August 27, 2008

Falling for God

All right, all right. I'm sorry for the lame title pun. Westchester Church decided to do something crazy--go skydiving. This church had a message to communicate: We are not boring; we are not safe; we chase lions.

What better way to communicate who you are than to jump out of a plane from thousands of feet in the air?

And in a church with a weekly attendance of 150, forty people signed up. And they saw God do incredible things that day. Here's a little bit from their pastor about one person who was particularly impacted:

He’s not a Christian and admits he is not a very religious man but he wanted to tag along with a bunch of crazy Christ followers to risk his life to skydive. To me that is amazing in itself. I think he was more nervous hangin’ out with us than jumping. Not sure about that but he looked a little nervous when he met us in the parking lot for prayer prior to leaving.

Continue reading "Falling for God"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:54 AM
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August 18, 2008

Name a Church Contest

Here's a new and innovative way of going about naming your church -- ask your whole country to help. And give them a Wii if they're right.

[Insert name here] church of Australia took that route. They held a competition, which has since closed, in which anyone from Australia could submit as many ideas as they would like to name their church. A simple site allowed anyone to submit a church name and tagline, and the church is now deciding among the submissions for a winner.

You can sign up to find out more about the church -- details of the winners, info about the community and ongoing updates about the community. Seems like a genius way to draw a community to your new church. Keep your eyes peeled for the winning entry, and best of luck to the church to be named later!

Update: A winner has been named! CitySoul is the new name of the church. Read on for the full emailed press release.

Continue reading "Name a Church Contest"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:01 AM
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August 7, 2008

Death to the Church Bulletin

by Michael Buckingham, Guest Blogger

Tim Schraeder writes "June 22 was a sad day at Park Community Church, we lost a dearly beloved friend ... our weekly program."

The choice might not fit every church to throw out the bulletin, but the exercise they went through to come up with the decision would be good for any church. Often we do things for one simple reason--that's what we've always done. By taking a closer look at the people that make up Park Community Church and the pros and cons of the bulletin, the team at Park realized there was a better way. They didn't just get rid of the bulletin, it was replaced with something that worked better for the church.

My guess: this new option will be read and passed around much more than their old printed piece. Read Tim's blog entry for a blow-by-blow account.

Posted by Guest Blogger at 6:27 AM
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August 4, 2008

Jesus for President

Superstition Springs Community Church gets the prize here. They were the first link we received of a church to tying a marketing campaign to the presidential campaign, and thus the deluge begins.

Beginning now and running through the election, they're running a "Jesus for President" series (not to be confused with Shane Claiborne's Jesus for President), along with a microsite, anewplatform.com. Their premise is simple: "A new platform, a new set of issues, a new way to live ... delivered on a mountainside 2,000 years ago." It's a look at Jesus' run for office on the agenda of the Sermon on the Mount. Sounds like a pretty great idea.

One of the most interesting facets of this story, however, is an article in a local paper. If you read the article online, you can view readers' reaction to the campaign. Some is positive, but a lot is negative. Is the negative reaction to church marketing here a vocal minority or a bellwether of public opinion?

Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:47 AM
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July 16, 2008

Semiautomatic Assault Rifle--Free at Church!

Only one thing comes to mind when I heard this story: Uh oh.

I don't want to be sensationalist or over-report this. It's pretty tough, though. From KOCO in Oklahoma City:

Windsor Hills Baptist had planned to give away a semiautomatic assault rifle until one of the event's organizers was unable to attend.

The church’s youth pastor, Bob Ross, said it’s a way of trying to encourage young people to attend the event. The church expected hundreds of teenagers from as far away as Canada.

In the church's defense, I'm sure this giveaway is much more relevant, practical and functional in their own town in Oklahoma and loses a lot in the translation to the national stage. Also, I feel fairly confident that they're only giving the gun away to someone responsible and legal.

