Church Marketing Sucks

The hard and holy holidays, that’s about right. For all the holiday spirit between Thanksgiving and Christmas, it can be a stressful season. Blue Christmas isn’t just a song. Sometimes we need to cry out, “Comfort, oh comfort my people, says your God.”

Whether this season is always difficult or this Christmas just has you down, whether it’s recent news—like the headlines in Ferguson (see our post on how to respond to pain in the world)—or just life in general, whether it’s the gray skies or the darkening days, holidays aren’t always happy.

That can be especially difficult for church communicators trying to pull together a positive, uplifting experience for their church.

We feel the stress of church communicators, like a tangible weight, and want to help ease the burden this holiday season.

This free Advent devotional from Anne Marie Miller might help:

Surviving Christmas: Advent Devotions for the Hard and Holy Holidays

It’s free through NoiseTrade, so grab a copy and start on Monday. Consider it a defense against the inevitable Christmas crush. It includes short, quick read chapters and some insightful ideas:

What if you wrote down one thing you’re thankful for every day?

Advent Starts Sunday

Speaking of Advent, it starts on Sunday. Check out these Advent lists for resources and themes. For the non-liturgically minded, you might want to check it out as a ready-made theme for Christmas promo.

More De-Stressing

Finally, we’re serious about avoiding the holiday stress. We’ve got some help:

• Fight burnout and getting burned.
• Make sure you’re keeping excellence in perspective and not allowing yourself to be crushed by comparison.
• This season more than any other, keep your work and faith separate.
• Find ways to recharge your soul. Now is a good time to find and book events for 2015 (we humbly recommend the Certification Lab).
• Remember: If it feels like you’re doing it wrong, you’re not alone.
• Maybe you’ve forgotten the joy of that first day and the wonder of what we do. You’ve given in to the grind. But today is a new day.
• Check out these practical tips to stop the stress.

And how about 20 things we should say more often from Kid President:

More Christmas Ideas:

• Check out God Rest Ye Stressed Communicators: Planning Christmas for Your Church for help with Christmas. It even includes a chapter on dealing with stress from Anne Marie Miller.
• For more Christmas help, the church marketing elves have been making a list (and checking it twice) of Christmas ideas and resources.