Church Marketing Sucks

Three stories have been on the radar of late. It’s about time you get a chance to check them out.

First, Seth Godin links to the Good URL, Bad URL blog. Why does that matter to you? Because your church’s web site is rapidly replacing your church’s vestibule. You wouldn’t have an ugly vestibule or a confusing foyer or doors that were difficult to open, so why on earth should you have a bad URL? Check out the blog, and think about the way you present your own URL.

The New York Times reports on in incredibly interesting church. It’s St. John Coltrane Church in New York City. It’s an interesting way to market your church. Essentially, they get together on Sunday afternoon and experience worship and play or listen to John Coltrane’s religiously-motivated jazz. Stories like this have a low “do this” value and a high “They’re doing that? What could I do?” value.

Finally, Element Church is trying something new this Christmas. Churches face an interesting challenge. The best way of getting people in your doors that will stay there is through people who already come. But sometimes people who already come don’t have enough initiative to invite people (If this applies, re-evaluate yourself first) to get over the hump of potential awkwardness. Enter View-Masters. Element is equipping their members with View-Masters to give to people who don’t usually attend to show them a 3d-view of what to expect. Pretty sweet.