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CHURCH DEVELOPMENT How Do Your Neighbors Know What Your Church Offers? By Charles W. Courtoy
Executive Director of Church Development
Most
churches do a fair job of keeping their membership informed about the
planned activities of their church. They send weekly bulletins, monthly
newsletters, and postcards and letters about special events. Most churches
do little or nothing to tell non-members about their ministries. A business
will tout its services and products to its regular customers and the general
population. Why do we think, as churches, we do not have to do the same?
Pastors and leaders of our new churches do not have the luxury of focusing their promotional efforts on their membership. They don’t have a membership, so they have to focus on telling the story of who they are and what they are about to the population around them. They plan community events, such as free barbecues, music concerts in the park, Halloween festivals for neighborhood children. They perform small acts of kindness, such as distributing free sodas at the shopping center and giving free car washes. They do direct mailing to the zip codes in their neighborhoods. They buy advertising time at the local theatre. They go door-to-door telling their story and leaving door hangers promoting their new church.
Most of our new churches spend about 10 percent of their annual budget getting the word out to potential members. How much does your church budget to get the word out to non-members? Our new churches spend about 50 percent to 75 percent of their energy telling their story and making contact with non-members. How much energy do the leaders and members of your church expend in connecting with non-members? Most of our new churches repeatedly tell their story and make contact with non-members. How often do your church leaders and members make contact with their unchurched neighbors?
I had lunch with a friend this week whose wife has a small business. He said she is excellent in creating her product. Her problem is that she doesn’t promote it. Are we promoting our excellent "product?" Are we asking people to come and receive it? How will they know if you don’t invite them?
Our demographic data tells us that approximately 13 percent of the population in your neighborhoods report they are favorable toward the United Methodist expression of the Christian faith. How much of your church’s budget is dedicated to telling them and inviting them to avail themselves of your excellent "product?" How much of your church’s energy is being spent in making contact with that 13 percent?
Vital churches not only focus on their members, but on those who aren’t.
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