All that considered, what on earth are they thinking? if this gun giveaway were to go sour, the consequences would be grave. The moral of the story is you have to think one step ahead in your marketing, and be prepared to deal with the repercussions of any way you market yourself.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:17 AM
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July 15, 2008

How the Catholic Church Markets World Youth Day

Sometimes it's fun to see what others say about church marketing. Here's a blog entry talking about how the Catholic church is marketing World Youth Day 2008. The initial thought is that the Catholic church isn't very good at marketing, but then the author explores some of the strategies for World Youth Day and points out that they're pretty smart. And they're simple things, like:

• Handing out orange and yellow jackets and backpacks to visitors so they can both be seen and find one another.
• Each visitor's badge includes the flag of their country and
• each visitor is encouraged to wave their country's flag.

The author concludes:

"If nothing else, World Youth Day demonstrates the power and global reach of a church that many perceive to be in decline. The gathering of youth will reinforce the faith of everyone involved and convince them that they are a part of something much larger than themselves--something that, because of the diversity and number of participants, must surely be worthwhile. And that’s good marketing."

It's amazing how such simple ideas can create much larger perceptions.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:56 AM
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July 8, 2008

Stolen Church Trailer Smack Down

We talked before about what to do when someone steals your church trailer. Gary Lamb would beg to differ, however. His church trailer was stolen (perhaps we have a serial church trailer thief on our hands?), and his reaction was a little bit different. From his blog:

First let me say, God loves you. Second let me say we forgive you. We really don’t want to forgive you, but God says we should so we do.

And it continues ...

I am curious what kind of lowlife you must be? Trust me, I have been around some pretty low ones before but never one that would be so low as to steal from a church. I understand you probably need some crack or something like that but stealing from a church would scare me. It would scare me more once I realized which church I stole it from. We are probably the only church you have ever heard of that will honestly break your legs once you are found.

So what do you think, are you a church trailer forgiver or a church trailer leg breaker?

Posted by Joshua Cody at 4:40 PM
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June 23, 2008

Guerrilla Marketing

WebUrbanist is in the midst of an eight-part series on guerrilla marketing. The examples used in the series are phenomenal, and they make me wonder, "Why the heck isn't the church on the bleeding edge of this stuff?" Perhaps because guerrilla marketing campaigns can sometimes be intrusive, offensive or shocking. Or perhaps because we're just not thinking hard enough and sharp enough. Get your creative juices to flowing by following these links to your heart's content and find your favorite guerrilla marketing campaign.

• Part 1 - The History of Guerrilla Marketing
• Part 2 - The Origins and Evolution of Guerrilla Marketing
• Part 3 - Major Corporations Go For Guerrilla Marketing
• Part 4 - Guerrilla Marketing Versus Viral Marketing
• Part 5 - Guerrilla Marketing for Social Causes

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:42 AM
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June 4, 2008

Twitter at Church

We've talked a lot about Twitter lately and some of you are probably wondering what Twitter might look like inside the church. Well, here's a real live example of using Twitter during a church service.

They ran the Twitter feed on the big screen and encouraged people to take part. Some people loved it, some people hated it, some people didn't care. It did give those who weren't physically present a chance to take part and the tweets ranged from light banter to theological reflection.

Some of the positive response included comments like, "I felt like part of what was happening," "I felt part of the community" and "I felt like it was more than just about me."

Organizer John Voelz said: "Bottom line, it is worth it to try these kinds of things. Out of this experience, we came up with a list of 20 other ways to use Twitter." (link via michaelhyatt)

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:18 AM
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June 3, 2008

Put Your Faith to Work: Slice Carrots

The Episcopal Church recently launched an advertising campaign emphasizing community outreach. The "Put Your Faith to Work" campaign includes print ads and videos and emphasizes slicing carrots. They go on to encourage volunteering in shelters, schools, disaster recovery sites, soup kitchens and more. The ads are available free to congregations who can pay for local placement.

I love the idea of equating daily activities with serving God. So much church communication often feels overly spiritual.

I also like the idea of denominations preparing ads that can be used by local congregations. It's a cost effective way to go. I just wish there was more customization available (maybe there is, though the article doesn't hint at it)--the Put Your Faith to Work landing page isn't the url I'd want to send potential visitors to.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:36 PM
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Free Breakfest Fridays

There's probably 718,000 churches in America that offer free breakfast. The catch? You have to come on Sundays, be greeted and stick around for the service.

