Pastors – what’s your beef with marketers?

June 17, 2010 in for Churches, Outreach, Pastors

Recently I published a guest post on Communicate Jesus – ‘No excuses for ugly duckling church marketing‘. In it, the author (a pastor from a church in the United States) argued the importance of good marketing for churches.

I received this response via email the next day, from a reader of Communicate Jesus:

Hi Steve,

When I read your email of the post ‘No Excuses for Ugly Duckling Marketing‘ I cried and cried. With both joy, and regret. Joy to finally hear a support for marketing in churches and regret that I expect it to be criticised.

I’ve been in marketing professionally for 25 years and attending and serving my church for 36 of the 38 years since I came to know Jesus.

Most of those years I have been trying to serve the Lord in my church with my marketing expertise and sometimes I’ve been allowed some scope to do that, but for a lot of those years my skills have been treated with a component of suspicion – there has been the suspicion that marketing is “of the devil” (I’ve actually sat in a meeting where one of the ministers said that) and as soon as something looks aesthetically good or a communication strategy is too “deliberate” the accusation comes – never overtly, always subtly – that’s manipulation.

In many minds marketing seems linked so strongly with worldliness and a grab for money some can’t see it could possibly be used for the gospel – they only see it as being against what the Bible teaches.

In recent years I’ve felt less and less confident that I have anything to offer, and more worried that my efforts to use my know-how in a church context has perhaps not been pleasing to God.  There is never any money for marketing as a priority and while that means we need to be creative, it also makes one feel largely unvalued.  The approval for parting with church funds for a plumber when the toilets get blocked comes far more quickly (and more comfortably for decision-makers) than paying for marketing expertise, but marketing is my trade, but that trade is not well respected – in my church anyway.

I’m really thankful that these comments are out there to stimulate comment, but don’t be surprised if you get shot down. God bless.”

I felt sad reading this email. However, the experience of this person is not a one-off – I’ve have heard it before, and I’ve have heard similar negative sentiments expressed by pastors and other church leaders about marketing. This attitude seems to be limited to marketing. For example:

  • If you have gifts in financial management, your church wants you to be a treasurer.
  • If you have gifts in plumbing, your church wants you to help when the toilet is blocked.
  • If you have gifts in computing, your church wants to you help when the network goes down.
  • If you have gifts in singing, your church wants you to serve on the music team.

So why are people with skills in marketing so frequently maligned? I’m keen to hear from pastors (and anyone else who’d like to share their considered thoughts) – what role do you think marketing and marketers have in the life of the local church? Is marketing ‘of the devil’, or can it be done in a way that is pleasing to God? How would you respond to this email I received?

  • http://st-eutychus.com Nathan

    The Presbyterian Church of Queensland apparently ran an advert in the Courier Mail yesterday (I haven’t seen it yet), so perhaps we’re not entirely a lost cause – but as someone trained in Journalism, who worked in PR, who is now training for ministry I’m very committed to the idea of marketing Christianity.

    I think it’s bordering on sinful to communicate a message without thinking about how you can use the medium best. The same people who disparage marketing are probably reading countless texts about how to preach better. And it’s essentially the same thing. If they’re not doing that then they’re in absolutely dire straits and we probably don’t need to worry about them because they won’t be around long.

    I know there’s a growing anti-pragmatism movement in evangelical circles that doesn’t want to link observations of success with the methodology that brings them – but if you look at the churches that are growing – they’re the ones focusing on how to communicate better. And that’s what marketing is. It’s communicating a message to your potential (and actual) audience.

  • http://kirribillikim.blogspot.com KIM

    I’m not a pastor, but I was just wondering about the semantics of “marketing” — perhaps it would be more accepted if it were the same actions but under a different name (“outward-focused evangelism” or “purifying the textual and visual images” or … it’s a bit late for me to come up with inspired ideas, but I’m sure someone could!). I think a general word cluster around marketing might make people think too strongly of sales and money and angles and manipulation, but if a different label were attached to it people might respond differently?? Just a brainstorm!

  • http://duncanrobinson.net Duncan Robinson

    Dude tell your anonymous letter writer that I think many of the new pastors coming out of bible college are aware of the significance of Good marketing.

    I honestly think in Australia a large portion of the movement towards better marketing is a product of the A29 movement. Through it we saw that a church can be theological conservative, but web and marketing savvy.

    Steve I think even your own church is riding the success of good marketing, CBTB clearly values marketing as a tool to better communicate Jesus….

    oh and Steve, I was a Pastor in Australia before I was one in the USA!!