Sowing Seeds through Marketing

To some marketing is a dirty word. It turns their stomachs and fires them up emotionally. I remember a pastor once telling me, “Marketing, I don’t get it! You never see Jesus using a postcard!” To which I replied, “I never saw Jesus use a microphone either. What’s the difference?” If we get past the emotion of the word and take a fresh look at it, I believe more people will be reached through our churches.

So what is marketing? It is building a relationship with people who don’t know you or are not connected relationally with your people. Marketing is sharing a testimony with people who know nothing about your church or your message. Marketing is casting seeds out and prayerfully trusting God that it will fall on receptive hearts. Marketing is a way to do mass evangelism efforts through the local church. Marketing is a way to “brand” your image and uniqueness throughout your city. Marketing is a way to create buzz and pique interest in a world where everything is vying for their attention.

Here are the first 4 of 17 practical insights for marketing your new church:

1. Depend upon God’s Spirit and not marketing. Remember only God can draw people into a relationship with him. Marketing is only a method. The Spirit is the life giving power. Prayer and fasting will be critical for you and your church to express its dependence on God. “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” Psalm 20:7

2. Choose your marketing approach wisely. There are two basic categories of marketing tools: 1) A specific invitation to an event or a series of messages. 2) General awareness of the church and its vision. Many planters and pastors get frustrated because they invest in general awareness marketing expecting immediate results. If you have a limited budget always go for the specific invitation marketing.

3. Remember the law of large numbers. Not understanding this law sours a lot of pastors and church planters towards marketing. A planter with deep frustration was telling me about his failed marketing attempt. When I asked how many pieces he sent out he replied, 5,000. I began to explain to him that with the best of conditions direct marketing will deliver about ½ of a percent. In his circumstance that would be about 25 people (which on that particular Sunday he had doubled his attendance!) After hearing this he went from being discouraged to encouraged and had a fresh perspective on the realities of marketing. Just think if he would have sent out 25,000!

• 50,000 =250
• 25,000 = 125
• 20,000 = 100
• 10,000 = 50

4. Use a layered approach as much as possible. Do multiple touches throughout the community for at least 30-60 days. If this is done well it can produce a growth thrust for a new church. For example:

• Billboards or yard signs creating interest and buzz.
• Newspaper articles providing credibility.
• Personal invitations arming your inviters.
• Personal email invitations for your shy inviters.
• Direct mail making a specific appeal.
• Direct mail for your “second pop” event.

Special note: A “second pop” event is a special Sunday emphasizing a special guest testimony from a credible personality in the community or a special musical guest that your people will invite their friends to. One of my church planters launched his church last fall. He had his Grand Opening Sunday, October 2 with 147 at their first service and four weeks later had a friend, a former Chicago Bears football player and College All-American, share his testimony and exceeded his launch considerably. Now he is averaging his launch number every Sunday, which places him in the top echelon of church plants within our region.

Excerpt from FirstSteps for Planting a Missional Church

Comments

[Andy McAdams]

Good stuff Gary...thanks so much. I work with churches all over the country and it is so hard to get them to understand that they must set aside funds on purpose to market (build a relationship) to their community. In a day when most churches are under 75 and money is tight for them, churches view this expense as not as important as paying the light bill. What they don't understand is that Jesus has commissioned us to go forward and move outward and when hearts are reached for Christ, lives are transformed and come to worship at the place that reached out to them. Then...those funds that a church had to vision to set aside to market themselves in the community pay back ten fold. Survival is not an option for the church...and the Great Commission is a command.

Thanks again...I like what you do.

[Gary Rohrmayer]

Thanks Andy,

The general rule is: If churches are going to impact their communities and break growth barriers they will need to spend 5-10% of their budget in some form of marketing