Church Marketing Sucks

Right now church communication pros from all over the country are gathering in Anchorage, Alaska, for this year’s Creative Missions. They’re getting ready to serve churches, helping them to become courageous storytellers of the gospel. That’s the poetic way to put it. In more practical terms, they’re going to help churches write announcements, fix sound systems, create video and more.

We’ve been talking about Creative Missions all year. We’ve supported the effort since the beginning and our nonprofit parent handles the finances. This year we even put together an ebook collecting some of the wisdom shared by Creative Missions participants that can help churches anywhere tell that story better.

We love Creative Missions. It’s a practical way for church communicators to help other churches communicate better. Let’s give them our support as they get down to work over the next week.

This Year’s Team
First off, let’s give a big thank you to this year’s participants:

Matt Adams , Laura Bennett, Andy Burns, Catherine Burt, Kelvin Co, Evan Courtney, Nathan Dewberry, Sheri Felipe, Tim Gaskins, Danielle Hartland, Dave Hartland, Brad Huss, Adam Legg, Denisse Leon, Colt Melrose, Lindy Melrose, Deanna Mingo, Kyna Moore, Eric Murrell, Cleve Persinger, Katie Persinger, Micah Petrea, Joe Porter, Jamie Pruitt, Matt Ralph, Stacy Regan, Jon Rogers, Chuck Scoggins, Matthew Walker and Brandon Wanamaker. (Follow them on Twitter)

Give them a shout out on Twitter, say thanks and let them know you’re rooting for them.

How You Can Pray
There’s a lot to accomplish in the next week and they could use help. Here’s how you can pray:

• Pray for the participants, that they would have unity, strength, clarity and creativity in abundance.
• Pray for efficiency and effectiveness as they serve 15-20 churches in a week.
• Pray that the pastors, staff members, volunteers and congregations served in Alaska will be encouraged.
• Pray that the communities in Alaska will be impacted as these churches more effectively reach out to their neighbors.

How You Can Follow Along
One of the cool things about technology today is that we can follow along from hundreds or thousands of miles away:

• Follow the #CreativeMissions hashtag on Twitter or check out our Creative Missions 2013 list.
• Watch for updates on Facebook.
• We’ll be collecting updates on Storify and tweeting at @cmsucks.
• We’ll be posting a recap after the trip or you can check out mediaBLEEP.com.

How You Can Take Part
Creative Missions doesn’t have to be limited to this year’s participants. You can take part. Here are a few ways you can help:

1. Donate: Projects like this require a lot of time, work and, yes, money. We shared last week that Creative Missions had a significant budget shortfall. They’ve made a dent in that need, but they still need your support. Make a donation and support Creative Missions. All donations are handled by our nonprofit parent, the Center for Church Communications and are tax deductible.
2. Buy the Book: Another way you can support Creative Missions is by picking up a copy of that ebook we mentioned, Dangerous: A Go-to Guide for Church Communication. A portion of the profits will go to Creative Missions, so by picking up the book you’re helping the cause. Plus, reading the book is like getting your own Creative Missions experience. Share the book with pastors and churches that need communication help and you’re becoming a creative missionary.
3. Help: Watch the #CreativeMissions hashtag on Twitter and pitch in when you can. The team will often run in to unexpected needs or questions and turn to social media for help. Jump in and do what you can from a distance.

Enough to Be Dangerous
This week churches in Alaska are learning enough to be dangerous. It’s incredible to watch, pray and support it as it happens.