Church Marketing Sucks

The Certification Lab is now known as The Intensive.

Are you a church communicator? Ready to get better? Let us help you on your journey.

The Certification Lab is a two-day, intensive workshop designed to equip church communicators to go to the next level. It’s a small group experience so you get help specific to your situation, as well as on-going follow up with experienced communication pros.

Hangout With the Instructors

What’s the Certification Lab like? Get a taste of the event and meet our instructors in this hangout video:

You can also watch other hangout videos: Atlanta (Advanced), Southern California, Atlanta & Nashville.

Ready to Get Better?

Our instructors have more than 40 years combined experience. They’re got some knowledge to drop. You can soak it up by checking out the many articles they’ve written sharing their insights:

Personal Care

• If you feel like you’re doing it wrong, you’re not alone. No one has it all figured out, but all of us have something figured out. So let’s share.
• “Creating a communication team that’s healthy and sustainable starts with me being healthy and sustainable.”
• Sometimes we fall into a habit of allowing the work to control us instead of us controlling the work. Personal boundaries can help you be more productive.
• When wrapping a gift it needs to fit in the box. The same is true for your responsibilities. Your church can’t communicate well if you’re stretched too thin.
• Being teachable is essential if we are going to help our churches make progress. Learn how to embrace change.
• It’s not easy to keep ego in check. Even in the church. Here’s how you can disarm that explosive ego: Embrace humility, be teachable and submit to the Spirit’s leading.
• Church communication is a journey where we learn from our mistakes, but we don’t have to do it alone. We can learn from each other, so let’s do it.
• Three simple phrases: “Thanks so much. Help me. I’m stuck.” Use them. Realize that you’re not the only church communicator struggling to keep up.
• Remember that you get to do this, you don’t have to do it.
• A lot of times communicators feel like they’re making it up as they go along. What they really need is confidence.

Practical

• How to handle communication requests from multiple ministries without chaos.
• 7 ways to kill your bulletin.
• How to do church service planning in advance.
• Texting & tools: “A lot of times we get caught up with methods, when the truth is methods change but message never changes.”
• It’s easy to fall into maintenance mode, just trying to keep your head above water.

Creativity

• When you run out of creative juice, you need to refuel your creativity. Here are three simple ideas to recharge, refresh and renew your creativity.
• The pursuit of excellence can be frustrating, wasteful and exhausting. We need to redefine excellence. It’s not about measuring up, but making the most.
• Are your creative meetings boring? Not cool. Here are five ways to transform boring brainstorms into the energizing, creative experience you need to bring world-changing ideas to your church.
• When we lack resources we get the opportunity to start being innovative.
• Creativity isn’t magic. It’s about identifying barriers and problems.

Big Picture

• The best marketing strategy is to just stay calm and tackle it one bite at a time.
• Communities are growing, but churches are in decline. Does your community know what your church offers? Would anyone notice if you church closed its doors?
• People in your community have no interest in attending your church. It’s not you. And it’s not them. It’s us. We need to change.

Leadership

• As church communicators, we need to create and enforce boundaries within the church staff. Otherwise, last-minute decisions become the norm and productivity will be continually halted by detours.
• Pushback can grind you down. But there are ways to triumph over pushback.
• Church communicators who lead up well are those who approach the future with hands wide open.
• Communicators need a seat at the table.
• Help your leadership move past what currently is and envision what could be.
• Tear down the ministry silos and learn to play well with others.
• Getting volunteers plugged in to your communications team can be difficult. Here are four ways to engage volunteers.
• Volunteers need to consider the benefits, the needs and the cost of volunteering. Leaders do too.
• Be a church-first person.

Certification Lab in Action

Check out these recaps of past Certification Labs:

• Nashville 2016 Reaction and Social Media
• San Antonio 2016 Recap and Social Media
• Atlanta (Advanced) 2016 Recap and Social Media
• St. Louis 2015 Recap and Social Media
• Dallas 2015 on Social Media
• Southern California 2014 on Social Media
• Atlanta 2014 on Social Media
• Nashville 2013 Recap

What Do the Participants Say?

Jenny Rain, communications director for National Community Church in Washington, D.C., attended the Atlanta Certification Lab after being on the job for just over a year. Watch as she shares her experience and what she learned:

Three communicators from the Nashville Certification Lab in 2013 share their experience.

And a few tweets from Atlanta:

One of the most worthwhile things I've ever done for myself and my ministry #certlab

— Julie Snyder (@Bless81) October 14, 2014

Learned more about communications today at #certlab than I have in the past year. Also tweeted more today than I have in a year.

— Robert Carnes (@jamrobcar) June 9, 2014

I loved learning from seasoned church comm leaders at #CertLab today. Can't wait for tomorrow and to bring it all back to @crosspointeoc!

— Allison Flores (@allisonfloreal) October 14, 2014

Register Now

If you’re ready to check out Certification Lab, register now.