Westchester Church looked to take a different approach. Every Friday morning before 8:00, you can drop by their parking lot (at the corner of a busy intersection) for some free breakfast. From Stephen Webb's blog:

"We show up at daybreak, set up a table, unload the signs, cones, coolers, and muffins, and invite the traffic. We have about 3-9 people on the street holding signs and waving them in. We have about 2-5 people handing out the free stuff. It takes about 20 seconds to take an order and have them on their way. Every morning we have new people. And we hear each week that “This absolutely makes my day.”

Free stuff is always a great way to reach people; so is going out of your way for them. Sounds like a great combination to me.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 8:06 AM
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May 23, 2008

Know Your History: Episcopal Ad Project

While reading Graphic Design and Religion, I came across the Episcopal Ad Project of 1979. Apparently, Reverend Dr. George H. Martin decided he wanted to venture into advertising, which churches hadn't done much of before. The ads were a work in progress for six years with Fallon McElligott Rice of Minneapolis, and they looked to use contemporary language and ideas to communicate God.

The entire project (which is still being worked on) became the Church Ad Project, and is now available online to order the prints in many different formats. For the quickest browsing, check out their posters. (Editor's Note: Church Marketing Sucks does not endorse web design with so many font colors and "click here" links on the aforelinked site.)

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:25 AM
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May 21, 2008

wethechurch.org and Your Church

There's been a lot of buzz going around about WeTheChurch. It's a quick and easy way to share a prayer or a praise, and it's a great way to spend a few minutes--praying for others and celebrating with them. It grew and grew, then it ran into problems when a lack of moderation opened the door for some miscreants to bring down the site. So what does all this mean to your church?

It means there is something we should all be doing.

Folks are looking to share both their struggles and their successes. There's a place for us to do that with boldness and openness, and there's a place for us to do that with anonymity, trusting God will do the work even when we don't know the names and faces.

Continue reading "wethechurch.org and Your Church"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:20 AM
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March 21, 2008

Real World Easter Marketing

Here are a couple churches going out of their way to create buzz for Easter. Not everyone should do these things, but we always encourage thinking outside of the box.

Easter fortune cookies - Lifechurch.tv in Hendersonville, Tenn., gave out bags of fortune cookies that include a fortune and a link to their Easter site. Folks may not want to listen to you about your site, but they might check it out after they get a sweet fortune cookie.

Elephants for Easter - Church by the Glades (we've discussed them before) is going to have Judy, a 9,000 pound Indian elephant, at their services this Sunday to promote a message on denial. Sounds like a great idea, and it even comes with the obligatory response to PETA.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 8:59 AM
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February 4, 2008

Church Marketing Lessons From Haiti, Part 3

This is part three in a three-part series about church marketing lessons learned from my recent trip to Haiti.

Preach the Word, Not the Problem
In a post earlier this year, I wrote about getting what you preach for. I was so grateful to learn that pastors in Haiti--at least the ones we were with--are all about preaching the Bible. In a country where the poverty is overwhelming, I thought I'd hear a lot about the physical needs in their messages. Quite the contrary. These pastors are preaching the Word passionately and boldly. The earth is just a temporary landing pad--they know eternity is what matters. And they want to make sure Heaven is crowded! I struggle with how easy it is for me to slip into the mode that says the Bible is all about me and solving my problems when it's really a lot less about me and a whole lot more about God.

Continue reading "Church Marketing Lessons From Haiti, Part 3"

Posted by Brad Abare at 6:45 AM
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January 31, 2008

Church Marketing Lessons From Haiti, Part 2

This is part two in a three-part series about church marketing lessons learned from my recent trip to Haiti.

A Holistic Approach to Church Works Well
Although commonplace in third-world countries, it was refreshing to see the value of having so many key community services stem from a local church. At both churches we worked with--just a few miles from each other--they had a medical clinic, an orphanage and a school connected to the main church. One had a homeless shelter and the other was building a trade school. When churches are the hub for community services, it serves as an excellent way for the Gospel to permeate all areas of life from a common birth canal. It's also a great way for the church community to be plugged into a vocation that really uses their strengths because there are so many options and outlets. I think this holistic approach is really what "church as a community" is all about.

