prayeramedic.com » Church Marketing

Win a prize for inviting a friend to church!

Dan — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 03:37:54 +0000

I didn’t know whether I should cry or vomit when I saw this. This is a video clip from First Baptist Church right here in Hammond, Indiana:

Be sure to catch the part around minute 2:12 where Pastor Jack Schapp points out that each visitor cost the church $12.50. I’m sure your neighbor will feel welcome when he finds out you won a prize for inviting him to church!

This church is only a half hour from my house and their affiliated bible college is only 5-10 minutes down the road. I actually attended this church a few times as a kid when I lived in Hammond. I don’t think I ever attended a service where they didn’t brag about numbers or how big they are. Granted, this is the extreme, but it’s close to home. And it’s becoming more common than most of us would like to admit, even if in more subtle forms. I am disgusted. Physically feeling ill right now. God, forgive them for they know not what they do….

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Ministry progress is not measured by numbers!!!

H/T Museum of Idolatry

Looking for a job? Think outside of the box….

Dan — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 08:30:21 +0000

This is ingenious. A reminder to those looking for a job: Think outside of the box.

What if churches bought up interesting search terms like “Christianity sucks” or “Is God real?” On a more practical level, churches should buy up the search term “church (your city).”

Should churches compete with each other?

Dan — Mon, 31 May 2010 08:30:51 +0000

Should they? If the emphasis is on making disciples, then there really is no competition. In John 4, when Jesus finds out people have taken notice that he baptized more people than John (his disciples did, anyways), he gets out of the way, interestingly enough.

Yet when churches use marketing tactics and strategic business planning more than biblical discipleship to encourage growth, they often find themselves in competition with area churches, a practice known as “sheep stealing.” Christians who switch churches are often labeled church “hoppers” or “shoppers,” and members become consumers of services rather than disciples called to serve.

What do you think? Does your church measure progress by making true disciples (who make other disciples)? Or is your church following marketing and business strategies for growth?

Socialnomics

Dan — Mon, 17 May 2010 08:30:25 +0000

Social media isn’t just a fad, it’s a shift in how we communicate:

H/T: Cyberbrethren

3,000 in one day? That’s nothing!

Christian Wrestling…

Dan — Thu, 13 May 2010 08:30:55 +0000

I’ve actually attended a church that does this, very interesting. I think it’s good that these guys tie it in to Christ at the end and share the good news about Christ, despite my theological quibbles with the “altar call” methodology.

So long as this is truly being done to the glory of God, I don’t see any problems with it as a Christian event. Others seem to have problems with it. I can see it being a problem if the message of salvation is not shared each time. That is, the message that everyone in the audience is a sinner in need of God’s grace, and then announcing that grace that can only be found in Jesus Christ. If the message is missing, then it isn’t Christian – no matter what it’s called or how many Christians attend or wrestle. The message pointing sinners to Jesus Christ is what makes it Christian – without that it’s just a secular wrestling event. But with the Gospel, I think it’s a great outreach opportunity. What do you think? Do you think a truly Christian wrestling event is a good way of sharing the Gospel?

H/T: Museum of Idolatry

Soundbite on Decisional Theology

Dan — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 22:30:19 +0000

This is a short soundbite from a talk by Bryan Wolfmueller entitled “Decisional Theology.” You can listen to the full talk at Issues, Etc. by clicking here.

Soundbite on Decisional Theology from Dan O'Day on Vimeo.

This is a short soundbite from a talk by Bryan Wolfmueller entitled “Decisional Theology.” You can listen to the full talk at Issues, Etc. here: http://issuesetc.org/2010/01/14/2446/

The customer isn’t right

Dan — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 10:00:28 +0000

I was listening to a podcast on Issues Etc. earlier this week and I was struck by a profound thought. The title of the podcast was “The Vocation of Minister.” I’d normally link directly to it but the site appears to be down as I’m writing this, nothing will load.

The guest speaker was talking about how the word minister means “servant,” but most churches today prefer to look to ministers as leaders or CEO’s, and ministers are all too happy to accept this role. The proper role of a minister is that of a servant, and his chief task is to “administer” what God has given, His gifts.

The guest speaker then said this:

“We approach [the vocation of the minister] as a social issue, we look at what the people want. Let’s look at the word ministry. There’s an old saying… ‘The customer is always right.’ The customer knows what he wants and if you’re going to serve the customer, you better give him what he wants or you’re not going to do business with him. That’s precisely wrong when it comes to the church, because the customer is always wrong. And God is always right.

