Church Marketing: Why are you wasting limited resources?

Eric

As Christians, we are supposed to be exceptional stewards of our resources.

But as humans in the 21st Century, we continually seek the latest and greatest high-tech gadget to make our lives easier.

If there’s an app for it, we buy it. If there’s a quicker way to communicate, we invest in it. If everybody else is doing the “new thing,” so do we.

But the “new thing” is always changing.

The iPod I bought six years ago can’t support the new apps. My wedding is forever chronicled on a VHS tape. My phone is a camera. I forgo radio for downloaded podcasts. I pay for cable but I watch Netflix!

What if the “new thing” was actually the “old thing?”

What if we actually invested our money and our efforts in time-tested, never-going-away, foolproof, church marketing strategies?

Below, I’ve provided two lists — a list of things that will go away and a list of things that will always be available. 

Things that won’t last

  • Newspapers
  • Phone books
  • Facebook as we know it (Just ask MySpace)
  • Twitter
  • Websites
  • Blogs
  • Desktop computers
  • Laptops
  • Cameras
  • Telephones (aka iPhones)
  • Tablets
  • Billboards
  • Books
  • Publishing houses
  • Televisions
  • Church buildings
  • Republicans
  • Democrats
  • MSNBC
  • FOX
  • ESPN

Things that will last

  • God
  • Jesus
  • God’s Word
  • People
  • A sinful world
  • Prayer
  • Love
  • Charity
  • Kindness
  • Needs: food, water, shelter, clothing, love, church
  • Abilities: service, art, thinking, labor
  • Memories
  • Stories
  • The joy of salvation
  • Truth

Think over these lists for a few minutes. Things in List One that seem so ubiquitous and so stable — television, computers, the Internet, political parties — are all just fads. They will be replaced.

But the things in List Two are things that last.

Think about it.

Look at those lists. Where are you investing your resources?

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Should churches use Facebook?

4 thoughts on “Church Marketing: Why are you wasting limited resources?”

  1. You are absolutely right, friend! I am reminded of Paul’s words:

    For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. (2 Corinthians 4:18 NLT)

  2. Great reminder. We can get caught up way too much in things that won’t last (like how much time do you spend reading the paper or surfing the internet (as compared to time in prayer or reaching out to others) and forget the really important things.

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