Phil Bernstein’s post titled Religion Tackles Social Media featured a quote that we should all possibly print and post on our wall as a blunt reminder as to what’s going on with social media. Phil’s summary of the NY Times article peaks with this statement:

“If total control is what you want, social media will frustrate you,” [Rev. Bill Reichart] said, reprising his advice to the clergy. “But the trade-off is the ability to hear and learn, reach out in new directions.”

Control is extremely overrated. Even if you had complete control (and you don’t), you’d be a poor steward of it. It’s encouraging to see someone from a stereotypically antiquated area (church) get this.

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Fair Haven Ministries, a church in Michigan, has found a way to hit the recession head-on. They’ve also spotlighted some key principles any of us can apply to do the same. 

According this story on NPR (hat tip to Church Marketing Sucks), the church and its congregation have both been dealing with lay-offs, cut-backs and lots of praying. But it hasn’t kept the church from doing what it’s supposed to do. 

On January 25, Pastor Tom Devries offered up $5,000 worth of $100 bills to congregants after preaching the parable of the talents. The only catch was that those who took the $100 needed to multiply it for the church. 

Some washed dogs. Others made jewelry. One group managed to turn their $100 into $12,000. It’s an extremely amazing story. 

It’s the spirit and courage of this story, though, that really hits home and applies to just about any business. Here are three principles Tom DeVries and his staff put into action to take on the recession. 

1. Be bold. Recessions have a way of making us cower in fear. Which means the recession wins. But in the midst of cutting budgets, DeVries still managed to give away $5,000 to congregants. Sure it was risky, but it worked and it drove home the point of the sermon to an extent that I doubt any church member ever forgets it. Those who act boldly in the face of risk during a recession can make big things happen. 
2. Don’t forget who you are. Sure, churches struggle like any other business in a recession (maybe even more). But that is no excuse to not do the church’s work of helping its community of congregants move closer to living like Jesus. Recessions have a way of making us try to be something we’re not, either to make a quick buck or to just keep the boat from rocking too much. In contrast, recessions actually provide a perfect environment for the truly focused to stand tall and shout what it is that they do best as their competition loses sight of their bread and butter. 
3. Don’t ever discount vision and inspiration. Rene Zellweger’s character in Jerry MacGuire was onto something when she said “I just want to be inspired.” When a group of people all come together and take a small step together at the same time, really big things can happen. If nothing else, hard times only amplify this truth. Find your fans, your evangelists, and inspire them with the core cause of what you’re trying to accomplish. They may surprise you. 

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It’s your turn to drive. I want to know what you think. Here’s the topic:

Church Marketing. 

Should churches worry about marketing? Is the idea of “church marketing” a good thing or a bad thing? What is church marketing, anyway? What’s the right way to do it, and the wrong way to do it? What’s allowed and what’s not?

 What’s your take? 

FYI – I’ll be posting a future article on this very topic, so please let me know via email after you comment if for some reason you don’t want to be quoted.

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Does your religious affiliation influence your income? 

This latest Pew Forum study is interesting, via Church Relevance. Here’s a screen shot of the chart on the site:

I don’ t know if there are any defininitive takeaways, but here are my first impressions:
 

1. Unaffiliated and Catholic members seem the closest representatives to the national average. 
2. What’s the difference between a mainline protestant church and an evangelical one?
3. It’s interesting that at least five of the top six in terms of income are not associated with the thinking that faith = riches (think tele-evangelists). 
4. It would be nice to see a break down of the $100k + to see where the really rich find themselves in terms of religious affiliation. 

 
What’s your take? Does your church fit its representation here?

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Have you seen this? 

For those of you familiar with the church culture (esp. Southern Baptist), you’ll take away far too many nuggets of revelation from this one. 

The creator, Beyond Relevance, rants on “biblical marketing principles.” Very interesting. 

Tip o’ da hat to John.  Also, here’s another great blog, Christian Java, for church marketing and communication, if you’re interested. 

Similar Posts on MarketingInProgress.com: 

1. Leadership and Christianity?
2. What Starbucks Should Be Doing Today

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