In other words, we must approach the vocation of the minister theologically (not socially). A minister of God must often preach God’s Law and His Gospel to people who don’t want any part of it. Often people don’t realize the depth of their sinfulness (including me), and they must hear God’s Law. Other times the Law has done its work and people have been cut to the heart, then they need to hear the Gospel. The customer (not a good term but I’m using it simply to make a point) is always wrong. He doesn’t want what he really needs. I am so often guilty of this. I often want authenticity, community, and whatever – but what I really need is the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ. These other things are secondary to this primary need.

It is too easy to lose sight of Christ as the focal point of our churches when we operate with the assumption that the folks in the pews are right. That’s how we get mega-churches that acquiesce to, rather than transform, culture. Give the people what they want and you will grow numerically, but that’s not how ministry progress ought to be measured.

Christian Music Sucks – Part 2

Dan — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 03:28:42 +0000

Thanks for all the recommendations. I did end up finding a couple artists I enjoyed. I couldn’t help but post this video. I saw it at Extreme Theology and just had to post it. This guy is very honest and authentic about his feelings toward Christian music, and I tend to agree with him:

Numerical growth as a double standard

Dan — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 02:06:07 +0000

I’ve been reading Why We Love the Church: In Praise of Institutions and Organized Religion lately, and I ran across a great point I wanted to share:

“Fix-the-church books almost always figure that declining church attendance … means the church has messed something up. Even though the new crop of church books decry the old church-growth models, they still operate with the same basic assumption: namely, that churches should be growing and something is wrong with the church that isn’t.

This assumption, however, is alien to the New Testament. Didn’t Jesus say tell us that “the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matt. 7:14)? Wasn’t the early church of Philadelphia commended by the Lord Jesus even though they were facing opposition and had “little power” (Rev. 3:7-13)? There is simply no biblical teaching to indicate that church size is the measure of success.

I’ve written before that ministry progress is not measured by numerical growth, but by the creation of disciples who make other disciples. But this post is exposing the double standard, those who would “have their cake and eat it, too.”

Authors like George Barna like to use statistics showing the decline in church attendance to damn the church, but then quickly defend the 5-person house church because “progress is not measured by numbers.” So if the institutional church is losing numbers, it is always because they are doing church wrong. But if organic churches are not growing, then it’s for some other reason. All I’m asking for here is fairness. Isn’t it possible that a particular church isn’t growing because it is rightly teaching Law and Gospel and people don’t like to hear it? Isn’t it possible that a particular organic church isn’t growing because of the home leader’s pride? It works both ways, which is why numbers are not a good indicator of spiritual maturity nor ministry progress, no matter what church model we’re discussing.

Come as you are

Dan — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 01:30:33 +0000

I remember listening to Kurt Cobain singing “come as you are” in the 90′s. I also remember hearing dozens of churches latch on to this statement. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t think people need to be all polished up before coming to Jesus, nor do I think folks need to dress up on Sunday mornings (I always wear jeans and a t-shirt). But I think “come as you are” sometimes gets interpreted as “you are acceptable just as you are,” and that’s simply not true.

I know that statement just raised red flags in a few readers’ minds, but hear me out. I absolutely think people should come to Jesus in whatever state they are currently in. After all, if people could get free from sin all by themselves why would they need Jesus? But people must also understand that outside of Christ they are completely unacceptable to God. Consider the following quote:

Truth be told, Christ has not welcomed you just the way you are. He has paid the dearest price of all in order to welcome you: sacrificing His life for you on the cross. Christ welcomed you through the anguish of His betrayal, trial, and death. He did not welcome you freely but in order to set you free from your sins! (LSB, p. 1907).

God is holy. The word holy literally means “set apart, consecrated.” Holiness is like light, and anything else is darkness. When light enters a room, darkness flees. God cannot coexist with evil, and apart from the shed blood of Jesus Christ we are completely unacceptable to Him, we cannot come near Him. But Jesus Christ has created the way to the Father by taking our place on the cross, serving our death sentence. His righteousness gets credited to our account by faith and we thereby become acceptable to God.

Too many people have a view of justification that assumes God simply lets our sins slide. The problem is, “the wages of sin is death,” (Romans 6:23), they must be paid for. Jesus pays for them at Calvary and now offers us eternal life as a gift, which is what the rest of Romans 6:23 says: “But the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

So please come as you are, but know that you are entirely unacceptable to God apart from the righteousness that is imparted to you through a living faith in Jesus Christ.