Beating the Competition

Who is competing with you for the souls of the people in your community? I have heard pastors talk about how they will draw more people than another church in their community because of logistics or programs. But are other churches the competition?

Your church is competing for the time and attention of people who don't know God. There are plenty of other things to keep them busy:

• job
• kids
• football
• sleep
• tv

Since all churches share the same goal of bringing people to Christ, why not form partnerships and do more together? Your competition is not other churches, it's Satan.

"Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other." John 13:34-35

Second Best Ain't Good Enough

One of my pet peeves is passing off second rate stuff as "good enough" because it is by or for Christians. If you are representing Christ you better be leading the pack, not following behind. The Church should be a leader of culture, but it seems to lag behind.

A few weeks ago I attended a service at Windsor Crossing. The service was done by the youth group and it is one of the best Sunday mornings I have had in a long time. It is refreshing to see talented young people giving their best for God. These guys rocked, and did some really cool lighting and video stuff that I have never seen before.

I told my wife that I don't remember ever seeing something in a church service that impressed me or made me wonder how they pulled it off. Churches today are still patting themselves on the back for using overheads or projectors- big deal. These kids had me saying this is cool, how did they do that, and getting emotional. I have a pretty intlellectual approach to God. I love to worship with my mind. It was a great feeling to be a part of something excellent and I found myself getting emotional too.

If we really want to reach our culture we need to be leaders not followers. When non-Christians want to be a part of a Christian event because it is superior we will be doing our jobs.

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:14-16

What are Churches Marketing?

In traditional business you keep score by how much money you make. Therefore good marketing means more money. How do churches measure their success?

Churches are not looking to make money, they are looking to save souls. Fundraising and communicating the importance of good stewardship are important goals for churches, but if that is all they do they have failed.

Churches exist to save souls by bringing people into a relationship with Jesus. This may seem straightforward, but how does your church measure success? A pastor friend of mine was moved to tears when he visited a neighboring church and they showed a video of dozens of people getting baptized. I asked him how many people had come to Christ through his church the last few years and he said he did not know, but it was not many.

Before a church considers undertaking a marketing campaign they need to know what they are trying to accomplish. What does a building campaign build? A more efficient point of contact with people who need Christ, or more space for the members?

What goals does your church have for producing results that matter? Creating internal programs for members is not what we are called to do. How many people did your church reach for Christ in 2006? How many will you reach this year?

FoxFaith, DirecTV offer churches free satellite TV and exclusive screenings of upcoming films

Seems like Christians are never happy about the culture. This story from Christianity Today says that studios are giving pastors satellites so that they can screen films first. The reaction from Christian critics is not positive.

When I was a film student Christians were clamoring for Hollywood to produce more family friendly fair. Now that they are making such films they are accused of being in it for the money.

Hey, they ARE in it for the money because Hollywood is a for profit industry. I have been waiting for them to wake up and see the market for family friendly and Christian films. Now that they are making faith based films and PG13 productions they are accused of being greedy.

Hollywood has not changed. So which would you rather have, a greedy Hollywood making sex and slasher films or Christian and family films? I'll take the latter.

The Coolest Church Marketing Cartoon Ever

OK, maybe it is the only one, but it sure is a doozy! Check out more cartoons from CartoonChurch.

Does Your Website Attract or Repel Potential Visitors?

Tony Morgan gives 10 Easy Ways to Keep Me from Visiting Your Church Because I Visited Your Website


1 Avoid telling me what's going to happen at your church this weekend
2 Put a picture of your building on the main page
3 Use lots of purple and pink and add pictures of flowers
4 Make me click a "skip intro" or "enter site" link
5 Add as many pictures and graphics as you can to the main page
6 Use amateur photography
7 List every single ministry you have at your church
8 Make it as difficult as possible for me to get directions, services times, or find information about what will happen with my kids
9 Put a picture of your pastor with his wife on the main page
10 Try to sell your church rather than telling me how I will benefit from the experience

Some churches are still arguing that marketing is a dirty word while most churches feel pressure to do something. Having a website is not enough without a strategy behind it. The best strategy is to show what a cool loving place you are to meet Jesus and his followers.

Is Marketing In the Bible?

The folks at the Church Marketing Sucks blog tackle the question of whether or not markting is in the Bible.

"In The Message version, 2 Corinthians 10:4 says, "The tools of our trade aren't for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture."

Boy that does not sound like a ringing endorsement of marketing. But if you define marketing as the process of effective communication then the whole book is about marketing. Not only how Christians should be spreading the word, but how God communicated to a chosen people and even became a man in order to overcome communication barriers.

God is the original marketing genius.