Deliver the Message

Is Your Church Branding Falling into the “Pretty Woman” Syndrome?

Monday, April 7th, 2008

If we are not careful church branding has the potential to change us and our story! You see, it is not the power of our brands that will transform people, it is the power of the story we tell, and the power of the One through whom we tell it that will. In my opinion, […]

Book: Christianity and the Mass Media in America by Quentin J. Schultze

Monday, March 31st, 2008

Recently I read the book “Christianity and the Mass Media in America” by Professor of Communication Arts and Sciencs at Calvin College, Quentin J. Schultze. You can read the first chapter “Conversing about Faith and Media in America” here. It’s 51 page PDF. […]

Stop being “Unchurched Seeker Sensitive” and start being “Sensitive Seekers of the Unchurched”

Saturday, July 7th, 2007

Here’s one from the “my two cents” category: There is a lot of activity these days to make the church more relevant to the people outside the church that I think is commendable. Churches are trying to make changes in the way they do things to become more understandable and attractive to the people they want to […]

Get Your Church’s Outreach in Shipshape With A Marketing Plan

Wednesday, June 6th, 2007

Building a boat without a blueprint isn’t a good idea, and neither is setting off in the ocean of media available to your church without a marketing plan.
Yet, that’s exactly what many ministries do. Like a rowboat with broken paddles, they work feverishly trying to reach people, but they don’t seem to get anywhere. That’s […]

Learn the Secret of “Me Marketing” vs. “You Marketing”

Thursday, May 17th, 2007

Many ministries put together brochures, websites and other materials with the least interesting copy and least likely approach to get the attention of the people they want to reach. They send their messages as what Jay Conrad Levinson calls “You Marketing” You marketing is the kind of communication that centers on the church and the programs of your […]

Bonsai Church Growth: Market Share Growth is Not Kingdom Growth

Thursday, May 10th, 2007

Here’s another ethical consideration that needs to be thought about when planning outreach in your community. Be careful when you are planning your church’s communication that you are not using your marketing ability and budget to compete with other churches.
Some churches have the mistaken impression they are growing because they think they are very evangelistic, […]

Is it Propaganda or Buzz Marketing?

Saturday, April 28th, 2007

Note: Thanks to the good folks at Church Central for publishing my article Be flexible for more effective outreach on their site, please check it out. We continue on the topic of ethics in church marketing considering how to avoid using false word-of-mouth promotions.  
The topic of Word-of-Mouth (WOM) promotion is very popular these days in ministry marketing circles. I think it […]

Lay Off the Bait and Switch Tactics in Church Marketing

Monday, April 23rd, 2007

We continue the theme of ethics reflecting on the ways churches put their message out in to the community in Ten Ethical Considerations for Ministry Marketers.
The doorbell rings.
You open the door to your home and there stand two clean-cut people holding colorful bundles of magazines and smiling intensely at you.
You smile in return and say, […]

Sea-Monkeys and Other Monkey Business: Ethics in Christian Marketing

Saturday, April 21st, 2007

Once upon a time there was a young boy who was reading the advertisements in the back of his comic book. There on display for all to see was an unbelievable offer. The ad showed a tiny family of happy humanoid sea creatures enjoying themselves. Sea Monkeys!
These Sea-Monkeys really captured the imagination of the boy. The […]

Think Like a Teacher!

Tuesday, April 10th, 2007

I am back from my break from writing the content of my teaching in the Ministry Marketing Mindset seminar. It has been a very busy season these past weeks. The media campaign I have been working on in Oklahoma ends Sunday (for now). In addition to the statewide media saturation, we made 650K door-to-door contacts. When I have […]

Matching Media to Your Target Audience

Sunday, March 4th, 2007

Now we are ready to start talking about promotion. Up to this time we have been working on developing the message through defining your mission, and developing your message through understanding the needs of a particular target audience. Now we are ready to start delivering the message. This is the fun part!
As a marketing coach […]

Tasks for Ministry Marketing Coaching: Deliver the Message

Wednesday, December 6th, 2006

Ministry Marketing is much more than media planning and creative production. Usually churches start their marketing plannning with promotional strategies. But through ministry marketing coaching, you can help them develop a fully customized ministry targeted at specific needs in their community.
When churches work to understand their context and develop ministries that are solutions to perceived needs of the people […]