to-hand combat?

Continue reading "Fight Church: Mixed Martial Arts as Ministry"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 8:08 AM
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Online Sermons Poll Results

Kevin Finn recently gave churches the challenge to get their sermons online. And we were curious just how many of our intrepid readers were already part of churches who make materials available online. We expected a big number, and we got a pleasant surprise.

83% of you are making sermons available online. Whether you're a house church, a megachurch or anything between, this seems like a good move. It gives your folks more access to the things you believe and preach, and it allows them to stay more connected with your message.

Equally pleasing? None of you are putting your sermons behind a pay-wall. You're making these resources available for free, so there are fewer barriers to possible listeners trying to get to your material. Kudos to you for finding other ways to fund your church and making your message available.

17% of you still aren't putting your sermons online, and we'd love to know what's keeping you back. Principle? Effort? Cost?

This week, it's time for the you-know-what that we've covered before. And we want to know, will your church be throwing a party for the big-game-that-shall-not-be-named on February 7th?

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:30 AM
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