Church Marketing Sucks

Right now church communicators are converging on Baltimore as part of Creative Missions 2014. They’re coming together to serve local churches with their comm skills. It’s a mission trip for creatives, and we’ve been proud supporters since the beginning (our nonprofit parent also handles the finances).

We love Creative Missions. There’s a lot to love. It takes the stuff we always talk about and puts it into practice. It’s a missions trip where creatives can use their actual skills instead of pretending they know how to do construction (or is that just me?).

One pastor in Baltimore described it as “an army of support and encouragement”:

Influence from Creative Missions on Vimeo.

Let’s give them our support as they get down to work over the next week.

The 2014 Creative Missions Baltimore Team
Before we get to ways you can help, let’s give a big ol’ high five to this year’s participants:

Matt Adams, Laura Bennett, Andy Burns, Catherine Burt, Jon Carlson, Emily Carlton, Evan Courtney, Nicole Crossett, Nathan Dewberry, Chip Dizárd, Eric Dunaway, Jim Fergusson, Nate Friedrichsen, Tim Gaskins, Danielle Hartland, Dave Hartland, Brad Huss, Jason Kempf, Denisse Leon, Kyna Moore, Eric Murrell, Vajaah Parker, Cleve Persinger, Katie Persinger, Joe Porter, Jon Rogers, Chuck Scoggins, Monica Singleton, Steven St. Clair and Brian Ziegelheafer. (Follow them all on Twitter)

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

How You Can Pray
The next week is going to be crazy busy for these creative missionaries. Here’s how you can pray:

• Pray for the churches they’ll be serving. Pray for the pastors who are leading these churches. Pray that the Creative Missions team can offer them some soul care and serve them well. Pray that these pastors and leaders would have a clarity of vision.
• Pray for the pastors as a group, that they can find some unity in their work together to reach Baltimore.
• Pray for the impact of Creative Missions. Pray that these churches will experience fruit from these efforts. Pray that God will multiply these efforts to advance his kingdom in Baltimore.
• Pray for a renewed passion for the creative missionaries. Pray that their zeal for their own ministries will be renewed by helping these ministries. Pray that they will learn new things about how God moves among his people.
• Pray for humility, unity and Spirit-led creativity and productivity among the Creative Missions teams.
• Pray for the team leaders. Pray that they will be given wisdom and discernment as they manage their projects and teams.
• Pray that the Creative Missions team can learn from these pastors and churches that they’re serving. Pray that they’ll be aware of what these churches have to offer over what they are bringing.

How You Can Follow Along
Even if you’re not going to Baltimore, you can still follow along and cheer them on:

• Follow the #CreativeMissions hashtag on Twitter or check out our Creative Missions 2014 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.

How You Can Take Part
You may not be in Baltimore, but you can still be a part of the team. Here are a few ways you can help:

1. Donate: Sending 30 creative pros to one city to help churches isn’t a simple or cheap endeavor. They need some green. Make a donation and support Creative Missions. You can even get a cool T-shirt for donating. All donations are handled by our nonprofit parent, the Center for Church Communication and are tax deductible.
2. Buy the Book: Last year we wrote a book in collaboration with the Creative Missions team: Dangerous: A Go-to Guide for Church Communication. A portion of the profits go to Creative Missions, so by picking up the book you’re helping the cause. Plus, the book is like 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: Every year the team shares how things are going as it happens. By following the #CreativeMissions hashtag on Twitter you can see what needs, challenges or questions the Creative Missions team has and you can respond immediately. They might need software, WordPress templates or ideas for shooting video.

Be a Creative Missionary
Every year it’s incredible to watch, pray and support Creative Missions as it happens. Be a creative missionary yourself and support this year’s effort in Baltimore.