A few weeks ago my father got a special promo package in the mail. It was not for the latest laundry detergent or luxury car. No, it promoted the latest and greatest in church experiences. The promo package included a full color flyer and cardboard cube with comic pictures and messages on it.
The flyer significantly promoted the fact that the new church is holding services at one of the largest movie cinemas in the area. It hit all the items on the typical shopping list for a good church including dynamic children's/youth programs, a safe place to ask questions about God, a fun atmosphere, and rocking music. The flyer doubles as a coupon for a free game of mini-gold at a nearby sports park.
Just to put anyone reading the message at ease, the flyer listed only a few rules. The first rule is no perfect people allowed, and the second is no one stands alone. These words are meant to disarm people from the fear typically associated with going to a church service for the first time. The promo piece mentions that there are no strings attached and no pressure to join the new church.
This post is not a criticism of what the church plant is doing. Instead, my intention is to use this example as a springboard for looking at the ramifications of marketing the Gospel and Christian community. I don't have a problem with the new church meeting in a movie theater complex. Everyone knows where the place is, and they are bringing the light into a non-religious setting. They are helping to redeem the spot by bringing the Gospel to it. By simply choosing the location that they have, this new church is making a statement. And that's a great thing.
Honestly, my initial reaction when I saw the marketing piece was, "Yuck!" But as I read a newspaper article on the new church and reviewed its strategy I found some great ideas. I'll go into more detail in a future post.
In this post my real concern is over the marketing of a church plant in the first place. I keep on thinking, "If we have to use slick marketing to get their attention, what will it take to keep them coming back?" Jesus frequently discouraged His followers from doing anything like ministry marketing. Their lives became the billboard not a sign hanging from a building or a promo piece mailed to every house in a particular area. If people find out about a new church based on a marketing campaign, will they look at the church more from the standpoint of being a consumer versus selling out to a community for a higher purpose? Does this put the emphasis on man and not God? I just am not sure what the message behind the method here is.
Sure, we have to get the word out somehow. Absolutely, we want to appear friendly, relevant and inviting. I just wonder if word of mouth and interpersonal relationship is a better way to achieve this goal.
Would Jesus send out a flyer? I just don't know. Jesus would definitely go into a movie theater and attempt to redeem it by His mere presence. Jesus would not have needed slick promotions because the life flowing out of Him caused people to take notice. His teaching resonated deep within the people.
Too much focus on marketing and devising ideas to get people's attention shows how powerless many modern churches are. We lack the power of the Holy Spirit and the presence of anything special that would cause the masses to take notice. Relevant messages and friendly activities to get people through the door is a start. But the movement of God is the key for anything significant to happen. Everything else is just religion with a new dress. I am not judging this new church because my life needs more of the Holy Spirit too.
I don't know where this new fellowship is on God's measuring stick. I welcome them to the area and hope that they are successful in advancing the Kingdom of God. One thing I do know for sure. The only way to really do church outside of the box is to let the Holy Spirit direct what happens.
