Selling the Church to a Skeptical Public
February 8, 2012
by Thom Schultz 9 Comments
“The church has an image problem,” somebody said in the board room at the national offices. “We need an ad campaign to change the public’s perception.”
So, they committed millions of dollars for beautifully executed ads on national television and in print.
Local congregations often get the polish-our-image bug too. They join back-to-church marketing campaigns and create their own colorful advertising.
All of this activity and expense is a response to the foreboding clouds descending on today’s church. Sinking attendance and membership. Waning influence on the culture. A realization that the vast majority of visitors and new members are merely unhappy refugees from the church across town.
“Obviously, we have an image problem,” they say. The solution? “We need to adjust the public’s perception of us. People aren’t coming because they don’t know what they’re missing.”
So the faithful’s tithes and offerings get rerouted to TV commercials, billboards and yard signs.
Sometimes the ads tempt some unchurched and dechurched people to visit. But the ad campaigns’ dreamy images don’t resemble what the people actually find at First Church on the corner. So they don’t return.
A few years ago a Canadian church body created a highly visible, very well done, web-based campaign. It gathered a wide audience through its lively and playful treatment of tough questions that people face. The website invited open conversation, questions, doubts and dialog. The creators hoped the interaction would send people to their local churches to continue the conversation. But since the local church experience was the same old routine from the past, the fill-the-pews strategy failed.
Advertising one image and delivering another is a perilous marketing plan. Some years ago the leaders of an American supermarket chain mounted a campaign touting their stores’ customer focus. They invested in the advertising but they failed to do the hard work of actually creating a customer focus in their stores. The public laughed the ad campaign off the air.
The lesson: Work on the product first. Earn a new reputation before touting it.
Rather than trying to polish the exterior veneer, church leaders would benefit from working on what’s inside. A few examples:
- Be genuinely welcoming. Eliminate the judgmental tone that the public unfortunately identifies with Christians.
- Devote prime time for real dialog and real questions.
- Activate the laity. Inspire the priesthood of all believers.
- Create immersive experiences that encourage each person to sense the presence of God.
- Focus crisply on “the one thing”—a growing relationship with Jesus.
The unchurched and the dechurched need more than glossy ads. They need the love and acceptance of the healthy body of Christ.
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9 Responses to “Selling the Church to a Skeptical Public”
Here goes the first comment! This goes straight to Pastors, who worry more about attendance, the money that comes and looking good in the altar and in front of a camera than having the time to chat after the service with the members, having the chance to personally greet visitors; home visitations, and going after the lost sheep.
Hello Brenda,
WOW!! How many pastors do you know and how long have you had this chip?
Rob
Thom, spot on! I was just going through a big decision making process in my own life. I am a lay person, btw. I have lots of ideas, many confirmed by and grown from the whole LifeTree concept. What was missing was a commitment from “somebody” to do something about it.
So, over the course of a few years, God held a mirror to my face and said, “What about you?” I finally agreed and am actively working to make something happen ASAP. I have defined the problem in our very small church and the staff/leadership agrees. They said go for it!
You are dead on in your post! The truth is we can do “church” in a church or in our own backyard. We need to stop looking for others to do what God has asked us all to do. Rather start looking at our own circle of influence. The one God has placed us in and asked us to win for Him.
Just so it is clear, I am not suggesting we don’t attend church nor am I suggesting we should not improve our churches. Jesus and the apostles set them up. There is strength in numbers and a body is made up of many parts, all important, all working together for the goal. The goal to share the message of Jesus forgiving love to all, to build up the body, to send others out to repeat the process, locally and to the ends of the earth.
Well said and so very true!!
How true. We must have that true “one thing”. A growing realationship with Jesus where when some meets you they just don’t hear Jesus they truly see and feel Jesus when you reach out to someome.
Amen! The last church I served I tried warning against this very thing: “the ad campaigns’ dreamy images don’t resemble what the people actually find at First Church on the corner. So they don’t return.” What I kept emphasizing is that we needed to work on building leaders and discipleship, but since the church had success with a particular person who led previous churchwide campaigns, the same old tack was used, hoping for the success of previous years. Some people have to go down the same old paths to find out that what may have worked 10 or 20 years ago, doesn’t work anymore since times change and so do people. A slick ad campaign won’t get it, if you’re not authentic and not presenting an authentic picture of your church.
Thanks again Thom,
The first step to making sure that our churches line up with what we broadcast to the world is making sure that our personal lives as leaders lines up with what we preach. This is my first challenge.
Thanks again,
Rob
It’s always a fine line between wanting excellence and getting out there and just loving people into relationship with Jesus. It’s not wrong to advertise if you are also willing to spend the time and do the work. Ads can be slick, but let’s face it: people and relationships are kind of messy. So, let them know who and where you are, but be prepared to get into relating to them (with love and care) when they come. Loved people will come back for more and will eventually love the One that you love.