Your church’s marketing may be in trouble and you’re not aware of it. Unless you have a clear idea of who you are, what you do, and why you do it, then your audience will be confused and your marketing will be ineffective. Here are three reasons why your church’s marketing may be in trouble:
1. You’re not clear on who you are
If you don’t know who you are, then how can you expect your audience to know who you are? Take some time to determine your church’s identity. What makes you unique? Why do people come to your church? Is it the biblical teaching? The worship? The family ministry? What is it that brings people in the doors?
Once you have a clear understanding of who you are, you can begin to craft a marketing strategy that will effectively communicate your church’s identity to your target audience.
2. You’re not clear on what you do
Your church may be doing a lot of things, but if you’re not clear on what your church does best, then your marketing will be ineffective. Determine what your church does best and focus your marketing efforts on promoting those activities. By activities I’m not referring to event based ministry, instead think through those ministries that have an impact on your audience and community.
By clearly communicating what your church does best, you’ll be able to attract new members who are looking for a church that offers those specific activities.
3. You’re not clear on why you do what you do
If you can’t articulate the reason behind why your church does what it does, then your marketing will fall flat. Take some time to determine the purpose of your church. Why do you exist? Now of course, the easy answer would be to “Preach Christ Crucified” or to “Glorify Christ.” But what makes your “why” unique compared to the church next door?
Once you have a clear understanding of your church’s purpose, you can begin to craft a marketing strategy that will effectively communicate your church’s mission to your target audience.
If you’re not sure whether or not your church’s marketing is in trouble, take some time to assess your current marketing efforts. If you’re not clear on who you are, what you do, or why you do it, then it’s time to make some changes. By taking the time to develop a clear understanding of your church and its mission, you can begin to craft a marketing strategy that will effectively communicate your church’s identity to your target audience.
Posted on June 17, 2022
Darrel Girardier serves as the Communications Director at Brentwood Baptist Church in Brentwood, Tennessee where he oversees the digital, design and video production teams. Previously, he was a Creative Director at LifeWay Christian Resources.
More from Darrel
1 Comment
Although it is getting better (at least in my denomination) there now appears to be an understanding that our churches need marketing. When I was called, one of our local priests commented “why are you concerned with marketing? There’s nobody else who does what we do.” Which is a true statement. But he missed the real issue, we are in competition with other activities with the one thing in the world that is finite: time. The marketing we do also has to keep in mind the currency of time and answer the hard question, “How is a person spending their scarce time in a church better for them than the next, best activity?”
The best marketing, as laid out in the post, still misses being attractive to people if it doesn’t convince them that the time spent in a church is a useful expenditure of time.