There is floating around the business world a lot concerning marketing. Billions of dollars are spent on marketing. It is so popular that it has started to creep in…pour into our church and ministry realms. Many churches are following the trends in marketing, but it comes with a dark lining.
The world of marketing is divided into four basic areas. Personal Sales, Publicity, Advertising, and Promotions. All of these have principles in that can be employed in the service of the Lord. For instance, it can help to pay for advertising or have special promotional Sundays. But one of the driving forces behind marketing is to analyze those that will be buying into your product of service so that you can better meet there needs leading greater sales.
That is the business angle, but you may be asking how does this affect ministry work. Many ministries are getting so wrapped up in the cycle of marketing, looking for results and marketing again. Here is the thing to remember. Marketing leads to focusing on results. A marketing group will focus on what changes can be made to a product or organization so as to increase results. As believers in the truth of God’s Word and the reality of salvation of Jesus Christ, we can’t change our message. The Bible tells us that we will not be accepted by everyone. Popularity is not our goal. The evangelistionof the world is our goal. We can’t get caught up in ministry rat race that is going on these days. Look for opportunities that allow you communicate truth in love to those that are in our communities.
Next:
Practical ways that we can begin to plan spending on printed promotional material.