Long Services Are Too Long
The church services in Haiti were really long, sometimes lasting up to three hours. At first I thought this was because it was one of the few big gathering points the community had so they loved being together and time was not an issue. After further inquiry and reflection, the point remains: long services are too long, regardless of the country or culture you're in. People doze off there just like they do here. Butts get tired. The heat gets hot. I realize these services felt twice as long for me because I don't speak Creole and there wasn't any translation, but c'mon friends. Long services are disrespectful and counter-productive.

Posted by Brad Abare at 6:44 AM
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January 30, 2008

Church Marketing Lessons From Haiti, Part 1

I just recently returned from being in Haiti with my wife and family. It was a part of our alternate holiday plans as we continue to re-imagine what Christmas is all about. While working closely with two local--and very different--church congregations in Leogane (just outside of Port-au-Prince), I gleaned many lessons for church marketing. This is part one in a three-part series.

Bring Nothing Less Than Your Best
I was deeply moved by the incredible lengths the Haitian people go to bring their best. Every church service was an opportunity to dress up in the best they had--which was way better than anything I packed to wear. Guys wore suits, women wore dresses. Although the churches do not have a dress code or turn people away based on their appearance, the culture in Haiti suggests that unless you're dressed to the nines, you shouldn't even walk into a church service. The point here is less about external positioning and more about internal posturing toward God. They dress their best, bring their best and give their best because that's what they feel God does for them. How can we foster this in our church communities?

Continue reading "Church Marketing Lessons From Haiti, Part 1"

Posted by Brad Abare at 12:40 PM
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December 20, 2007

When Churches Get It Right

by Margaret Pittman, Guest Blogger

Occasionally churches get it right--they do something so significant that it makes you stand back in awe and amazement. And as a critic of the way most churches operate--as self-serving institutions, the event that occurred at my church did just that.

"Give Back Sunday" could have been a cheesy superficial marketing tool--allowing the congregation to take a little money out of the offering plate instead of giving money to the church. Whoopee. I get to take a buck and buy someone a cup of coffee--but oh wait, I can't even do that with a dollar. I can get someone a stick of gum ... maybe. What can I get someone for a dollar?

Anyway, everyone was invited to participate in taking an unmarked envelope out of the offering plate. There was a sense of palpable skepticism, as well as anticipation, in the congregation before we opened the envelopes. When we finally peeked inside, a stunned silence filled the pews. Wow. $20, $50 and $100 bills were in the envelopes--a total of over $13,500, with the instruction that we could not spend it on ourselves. We were told to bless someone this week because you have been richly blessed.

Continue reading "When Churches Get It Right"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:07 AM
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August 29, 2007

My Naked Pastor

You can certainly file this one under "Is this for real?" I'll copy from the site, MyNakedPastor.com, here.

The lead pastor, Troy Gramling, at Flamingo Road Church is getting naked! No ... not that kind of naked, a new kind of naked. A nakedness that isn’t embarrassing; a nakedness that God would say is cool.

On 9-9 @ 9PM, Troy will be on a 24-hour webcam for five weeks in four locations: house, car, hotel, and office. Every day, all day, we will see his life in a fishbowl - the good, the bad, the great, the ugly.

Continue reading "My Naked Pastor"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 2:17 PM
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August 24, 2007

Church Marketing: What Not to Do

I've been collecting a few links over the past few weeks as church stories caught my attention, and in case anyone wasn't quite sure, here are three ways not to market your church.

1. Fall into a scandal resulting in a $600 million payout.
2. Have a member smuggle $28,000 from the collection plate.
3. Embezzle over a million dollars from the church you pastor.

Continue reading "Church Marketing: What Not to Do"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 9:52 AM
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May 25, 2007

Chick-fil-A and Church Marketing

Some of you out west might have no idea what I'm talking about. My Church Marketing Sucks colleagues probably don't have a strong idea of what I'm talking about. But down South, it's all about the Christian Chicken.

Within 10 miles of my house, there are 10 Chick-fil-A restaurants. One is open 24 hours a day. Well, almost. It closes at 11:59 p.m. Saturday night and reopens at 5:00 a.m. Monday morning. It's a lifestyle and an addiction--chicken sandwiches, waffle fries, and sweet tea, that is.

