miletwo::network

I never post goofy stuff, or email cheeky feel good powerpoints around. I’m about to break that rule because today, while looking for information about various bible translations I came across the story below.

What’s the more important opportunity as Jesus marketers, the chance engagement with a stranger who’s not interested but that we might be able to reach with a well crafted message, or the neighbor who calls the church or goes to the web site looking for help or information?

Continuing our series on applying the principles learned from Andy Stanley’s book titled Communicating for a Change to church web development projects, we come to this section titled Internalize the Message. What do you think it means to internalize the message? To borrow from the underlying theme of this site, which is church marketing, you have to first believe the message before you can communicate the message and you pretty much have to know what you’re going to say before you start to speak.

It’s interesting to me, how much of a secular author’s rants on marketing apply to our activities as saints.  Seth Godin is spot on again in a recent post titled “Would we miss you?“.  He of course asks the question with respect to business/client relationship to demonstrate the importance of being exceptional in what we do.  I can’t even believe how much more important the work that we’re doing is from an eternal perspective, and yet for most of us our efforts in ministry are so terribly “back burner.”

I just finished reading David Alan Black’s latest post titled Confessions of a Missional Greek Prof wherein he relates his thoughts about living as a Missional Christian.  One quote in particular made me think about this site, its purpose, and my mission on earth.

If we really believe in the Gospel, what should we be doing to advance it? What is the church, and how can we help it transform society?

I think the reason this spoke to me so much is that lately I’ve been wondering what I’m doing here… I mean right here, on this site.  Am I writing for myself or for others? I know people are coming to the site (thanks to Google Analytics) but I don’t know if anything I’m writing is having an impact on anybody? I carried these emotions all the way down the page as I read words that echoed a sentiment I’ve been feeling myself.  Paul labored to instruct churches, encourage missional thinking, and promote the spread of the gospel.  I believe I’m working toward a similar goal.

A recent missive by marketing guru Seth Godin reminded me of the importance of establishing a marketable brand in our communications and marketing outreach efforts. I think it’s the reason why churches with names like Mars Hill, Rock Harbor, and The Open Door are succeeding in reaching the community in ways that First Baptist of Lalaland never will. It speaks directly to how unmemorable names with common english words are, using words like: community, zone, church, first, whatever.

I sat in church on Sunday, the awesome day of His resurrection and all I could think about was Lost. Now before you start thinking to yourself how un-spiritual I am (even though you’re probably right, I am an idiot) allow me to explain. As I surveyed the crowd gathered together on this day when we as believers fully recognize and are overjoyed at the gift of our salvation made possible by Jesus death, I couldn’t help but notice the scattered pockets of those in our midst who were clearly not along for the ride. I wondered at where they were in their journey to find Truth and if what we were doing together in that room was helping them, or were we pushing them backward?

Today at my church (Grace Community Church in Gresham Oregon) our worship pastor Ben Sadler spoke on our identity as Christians and the concept of “living to die.” Gerry Breshears was teaching out at Hillsboro Community Church and Jay Messenger and his wife Jamie were sitting at the table next to me so apparently it was Ben’s time to share. He mentioned at one point the various components that make up the person: DNA, career, family, social environment, etc. and it got me thinking about how we market Jesus.

In the wake of the recent slide, no… avalanche of real estate price drops I’ve begun to wonder what effect the current economy might have on church vitality, growth, and attendance. The question: “To what degree does the failing economy affect church marketing, attendance and giving, and is there anything we should be doing in response?”

Let’s look at the various factors below and see if I’m just a nut job or if there’s something here we should be thinking about.

Attendance

This one has been hard to locate any statistical data for but I wonder, when hard times hit do more people go to church or find faith? If so, it’s reasonable to assume we should be gearing up for an onslaught! I know from personal experience that there are many factors that drive people to the savior. Many times a personal awakening is triggered by unfortunate circumstances so be ready with the gauze and bandages. If you read this article and are a pastor at a church, let me know if you’ve seen attendance numbers affected by economy.

In keeping with my primary mission of studying and describing my findings on “Jesus marketing” as it applies to our activities today, I’ve been studying patterns of how Jesus followers have spread the Good News of Jesus (aka Gospel) throughout history. One awesome resource I’ve managed to get my hands on has been Eerdman’s Handbook to the History of Christianity in which is outlined a complete history of how the church and the bible have been developed and promoted throughout history.