Church Marketing Sucks

For many church communicators, perhaps including yourself, Thanksgiving is no time to wind down, reflect, and watch some college bowl games. Churches need materials and information for Advent and Christmas.

Even if you aren’t thinking about church activities, family matters require attention. The turkey must be de-thawed and in the oven by a certain time. Kids want to get into the Christmas decorations. A spouse keeps taste-testing the pies and sides.

Thanksgiving tends to be a crazy, chaotic time. We get it. While we can’t invite you to a literal 10-course Thanksgiving meal (it’s the average number of dishes found in traditional and modern Thanksgiving menus), we can give thanks for you and what you do.

So sit down for a minute or two. We’ve got you covered. Let the pie settle on the cooling rack and relax into our Thanksgiving feast for you, the church communicators.

1. Thank you for your masterful planning. No program or event gets done without a number of details getting done first. Somehow, you keep all the pieces moving, making sure they’re delivered on time and ready for use in service or in email communications.
2. Thank you for your grace (under fire). We know you’ve been asked about Comic Sans at least twice and have had to manage a sticky situation on the Facebook page. Thank you for treating people with grace and respect—even if you’re seeing red on the inside.
3. Thank you for how you use the communications budget. No matter how big or small your communications budget, you make it do things we’d never thought possible. Thank you for dreaming and making those dreams a reality while staying within budget.
4. Thank you for using your talent. You could have headed to an agency or business with your creative talents. Instead, you’re using them to serve the church and equip the saints. Thank you so, so much.
5. Thank you for sharing the gospel. Your work helps us share the gospel, inside and outside the church. But your work demonstrates the gospel to us on an everyday basis, too. Thank you for showing us what it means to have a servant’s heart.
6. Thank you for your encouragement. We know it took months and months of work to get everyone on board with communications request forms. Thank you for sticking with it and encouraging people with kindness rather than a rule of iron.
7. Thank you for teaching others. Thank you teaching the next generation how to use social media and online tools to communicate truth. Thank you, too, for teaching people why the online world matters to the church.
8. Thank you for asking people to get involved. We know getting people involved is like trying to herd cats. Thank you for doing it anyway. Your efforts remind us that everybody in the body of Christ matters.
9. Thank you for your contagious joy. We know what you’re like when a new idea strikes your fancy. Thank you for how much you enjoy your work as a church communicator. It brightens our day.
10. Thank you for your creativity. You operate on the same liturgical calendar every year. Thank you for bringing creativity to the schedule so that people continue to get excited about Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas.

Church communicators, today, we give thanks for you and all that you do. Happy Thanksgiving!