What Is The Relevant Effectiveness Of Traditional Church Marketing?
Here’s a bit of a departure from what I normally write on this site.
I’m currently participating in an online conversation about church branding which has recently begun at the Church Marketing Sucks website.
I suggest that you read the entire conversation (it’s not too long at the moment - just one initial post and three comments), but here’s a portion of my last comment to whet your appetite:
I suspect that if we concentrated most of our efforts on seeing authentic Christian community developed to a depth we haven’t known before and in such a way that the depth of our community is seen by all (the kind of community that says, “I love you so much that I would die for you tomorrow, but I love you so much that I will live for you today,” lived out in full view of the unbelieving city - outside the church building), we wouldn’t have to market ourselves. The world would _know_ that the Father loves them and that He sent Jesus, and they would come to us to find out why.
....
But sometimes I think the traditional forms of church marketing are just ways we can continue to keep ourselves at arms-length from unbelievers. “We’ll tell you all about our church in the newspapers, in television spots, on doorknob hangers, in direct mail, etc. If you want to learn more, come to us and participate in our programs.” All instead of taking the life of the Christian community to the streets and public parks and bookstores and malls, etc.
I know that perspective is fairly different from how many of us think today (and it may seem strange coming from someone who talks ad infinitum about how to use the web to, in effect, market the church), so I’d be very interested in the perspectives of others. Feel free to comment!
I would also add that although it might seem at first glance to suggest that churches and ministries should forget about websites, that’s not at all what I’m saying or, in fact, believe. If a church or ministry uses its website and other digital means as a way of introducing unbelievers to believers in face-to-face relationships, then this strategic use of digital outreach tools is, in fact, furthering the mission of taking the life of the community of believers “to the streets.”
Posted by on 09/20/05 at 10:22 AM
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You may be interested in reading these articles which enumerate core principles of the strategy we advocate:
Effective Church Websites For Emerging Generations
Investigating the various ways in which a church's website can be targeted toward unbelievers in a church's local community.
A Strategy For Local Internet Outreach
How can the internet be used for evangelism and outreach while maintaining an environment of authentic Christian community?
Flawed Follow Up Or A Flawed Philosophy of Evangelism?
The ease with which we can “share the gospel” online can actually short-circuit the God-ordained process by which unbelievers are brought to faith.
Should We Include A Gospel Presentation On Our Websites?
Should conversion be our immediate goal in our internet evangelism efforts?
A Strategic Opportunity For The Church
A proposed strategy in which a church would use short video profiles of members of their congregation to entice unbelievers in their local area to consider the value of a local congregation’s ministry in their own lives.
2 John 12
Is there something incomplete about digital communication?
Wed, December 03, 2008 at 07:19 am
Frank thoroughly impressed with the professionalism of the WebTrends Ad Director team http://ping.fm/EuHLl
Sun, November 30, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Frank interested in finding good resources (blogs, books, etc.) on cause marketing.
Fri, November 28, 2008 at 11:57 am
Frank contemplating a line from "O Holy Night" - in His name ALL oppression shall cease
Tue, November 25, 2008 at 08:31 am
Frank exhausted but gratified after today's Scene7 imaging launch on telescope.com!
Mon, November 24, 2008 at 08:05 pm
Frank @benwiles although you made me think about OneNote again. I think it might have feature to allow you to forward a website to OneNote
When the Luis Palau Evangelistic Association wanted to use the internet to promote their city festivals, they turned to Strategic Digital Outreach. Read more ....
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Web Development
Designwise Studios
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RockBeatsPaper
SparrowStyle
Turtle Interactive
Content Management
Expression Engine
Web Hosting
DreamHost
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Constant Contact
We work with several different organizations in exploring ways in which digital means can be used to reach an increasingly digital world. Some of these organizations are more traditional clients. Some are friends. All are our partners in the gospel (1 Corinthians 3:9). Invariably, we learn as much from them as they do from us. Here is a sampling:
David & Linda Arzouni
Assemblies of God missionaries to West Africa, based in Mali (the land of Timbuktu).
Assemblies of God
The Northern California and Nevada District, based in Sacramento, California.
India Prayer Drive
A 21-day prayer drive through the nation of India.
IreneDias.com
Although the suffering they face is severe, this is not a story of despair, but of an incredible faith and even more of an incredible God who sustains His followers with lavish grace, extravagant kindness, and unrelenting love.
Luis Palau Evangelistic Association
Proclaiming the Lord's Good News to the millions of people who have yet to respond to the Gospel.
Sacred Ink
Joyfully declaring the gospel to the tattoo subculture.
Santa Cruz Bible Church
Their evangelism department focuses on marketplace ministries.
ShareFest Santa Cruz County
Churches in Santa Cruz County, California join together to become a bridge from the church to the community through work projects designed to bless the community.
TimeOut Conference
Enabling a deeper relationship with God and more effective relationships with people.
Wake Up! Santa Cruz
Presenting the claims of Christ to the business community in Santa Cruz, California.
These are projects which we have initiated (either individually or as members of a team) in our efforts to use digital means to spread the gospel:
MissionEquip
MissionEquip.com was established to provide resources to missionaries and short-term missions teams traveling worldwide.
ChristianCruz
ChristianCruz.com is a localized portal for believers living in Santa Cruz County, California.
Prodigal God
ProdigalGod.com, a work in progress, is designed to provide biblical instruction to the wider body of Christ through the use of video teaching segments and written articles.
Christian Screen Savers
ChristianScreenSavers.com offers a selection of high-quality, inexpensive Christian screen savers which reflect biblical themes. Proceeds from the sale of these screen savers are used to support the work of Strategic Digital Outreach.
Blogs I Read
Adventures Of A Web Evangelist
The Appian Way
BetaChurch.org
BlogMinistry
BlogRodent
Boyink Interactive
Carpe' Digital
Christian Web Trends
Church Beauty
Church Communications Pro
Church Marketing Sucks
ChurchTechToday
Church Website & Blog Ideas
digital.leadnet.org
Digital Ministry
The Digital Sanctuary
e-vangelism.com
Effective Church Web Sites
Effective Web Ministry Notes
Equip Blog
Evotional
GodBit
Goodmanson
Gospelcon
Heal Your Church Website
If Jesus Had A Website
Leave It Behind
MicroExplosion
Outside The Box Ministry
Sacred Digital
So You Want A Church Website?
The Ultimate Issue
Web Evangelism Issues
More Blogs & Sites
The Grace Place
Life's Eye View
MetroReach
Media Ministry
Missionary-Blogs
Mobile Ministry Magazine
Conquering Nonprofit Chaos
Palms For Pastors
St. George the Dragonslayer
© 2004-2007,
Frank N. Johnson.
All rights reserved, except as otherwise noted.
I believe that the internet provides today's church with a historic opportunity .... to tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love in ways which could only have been imagined in times past. The objective of this website is to explore the various ways in which today's technology can be used to spread the gospel around the world.
