Develop the Message
« Previous EntriesHow to Use Positioning in Ministry Communication
Thursday, February 22nd, 2007Making an effort to understand how people perceive what you are saying when you communicate with them seems like a “no brainer”. But surprisingly, few ministries have a clear concept of how they are perceived by the people they hope to reach. They also have not taken time to outline how they wish to be […]
Positioning, the Breakfast of Communication Champions
Friday, February 16th, 2007Let me pick with your brain a little. What kind of breakfast cereal would you eat if you were a champion? What kind of cereal is just for kids? What kind of cereal would you eat if you wanted to help your heart by lowering your cholesterol? If you are like most people you would have […]
Ask Your Doctor if Nonprobability (Qualitative) Research is Right for You
Saturday, February 3rd, 2007All this talk about scientific research leads to the question, is there any value in non-scientific research? Am I down on research that is not scientific? Not at all!
Of course nonscientific research has great value at all levels of ministry! Not everyone needs to conduct a sample survey to understand the needs of a local […]
Bogus Surveys, Bad Question Design, Web Polls and other Research Pet Peeves!
Wednesday, January 31st, 2007I have a few pet peeves about ministry research I’d like to vent about. I don’t like the phony surveys people use for outreach. I cringe at ill-conceived research questions. And those website polls that masquerade as research also get on my nerves. I know, I need help. Maybe getting a life would help too! Recognizing you have […]
Why Your Last Ministry Survey was Wrong! (And What to do About it!)
Sunday, January 28th, 2007Your last survey was all wrong–but don’t worry—all surveys are wrong! Even professionally done surveys are incorrect! Every survey ever conducted by George Barna is wrong! Thom Rainer is all wet often too! Pew Research reeks with error! Don’t get me trotting out how the folks at Gallup just aren’t correct!
How do I know all surveys […]
What in the World is Weltanschauung?
Saturday, January 20th, 2007Move over “Postmodern” and “Emergent!” Step aside “Missional!” Go home “House Church!” Make room for the Grandfather of all Christian buzz words: “W O R L D V I E W.”
In ministry, communicating the truth of God’s Word to real people will run you headlong into their personal application of epistemology, also called worldview. Yeah, […]
Getting in Touch with Your Inner Psychographic Researcher
Friday, January 19th, 2007Let’s get to know each other better. Imagine you are meeting someone you would like to get to know. If you had an afternoon to hang-out, what kinds of questions would you ask the other person to get to know them?
Where do you work? Tell me about your family. Do you have kids? Where did […]
Would Jesus Use Demographics?
Monday, January 15th, 2007It never fails. Whenever I talk about demographics with ministry leaders, someone comes up with what they seem to think is a theological insight I have not considered, “Uh, excuse me…Jesus didn’t use demographics. So why should we?” I usually want to respond with an equally theologically obvious point, “No, but news flash, we ain’t Jesus […]
Location, Location, Location
Sunday, January 14th, 2007You have heard the old real estate marketing adage, “The three most important things are: location, location, location”. Understanding where you serve geographically in ministry really maters to how you conduct outreach. That should be obvious, right?
When coaching churches, I have found many who are unaware of basic things going on around them in the […]
The Parable of the Cool Ministry Leader
Saturday, January 13th, 2007[I have a few more words about geographics before we move on to Demographics, Psychographics, and Ethnographics. I think it would be fun to share a parable with you.]
The Parable of the Cool Ministry Leader
John is a new pastor just out of seminary, who happens to be a really cool guy. He likes cool things like blogging, […]
How to Use Demographic Data in Church Marketing
Thursday, January 11th, 2007We have already talked about how you can’t reach people just based on who you think they are; you can most effectively reach them based on who they think they are.
This is not saying people can not be grouped in various ways that they don’t also consciously perceive. If such were the case, the field of […]
Put Your “Missional” Money Where Your Ministry Mouth Is–Do Research!
Monday, January 8th, 2007You hear a lot of talk these days about being missional. It’s now a cool new buzz-word in Christian circles. There is lot of missional ministry talk going on over expensive and frothy coffee these days. But in all the missional talk, how well does a church plug in the missional walk?
Being missional is not […]
The Fallacy of Thinking You Can Reach the Unchurched
Thursday, January 4th, 2007There is a crazy perception out there that by developing targeted ministries for the unchurched and promoting them to the unchurched you can reach them. Hogwash!
Let me help you put this wackiness to rest by making two points. One, the unchurched don’t really exist as a group. Two, you can’t really reach people based on […]
How to Get Inside the Minds of the Unchurched People in Your Community
Monday, January 1st, 2007When I was growing up it was popular to think of the world as like a melting pot, with all the various people mixing cultures making up a new blended whole. Then when I became a missionary, I learned the truth. People are not melting into anything much at all. No doubt the world is […]
The One Simple Secret that Will Help You Reach More People
Wednesday, December 27th, 2006Okay, today I reveal the secret you need to reach more people than ever before. The truth of this secret is something that will have to sink in before you “get it”. But once you understand how to use it, you will reach more people. The secret is a paradox of sorts. Here goes: “You […]
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