How to Not Fail at Church Marketing 101

For months now I have been posting the numerous marketing failure that exist in this world of Church Media. People think it's funny, and yeah, it can be. However, it really is an issue to take note of. As the culture we live in becomes more visual and people become more technological, this gap continues to widen. It makes the Church appear less and less relevant when really we should be on the bleeding edge of our culture. We shouldn't copy TV shows, corporate logos, or MTV. As Christian author and screenwriter, Craig Detweiler so aptly explained in an interview with ABC News:

"If you are truly connected to the creator of the universe you should be the most creative and risk-taking people on the planet," he said. "You would be coming up with new ideas and new visions all the time. That's our heritage and hopefully we'll get back to it. "For hundreds of years, Christians were the patrons of the arts," he added. "You have the renaissance that resulted. ... You had Michelangelo and Leonardo DaVinci paid by the church to make masterpieces. And now we we're reduced to pale imitation of the worst elements of pop culture. I rather have us lead a renaissance in the arts instead of imitate those who have gone before us."
Many Pastor's and church leaders I've talked to agree that churches are lagging. Many would even say it about their own churches. I don't think it's that we don't care about improving our media, it's really that we don't know where to begin. Most of the time I hear Pastors say, "We can't afford it" or "It's such a big project".

I will tell you now- You can afford it AND it's not as hard as you think.

Over the next several months I will be doing my best to gather the information and resources to get even the smallest of churches on the road to Media awesomeness!

To begin let's talk about what is holding us back.

1. Money- Most churches think that Quality media costs a lot of money, but the truth is it doesn't have to. If you can't afford Media people on staff, there are many websites and resources where you can buy from professionals very inexpensively. There are also many quality free resources. (list coming soon)

2. Priorities- This goes hand and hand with money. As most churches grow, they hire a lead pastor, worship pastor, children's pastor, secretary, and a bevy of other associate pastors. Meanwhile their media and marketing is disorganized and sloppy. Yeah they are probably reaching some people but I can't help but think how much we limit ourselves. Last year I was hired on by a church plant called NewDay. This church had not even opened it's doors yet and I was the first person they put on staff. Some people might say, well why? You see NewDay's pastor Denis understood something that few pastors do: MEDIA IS AN ESSENTIAL MINISTRY not just pretty stuff to look at. Media is powerful in our culture and we should prioritize it as such. Because NewDay placed Media high on the priority list, they had a very successful launch, actually one of the most successful church plant launches I've ever seen. Even now as I've left they continue to have a successful Media Ministry, which is unheard of for a church less than a year old. Bottom line: If you are a church with no media staff or no media budget, you should rethink your priorities and be certain that you're not limiting the reach of your ministry by leaving out such an essential element.

3. Education- I would say this is the number one reason that so many Marketing Fails exist. People who specialize in Media and Design know what they are doing. We spend countless hours thinking about every little detail, we will go pixel by pixel if needed to get something just right, we know how to understand our audience. If you don't know what you're doing, they find someone who does or find some classes and educate yourself.


Some people may think I'm being a bit snobbish, but please understand that I speak from a place of love. I love the Church and I love the people in it and the people who aren't in it (yet). That's what the marketing fails are really all about. It's things like those that keep people away, so we should fix it- simple as that. Many Pastors have tricked themselves into thinking it's not a big deal, but I'm telling you now to people today- IT IS A BIG DEAL!

Besides the cultural relevance factor, there is also the element of taking care of our own. God has given us so many artists in all areas; painting, computer design, music, sculpture, etc, and we are always placed on the back burner. Churches say they want creativity but refuse to employ creatives, and thus forcing our best artists to work elsewhere. So all this creative awesomeness is going out the door. The church used to employ artists all the time and now I rarely see a church of less than 1000 paying an artist for anything. If you are a growing church then you should seek to have a creative arts/media person. There should be someone overseeing the arts and drawing in other artists, and even helping people find their artistic skills. I personally feel that we have many 'hidden' creatives in the church and we just need more creative pastors to lead and shepard these people as they discover their talents.

Stay Tuned for 'How to Not Fail at Church Marketing 102'!