Church Marketing

Marketing Jesus

So often we do not hear those two words in the same sentence and i will be honest, the thought makes me want to throw up! Yeah, lets take the maker of the whole universe who created everything and everyone and try to find some way to make him look cool to others. A sweet logo with a cross or two nails overlapping, or throw a tat on Jesus or something. LAME.

But then i was challenged. Or shall i say then i learned the truth. We do need marketing. I heard a message about this and there were some tough questions thrown at me. Like, who do others say your youth is? What kind? Jocks? Band kids? The ones without many friends? The Emo kids? Is it a place that everyone outside your walls knows about? Are you associated with fun? What are you? What do people say?

I came up with this for us: No one knows about us. Which is worse than above. Not only that but it’s not a place that is easy to invite people to, that has very little if any visual appeal, and probably isn’t a great reflection of what this area needs.

You see, marketing for a church is no different then marketing Starbucks, Mt Dew, or energy drinks. If you believe in what you are trying to sell then sell it for all its worth.

So who are we? What do we like? What is cool? Who can we be? Anyone…

Prayer Meeting

I went to this prayer meeting today and i must admit, i was literally blown away.  It was absolutely refreshing. I promise at one point in the prayer time towards the beginning i opened my eyes because it felt like i was hovering above my chair. The Spirit was so thick in the room. It was good.

I don’t remember all that was said because the Spirit was leading, but i remember deep prayer for the people of Hartville, OH. God seems to be moving here and i want in. Lord, open my eyes to this movement and where i can reach out. I also remember prayer about rebuking comfort and fear from our lives and inviting in suffering and true faith. Prayers against materialism, false teachings we have, luke warm faiths and our own selfishness and greed.  And asking for God’s will to be done not our own, for a heart for the lost, for the ability to speak in truth and love and so much more.

Christ was there, and you should be there too.

Tuesdays at Noon at Hartville Kitchen Banquet Room.

Observence

So I was sitting at youth group tonight and watching the junior high come up with their own game that was some sort variation of kickball. As I watched I thought to myself that those kids could have fun anywhere. Than I interrupted the fun and had them go upstairs for the lesson. Later that night I was talking to our pastors wife and it hit me that God loves her and he loves to see me listen to her talk.

So what do the two of those things have in common?

Well the lesson I subjected the teens to was about how God is here in the midst of all we do. Often times we fail to notice his everyday miracles and wonderment and get so wrapped up in looking for God that we miss him right next to us. You see God calls us to be like little children and look for the joy in all and love the simplicity of life. Like the junior high teens that moved on from the planned fun I had and instantly created fun on their own. And in my conversation with the pastors wife I stopped and thought about how God loves her and wants to listen to her share about anything and I should do the same. Like a child who just wants to sit next to mom or dad and help no matter what the parent is doing bc flat out they just enjoy being with mom or dad!

We all need that childlike joy and playfulness in our lives. We need to stop planning fun and looking for it but instead just have it. Laugh, sing, play, be goofy! We also need to enjoy others like God enjoys them. Saved or not, Jesus died to spend time with us all.

May we all learn to play like children. And may we all learn how to enjoy the presence of God and his children daily! And then we will all experience more pleasure and fulfillment out of life and our faith journeys!

Sense of Adventure

I was a the YMCA today running around the track and i was outside myself.

There i was trying to focus on my ministry and also trying to figure out my sense of dullness i feel right now. I know its that time of year and its dark and depressing, and it’s cold and we get stuck indoors.  But I don’t want to live that way. I don’t want to have to spend my whole life dredging through 2-3 months out of the year. My joy comes from more than just sunny days, jogs outside, and warm nights. My joy is SUPPOSED to come from Christ but i admit a lot of the times it doesn’t. When i think to myself in those moments of dredge i try to look to the next big thing or exciting thing that is going to happen. Not often do i just look inside.

Well, on accident today i did. I just got down running 2.5 miles around the track. Its a small track so it takes 10 laps (which i feel is not correct otherwise i have gotten slower) to complete one mile. Then when i was done i jump on a exercise bike that sat right off the back end of the turn of the track. That is where i looked inside. First i thought about the yellowish glow of light (which i admit it better than most places like this) and how different it is running here than it is outside. Then i felt bad for all of us who were stuck inside. Then i thought about the bike i was pedaling hard on. But i was going no where.