As you probably know, I'm a Christian. As you probably don't know, Chick-fil-A's mission statement is "to glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us and to have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A." I love this. They don't evangelize traditionally. They don't impose their beliefs, despite their position as nearly omniscient autocrat of chicken.

Continue reading "Chick-fil-A and Church Marketing"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:16 AM
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May 10, 2007

Ownership, Not Membership

Earlier, we highlighted The Church at Pembrook Pines' interesting marketing strategy of church seven days a week. Today, we have a new move for you.

Vintage21, a church in Raleigh, N.C., does some interesting things with their church members. Most importantly, they don't actually call them members. They call them owners. According to their site, this minimizes the exclusive connotations of membership and maximizes the emphasis on ourselves as heirs to the kingdom. Beyond this, they also want to communicate that owners are investing in the church, not only consuming its resources.

Continue reading "Ownership, Not Membership"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 8:26 AM
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May 7, 2007

Church Seven Nights A Week

The Church of Pembroke Pines in Pembroke Pines, Fla. has a pretty interesting strategy. You've heard of multiple services. Sometimes two on Sunday. Sometimes one on Saturday. Heck, sometimes even one on Wednesday. We've got something new and interesting for you though: Seven nights of worship at 7 p.m. That's what the Church of Pembroke Pines does. Every night has a different feel, a different aim, and a different team. It's crazy, but I think I might be sold. (link via Monday Morning Insight)

Update: The Church of Pembrook Pines is now Oasis Church, in case you're looking for it. You can also hear more about the church at Pastor Guy Melton's blog.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:19 AM
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April 16, 2007

How To Achieve 277% Growth

OK, so the title isn't fully accurate. But it is how one church did it. Eastpoint Community Church in Middletown, Del. had an incredibly simple, strategic and successful marketing campaign, detailed by Marketing Sherpa (membership required). Here's a quick summary of their story:

A small, young church, they were looking to reach a community saturated by a younger generation with a general disquietude towards the idea of church. They knew that an unobtrusive web site would bring just the proper message--we don't merely want to tally converts, but we want you to discover us. Thus the brainstorming began.

Continue reading "How To Achieve 277% Growth"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:28 AM
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February 26, 2007

Amarillo Church Wins Addy Award

An Amarillo, Texas church snagged a best in show (registration requried) at the Addy Awards for the second year in a row. Trinity Fellowship Church won the local division of the highly respected awards competition for creative marketing and advertising, beating out mainstream corporations and organizations in Amarillo.

"Usually what you see is that churches are behind the mark of what the world and other businesses in town are doing. We are doing our best to reach people just as much as Coca-Cola is. Marketing and advertising is the modern language we all speak. It's our outlet to speak the hope of Jesus Christ through a language that everyone understands." -Patrick Kemp, associate pastor of creative ministries

Nice. Keep this up and we'll have to change our name.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:34 AM
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February 7, 2007

The Anti-Anti-Semitic Church Ad that was Anti-Semitic

Despite our title, it's not often that we rag on specific churches for their marketing efforts. We've yet to offer a 'worst church marketing blunders of the year' list, but if we did this might make the cut:

The First Baptist Church placed an ad promoting the sermon “The Only Way to Destroy the Jewish Race” in Saturday’s Portland Press Herald.

Whoops. Apparently Pastor Phil Andrukaitis' goal was to target those who harbor some small resentment towards Israel and Jews and get them to come to church to hear a different viewpoint. Ah, the ol' bait and switch. It's not an authentic marketing method in the first place, but using something as bait that will offend any normal person is probably a bad idea.

Continue reading "The Anti-Anti-Semitic Church Ad that was Anti-Semitic"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 11:24 AM
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August 7, 2006

More Lessons in Church Planting

Last week we pointed to Gary Lamb's 21 Lessons from Two Years of Church Planting, and now Russell Knight from Stonebridge Church in Morgantown, W.V. has followed suit with his own reprinted the 21 Lessons Learned from Church Planting.

Update: Thanks to those eagle-eyed readers who noticed the lists where the same. We can't sneak anything past you, can we?

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:38 AM
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August 4, 2006

Fastest Growing U.S. Churches in 2006

We know how much you love lists ranking churches, so how about the top 100 Fastest Growing U.S. Churches in 2006? Outreach magazine offers the list, compiled from a Church Growth Today study.

