Church Marketing Sucks

I am sure you have experienced the wonders of the overhead projector when it first made its appearance into church auditoriums.

Let’s take a moment to reflect on its awesomeness.

And we’re done.

At the time, I remember how great it was to see those words appearing on the screen.  It was bland, but at least the people in the back could see what was going on.

If you happened to be one of the people who controlled the transparencies, I am sure there is a very special place in heaven for you.  You had to change the transparencies at just the right speed or you got dirty looks.  And who will forget that time the wind blew all the transparencies and worship was a complete shambles?  We’ve all been there.  I know we have with our church in Cape Town, South Africa.

One has to be honest: Overhead projectors were very “high-tech” when they came out, but I am glad we have moved on.

Now the point isn’t to knock the old technology we had.  It’s not to make fun of old systems we used, but it’s to take time and to remember where we came from.  I find that technology changes so fast nowadays, it hard to keep up.  By the time you have read this article we would have had a new iTunes release, some plugin update and a new YouTube hero.

I love tech, so don’t get me wrong, but I do feel that sometimes we need to slow down and remember who we are doing this for.  Remember whom we are doing this with and also appreciate the fact that we have progressed.  You may not have the ultimate system.  You may not have an uncapped budget, but as long as you’re moving forward, that’s what counts.

We spend so much time, effort and money to stay ahead, to have the “coolest church” or to keep up with the church down the road,  that we forget we are all in a process. I would love to give you 5 Points to a Better Display System or 7 Tips to More Effective Projection, but there are no shortcuts in his kingdom. It really is a process.

When you get frustrated with your aging equipment, when your pastor says “sorry there’s no budget,” when you feel a little behind in the tech world, take a moment to remember that there are churches here in Africa that would love to have an overhead projector.  Remember that if they got one they would be the forerunners in their community and that they would be setting a standard. With an overhead projector! It’s all relative pending your perspective.

So take a step back and remember where you came from and get on your knees with your team and honor God for where you are today and for where he is taking you.