GETTING WORD OUT AND PEOPLE IN
Church publicity needn't fall on deaf ears.
Brian Beckett
October 1, 1991
I know I shouldn't have taken it personally. But when we had planned a program for the community, distributed posters all over town, made weekly announcements in the worship bulletin, mailed personal letters to the prospects, ran an advertisement in the local paper, even devoted extra prayer time to the success of the event, and people still didn't come, I was more than a little distressed. The next morning, I stared out my office window, wondering why our message didn't connect with our prospects. I knew we were addressing genuine and expressed needs. What else could we have done? Some time later, I took a leave of absence from pastoral ministry and became involved in business marketing and management. What I learned both in the classroom and on the job opened my eyes to what had gone wrong in my previous attempt to attract people to the church. Although I had previously been suspicious of "marketing" the church, I discovered how to 'sell' what we have to offer without 'selling out.' More than marketing theory
Soon I had an opportunity to put my new knowledge into practice. I accepted a part-time pastorate in a small, conservative-minded congregation. Aware that the previous pastor had left under a cloud of hurt feelings and angry words, I was apprehensive about the future. Yet, within twelve months this congregation of forty-two had transformed itself into a thriving body with an average worship attendance between eighty-five to ninety-five. New Bible study groups sprung up, a nursery with paid workers was begun, a Boy Scout pack of twenty-two youth was formed, the children's program grew from three to twenty, a new roof for the church was added, the parsonage refurbished, and a food and clothes pantry begun. Did this happen ...
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