Hi There !

My best friend is an all-around good guy and Deacon in his Christian
church.  It's located south of San Jose, California.  I, on the other
hand, never miss Christmas, Easter, and Sunday football.  For some
unknown reason, he's asked me to help him market his church.

Here are the best ideas I've devised so far:

A postcard or ValPak mailing to the zip codes immediately around the
church.  The mailer would offer some kind of "incentive hook" like a
free Bible, free babysitting, or free latte (at the church's coffee
bar).  We would start with different tranches of small mailings----say
300 cards * 6 different mailings = 1800 total.  Because of a small
budget, we cannot afford to go big in the beginning.

The goal would be to get a 2%-3% response rate.  Hopefully, the sermon
and/or divine intervention would be good enough to get return visits. 
In the best case, the mailings would eventually lead to new church
members.  The church currently has 275 people on most Sundays.  This
is down 30% from two years ago when the church had some kind of
upheaval.  (I didn't ask.)  Apparently, things have been looking up
for the last 6 months.

While this is obviously more "faith" than "business," it would be
great if the marketing effort "paid" for itself over time.  If so,
then the process could be repeated over and over to really build new
church membership.

A 5-star answer would be 2-3 paragraphs on direct marketing of
churches.  No specifics required----just some ideas.  I am especially
interested in a "success metric."  That is to say, some way to measure
the campaign's effectiveness.  The only way I know to accomplish this
is to include a coupon in the mailer for some kind of redeemable
incentive at the church.

I know this sounds crass, but I don't know any other way to determine
success/failure.


All comments greatly appreciated!


Thanks.
ron

I have never seen church marketing like I have here in Dallas.  The
megachurch phenomenon is alive and well, and to a large extent I
believe this is a result of highly effective marketing.

Your direct mail idea is very much a mainstay of church communications
in this area.  I can expect multiple churches to send me direct mail
pieces for all of the major religious holidays.  From time to time, a
church will also design a sermon series specifically geared towards
the unchurched, such as on parenting or on successful single living to
attract nonbelievers and those who are skeptical of more traditional
preaching.

Your redeemable incentive idea is excellent.  That is a great way to
track response.  My church has a bookstore and coffee shop, so a
coupon for free coffee is a common incentive.  Counting who is in the
seats after a direct mail drop and comparing it with normal attendance
is another important measurement.  And, on the Guest Card, which I
explain in more detail below, you can put checkboxes to find out why
people are there.  Certainly list your direct mail piece as an option.

A second important element is encouraging parishioners to invite
others.  The worship program often includes invitation cards that can
be torn out by parishioners to give to friends and family.  The cards
are distributed a week or two before a change in the sermon series and
major holidays.  Most of the growth in my church, Fellowship Church,
has resulted from existing parishioners inviting new people to attend.
 This is by far the most effective way to grow.  A card with a map, a
phone number, and a web site to visit for more information makes it
easy for people to invite others.  The pastor also emphasizes it
regularly.

The church has one Wednesday night a month where they perform
contemporary Christian music and offer minimal preaching.  This is
attractive to nonbelievers and irregular attenders as well.  It is
also a comfortable environment for people to invite their nonbelieving
friends to.

The church's web site is an important communications tool.  Yours does
not have to be this complex, but it does need to provide basic
information about the church, such as worship hours, how to get there,
and what current events are.  I have included a link here: "Fellowship
Church" www.fellowshipchurch.com.

Another important aspect of marketing is connecting with visitors. 
The worship program has a Guest Card in it that an announcement is
made about every single service to encourage visitors to complete it
and turn it in during the offering.  Then, the church actually does
something with it.  Information is entered into a database, someone
will call that person by Tuesday, and they will begin receiving
occasional e-mail and direct mail pieces if they express interest.

One other important aspect is that the church has fun and attractive
programs for children and teenagers.  The kids really want to go, so
they wind up dragging along reluctant parents.  Being assured of
quality child care while at the service also makes it easy for parents
to attend.  And, not surprisingly, families whose children are
involved tend to give much more than those whose children do not
participate.

Home Teams, small Bible study communities that meet in people's homes
and apartments in the area twice a month, help make the church feel
smaller and newcomers feel welcome.

Other ideas my church is engaged in which may or not be appropriate
for church of your size are clearly labeling that the building is a
church and attaching lights to it to illuminate it at night. 
Airplanes flying to DFW Airport fly over the building all the time, so
the church has painted a giant logo on its roof.  The church makes an
effort to gain as much favorable television and newspaper coverage as
possible.  The pastor has his own radio and television program. 
Starting in January of next year, because the building is close to
capacity and has limits to how far it can draw, the church is opening
to satellite campuses in other parts of the DFW area to attract more
people who do not want to drive as far as the original building.  The
church also has a large staff of volunteers to assist with parking,
which is quite daunting in a church of this size.

While the church's growth is not ordinary, it does prove it can be
done with attention to marketing.  The church started brand-new with a
handful of parishioners in the early 90s and now has over 18,000
members.  Clever marketing has made the church attractive and
welcoming to huge numbers of people despite its large size.

Sincerely,

Wonko

Wonko---you've outdone yourself!  Terrific ideas.  I'll let you know
in 2005 how it all worked out.

Thanks a million!
ron

Hi Ron,

You're not the first! 

http://www.church-marketing.com/
Church Marketing - The process of communicating the features and
benefits of the Church's product (relationships) in a compelling
manner that helps people take their next step in pursuing the Church's
product (relationships).

Good luck.

~ czh ~

Thanks, czh !

ron

Hi ron, If we love God and his son, Jesus, we should look to the Bible
to find out how God wants us to worship him. The Apostle Paul, in his
letter Second Timothy, verse 3-7, specified to us all that the system
we now know would become more and more difficult. And although God
wants people to be happy, they should also be aware that that same
happiness will not continue on forever. Paul`s advice at Chapter 4
verse 3, cautions about having our ears "tickled".
Chapter 2 verse 15 gives good advice.."Do your utmost to present
yourself approved to God, a workman with nothing to be ashamed of,
handling the word of truth aright".
If we all want to be approved by God, this scripture applies to all in
the congregation, and not just the person leading the congregation.
James 2;14 Says that there is some work necessary to accompany faith.
That work is telling others what the Bible promises, [Psalm
37;10,11,12,29] not just enjoying a nice coffee.
James 2;17..Thus, too, faith, if it does not have works, is dead in itself".
All projects succeed if they follow the guidelines in the manual.

Thanks, pugwashjw!

ron

Whether you're doing direct mail postcards, val-pak ads, or whatever,
you'll want to be sure to cover a couple of other bases. First,
incorporate the campaign into the church's other communication
vehicles, especially the website. You might even consider a special
web page with a separate domain through which recipients of the
mailing can enter and check out the church's site. Doing this allows
you to separate prospect hits from church member hits, at least to
some degree.
You'll also want to make sure the church members have bought into the
campaign. Show them what's being mailed out, explain the reasoning
behind the decision to market, ingrain the message into them, and
encourage them to "help out" by talking to their
neighbors/colleagues/relatives in the target area about the campaign.
Personal invitation will always get the best result, and the direct
mail efforts can be more successful if the congregation views them as
a tool to aid their own inviting.
The folks at Covenant Communications (http://www.covweb.com) have been
helping our church with this type of outreach.