church marketing
Here's something so good that it deserves an entry by itself. For the Christians, this is a great website called Church Marketing Sucks that you may want to bookmark it. I'm someone who do not hold much regard for 'rich churches', impressive looking church buildings with extravagant fittings, charismatic teachings, the speaking of tongues aka incoherent monologues and what not. I'm not being judgemental, it's just my own convictions after studying the bible and doing my own research.
No Need To Impress
"I don't think God calls us to be the best, but simply to do our best (Col. 3:23). Striving for the top spot goes against everything in the Bible. We're not to be consumed with being the best. That sort of competitive spirit yearns for perfection and lacks love. Without love we are nothing.
If church marketing sucks, we should do our best to make it better. Not to be better than other churches, not to impress design-savvy visitors, but because we're doing this for God and we want to reach people. Yet amazingly (here comes that contradiction again), God accepts our pathetic efforts. He certainly doesn't need our marketing, our evangelism, or even the sacrifices of old. For God it's all about our hearts. Are we giving this our all and doing it with the best of intentions?
The church is a broken institution, made up of sinful people. And that's exactly the draw. We don't have to be perfect. We don't have to clean ourselves up. We come as we are. That doesn't mean we wallow in the dirt and the muck, but it shouldn't keep you from coming in the door. Sometimes that might mean the marketing sucks. Quite frankly, it all sucks. Church is a ragtag bunch of losers, you and me both. Which is why we so desperately need God.
When it comes to the marketing, the flyers, the postcards, the sign out front -- all we can do is our best. And maybe our best sucks, which isn't exactly where I was going with this, but it's an interesting thought. If our best does suck, let's be honest and open about that. Church marketing that does the best it can, that's honest about its shortcomings, that truthfully presents that particular congregation, can't possibly suck.
We're not here to impress. We're here to help the church bring people to God. That might happen through helping churches avoid cheesy clipart and bad design decisions. But it also might happen when churches drop the facade and embrace the fact that we're all broken. Church marketing sucks. But church marketing that acknowledges we suck might be on the right track."
Labels: white noise