Some interesting facts about this list:

• 52 of the 100 churches are new to the list (they didn't appear on the 2005 list).
  
• Texas is the state with the most growing churches at 19. California, Florida and Georgia are tie for second with eight. (Apparently church growth only happens in warm climates. Wimps.)
  
• The oldest church on the list is 165 years old; the youngest church is 3 years old.
  
• You can also check out the top 25 churches plotted out on a Google map.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:50 AM
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August 2, 2006

Greg Boyd, Megachurch Anomaly

Woodland Hills Church in Maplewood, Minn. and its pastor, Greg Boyd, are getting loads of attention from the New York Times article, "Disowning Conservative Politics, Evangelical Pastor Rattles Flock" (registration required). The article covers Boyd's controversial sermon series, "The Cross and the Sword," which argued that Christians should have little to do with politics and typical Republican alliances on issues like abortion, homosexuality and war.

"I am sorry to tell you that America is not the light of the world and the hope of the world," said Boyd. "The light of the world and the hope of the world is Jesus Christ."

Continue reading "Greg Boyd, Megachurch Anomaly"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:20 AM
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July 12, 2006

50 Most Influential Churches for 2006

The Church Report has released their list of the 50 Most Influential Churches for 2006 (1.9 MB PDF, 9 pages). The list is compiled by recommendations from leaders of 2,000 of the largest churches, so "influential" is a bit fuzzy (yes, we did recently have that debate when we belatedly linked to last year's list).

Here's more on the list:

• Church Relevance offers a list of the 50 churches and their web sites, which makes it a little more accessible to check out each one.
• Monday Morning Insight raises some questions about the list and has some good discussion going.
• Community Christian Church's pastor Dave Ferguson blogs his reaction to being ranked #13 on the list.
• Bob Franquiz offers ways he's been influenced by churches on the list

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 2:21 PM
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June 19, 2006

Even Nuns Need Marketing

Lots of folks are coming around to the idea that churches need marketing help, including what is quite possibly the least likely group to use marketing--nuns:

"Whether you're doing branding for nuns or for Coca-Cola, the key is finding out what differentiates them" from competitors, CEO and creative director Mae Skidmore said. "There has been a hesitation among nuns and other religious orders that marketing should be left up to God." ...

"I think people think of nuns as being in a sequestered community and that they spend all of their days sitting in pews praying," said Holly Knight, spokeswoman for IMH [Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary of Monroe]. "Branding is just as valuable for us as it is for businesses. But that's been a tough sale for the nuns to understand."

The Detroit Free Press article also includes a quote from our very own Brad Abare.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:23 AM
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June 2, 2006

Marketing a Church Plant

Ridge Stone Church in Canton, Ga., has launched Ridge Stone Backstage, a blog to share some of the lessons they've learned as a church plant that held their first service in August 2004. Pastor Gary Lamb (you may remember him for only freaking out a few people during his Buzz Conference panel) shares some of the marketing techniques they used prior to launch:

• Cover & two-page article in local direct-mail magazine.
• Partnered with the city to provide the entertainment (concerts/ inflatables) for a big car show.
• Invite cards.
• 10,000 door hangers.
• Huge neon yellow banners.
• Press release that was picked up by local newspapers.
• T-shirts their people wore all over town.

Lamb reports they did all of this for less than the cost of a single direct mail campaign. They had about 200 new people show up at the opening service.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 2:48 PM
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June 1, 2006

Would Jesus Discriminate?

2,000 yard signs, four newspaper ads, 650 bumper stickers, 720 T-shirts and 25,000 door hangers have appeared in the Indianapolis area, all promoting Jesus Metropolitan Community Church as a part of a $55,000 ad campaign. And the campaign focuses on homosexuality.

"Do you know someone who is homosexual? Would you give your life for that person? Jesus did," the church's ad says. ...

[Pastor Jeff] Miner said a future ad in a Sunday edition of The Star will show a group of Klansmen around a burning cross with a headline, "Remember a time when a symbol of love was used as a symbol of hate?"

In addition to the campaign, the church is also holding a town hall meeting on homosexuality and the Bible.

However you feel about their position, their campaign and approach is an interesting example.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 10:18 AM
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