That’s because i feel like we have lost our sense of adventure. No longer do we go on bike rides through the hills and parks that surround us and no longer to a go on jogs down paths through tree’s or society. But inside i pedal in place and i run in a small blue circle.

Now i know it’s winter but we tend to do that all year. And its not just with running or biking but its with our careers and our family vacations and our Saturdays and family times. We just go with the flow and with what seems to make sense. No adventure, no spontaneity. I feel like we as a society have lost our joy and turned it in for convenience.

Lord God, please restore that sense of adventure in me i had in college. Press on me in every situation and place i am in to see the joy, excitement, opportunity, and creativity around me. I pray that for all people out there. To loosen their belts and just remember how life can be fun. What laughter sounds like, how it feels to make a new friend or help someone out. Lord God, please fill us with your Spirit because when we trade in our adventure for convenience i thinks its easier to run on empty with you as well. And my pipes are rusting out.

Life to the Full

I have been wondering upon this verse lately.

“I have come so that they may have life, and live it to the full.”

These are very powerful words Jesus utters.  He uses them right after he references the thief that comes and tries to kill and destroy. So the point is clear, Jesus brings life and its full of joy and blessings and completeness but the thief tricks us into thinking he can bring the same but in reality he is destroying us slowly.

Although, the idea is simple i question if living it out is that simple. It’s easy to see how we can get immersed into materialism, selfishness, advancement, and attractiveness of appearance but denying oneself those guilty pleasures is only half the battle.

Here is the other half. I am a youth pastor and it is very easy to host youth group. I plan a fun game (atleast for some of the teens), throw in some annoucements about our next big thing becuase then i feel like we are doing something, then add a lesson about not doing drugs, serving people, making good choices, or that each individual is important in God’s eyes. Perfect recipe for a good night. Heck lets add small groups to encourage openness and growth and we have created even more of a better experience.

But i see no life.  All that might make a good soup but its not the type of soup that nourishes my soul and give me the energy to actively live the rest of my day, week, or whatever.

I can give lesson after lesson and it doesn’t matter if i spent 30 mins on it or 3 days. About the same thing is accomplished.

Jesus talked about life to the full. That sounds more then just denying the easily seen struggles the world can trap us into.  It seems like there is intentional, relational, sacred togetherness, and passion in Jesus words when lived out.

For youth ministry i don’t think games, a good lesson, small groups, and announcements do it. And its not the easy fix of a cool video, awesome graphic, or inspiring worship music either. its something else.

I don’t know exactly what but i did get some good advice from a Mark Oestreicher book recently called, “Youth Ministry 3.0.” At the end it said to make it simple, go slow, and do less. Which is about opposite of what we tend to think an active Christ centered youth group looks like.

But i made a list of the moments in my life when i knew i was apart of some special group that had life at least when they were together or moments in my life that i could see the LIFE Christ was talking about or just moments that never stop to still my soul.

These five things were almost in every single example i could come up with and i didn’t even see it until i skimmed back through. Of course some were listed under different titles or synonyms but this is what i saw:

1. Togetherness
2. Intentional “moments” created or acknowledged
3. Authenticity or sacredness
4. Growth Opportunities
5. Enjoyment of each other

Now i know they might sound easy or obvious but to me i cant think of any special group or moment i have been apart of that hasn’t had at least 3 of those. And the beauty is that you don’t even have to experience it to see groups of other people that have it. I see it in my fiance’s parents “camping buddies.” i felt it in my Residence Life Staff. I experienced it in my mentoring i received in college, in breakfast’s over poetry i had with two friends on Tuesday mornings, with a small church in Akron, Ohio and a gathering of old friends i see once a month.

In those moments i feel Christ and i know of the LIFE he says we can have to the full.

That’s a little bit about what i think youth ministry needs to be about. More meals together, acknowledgement of the spirit more, be consistent people in each others lives, laughter, involvement in what each other does outside of church, experiential worship together. I don’t know…i might be sending the ship out to the wrong sea but when i think about that stuff i can feel the LIFE and i feel guilty giving the same games, lessons, etc.

Christ calls me to shepherd some sheep and i want these sheep to know what LIFE to the FULL can be.

This lesson i am learning is not just about YM either, which is the beauty of it all because its a lesson for living my life as a christian as well.