Did you know that the latest statistics from Barna (barna.com) says the average church attender goes to church 1.2 times per month, but the average Starbucks drinker goes to Starbucks 6 times a month?
How is it that Starbucks is beating the Church by an average of 6 to 1???
This got me thinking… Is this why we are starting to see churches offering the coffee bars and coffeehouse seating these past years? Times change and with it the way we do church needs to change too. But…. we do need to keep the gospel front and center.
These last few years I have seen churches drop denominational signs to go to a more streamlined sign. I think this is a change that we will be seeing more. Does it seem to help… I think so within the confines of the communities they serve.
A church needs to know their community in order to best serve it in the name of Christ.
I have seen churches go toward more of an entertainment style service, again know your community. There are always common things all churches should have as a foundation: God, Christ, Holy Spirit. How we get the message out will differ. How we respond with differ. What we all are looking for in a church will differ, but I hope all are looking toward the same direction.
The times of “We have always done it that/this way” are falling to the wayside. Those ways are in the past and sometimes the past does come back around but in the life of the church it seems that those that are not looking toward the future and want to stay in the past are only hanging on until one to three people leave or die off. Remember everything goes through change. Sundays used to be the day of the Lord. Families would gather at the church then sing, pray, and fellowship then go to someone’s house or out to eat. It was an all-day affair. Something families looked forward too. Now we have the clock watchers. The bold get up and leave people. The ever-wondering gaze at everything but the pastor because they may be onto something.
Marketing encompasses every part of a plan to turn a prospective consumer into a happy and satisfied customer. It includes everything from market research to advertising. The goal of marketing is to convince a person that your product is worth investing in, establish brand loyalty and increase overall sales. How does this work in the church? Let us look at this definition in parts: “encompasses every part of a plan to turn a prospective consumer into a happy and satisfied customer”, Unfortunately this is the entertainment aspect of the church. We want to keep the congregation coming each Sunday. We want to preach the gospel but not the “hard stuff”.
A prospective consumer in the life of the church has mainly two names: Visitor or Guest. The second has a more inviting feel to it- it means we are happy you are here with us. A visitor- means we know you are here for a short time, and we may never see you again. This is part of a marketing strategy.
Those already members are called: Churchgoer, Parishioner, Congregant. Yet what about the term: Family. Is that not what we are? Does that not say we value you?
The second part of that definition is: “The goal of marketing is to convince a person that your product is worth investing in, establish brand loyalty and increase overall sales”. How does the church do this? We offer opportunities to invest. We have an offering to help the church stay open and pay its bills and employees. We offer classes to help strengthen the lives of the congregation. We offer fellowship opportunities that feed not just the hearts and minds of the congregation but also, we feed the body so that it will continue to be strong and healthy (as healthy as fried chicken and desserts can be) to continue the work of the church.
We also make our advertising appealing to those people interested in what we have to offer- We have our church signs around our communities. We have the sign in front that reads who we are and flashes pictures and words about what we are doing and what is to come. We have our bulletins with the fancy covers. We have the welcome centers stationed right inside our front doors to help guide those entering.
How do we increase overall sales? What is our competition? Who is our competition? It is not other churches! God uses each one to bring others to him. It is the church that gets in its own way, and when we begin to lose sight of what God wants us to do. The church is in need of a reminder that we are in the business of making disciples. How we do it needs to be God led. We need to remember when it comes to how we put ourselves out there matters, not just to us as members but to a world full of guests waiting to be invited into a life changing time where they get to come face to face with God’s unfailing love and experience his overwhelming forgiveness.
The best marketing we as a church can do is as old as the scriptures… invite, encourage and build each other up. Know your community. Love as Christ loves.
Till the Nets Are Full,
Pastor Brian
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