Is Your Church in Alignment?

The Message driven Churchlonger around, they drove off their older market
By message we are not talking about Theby insulting the older drivers.
Message, but the sub-message. The message of"Brown and Buddy", Pepsi Cola tag-line and it only
Jesus is usually always preached and does notran one week. They were aiming for the black
change, but what about the sub-message or howcommunity and it drew all kinds of negative
the message is stated?feedback.
Is the sub-message, Jesus says... or how to fix aA few good tag-lines:
broken world... or help for hurting people? Does"Just Do It" and "Where's The Beef?" This one
your church center around the Sunday service, islasted about 5 years in the 80's and was only
this where it happens?dropped during the 90's due to weight becoming a
The down side of a message driven Church ispublic issue.
that is least likely to change and could be leastLook for a good advertisement company for
flexible.your church, they will know how to make use of
The up side of a message driven Church is that itthe subliminal messages in the selection of color
is a strong voice as long as the person in chargefonts and graphics in your ads.
is around, but may struggle when the leader diesAvoid using real people from your congregation in
or moves on.your ads, you never know what may happen to
The Medium driven Churchthem and you may have to pull an expensive ad.
The medium driven Church could be a church withIf you ever blame a consumer, you have lost
a strong Sunday School. It could be centered onthem. Blame is the result of negative guilt. Not all
the pulpit with one strong person. It could be theguilt is negative.
choir or a bus ministry. It could also be a TVRemember that all non-profits require funding.
ministry.People will develop an image about ur church, but
The up side is that it could be flexible or creative.will it be what we want? Let's give them our
The down side is when it fixes in on one mediumimage!
or one person.Orientation
The Market driven ChurchWhat is the magnet north for your Church? If
The market driven Church is a church that aimsyou shake a compass it will always return back to
for specific group or class of people, or any areathe same direction. What ever your church goes
that can be identified.through, the direction it returns to is your
The up side is that it is usually the most creativeorientation.
and the most flexible. Always on top. ConstantExamples of Church orientation:
change.Worship Music
The down side is that a market driven ChurchPreaching
can become a slave to the market and with aSmall Groups
highly market driven Church there is a high riskChristian Education
factor. Willing to comprise the message.Relationships
Good AlignmentGrowth
When all three of these are in alignment with eachChildren
other you have the best situation. They are allYouth
good, but they must have good alignment. TheyFill in the blank. As it is right now my church is
may not be in balance, but should be in alignment.___________, orientated.
For example the message must reach theWhat is your church's message?
market. To do this you must study and knowWhat is your church's medium?
your market. Who are you reaching for and whoWhat is your church's market?
is available for you to reach.What was the size of your congregation 2 years
How well do you communicate what you are toago?
your church?What was the size of your congregation 5 years
How well do you communicate what you are toago?
your community?What is the average age of your congregation?
Image is what others think you are.Has your revenue increased, decreased or
Identity is what you know you are.remained the same?
Try to merge image and identity so that othersAre you closing the door to visitors? Example:
really know what you are all about.Private jokes known only to the congregation can
Step One - Inspire commitment from your staffturn visitors away. Do you make it sound like you
or board.must have problems to become a member?
Step two - Develop a self-awareness.Values of your Church
Ask yourself what is the dominant theme for outClarify the values of your church, values are a
church now? Use a five year maximum timepolicing factor.
frame.Select the three top important values in your
What moments from my church's past andchurch.
present are emblematic of our vision?Example:
What do we want to say about our church and1. Personal relationships
to whom?2. Spiritual life
If you try to appeal to everyone, you will not3. Authority of Scripture
appeal to anyone.After the top three, the rest are just what
Which truth about my church will I choose topeople want to hear.
represent us?List the things that are important in your church
Pick only one and go forward with it. The one youand score them in order of importance 1 to 10.
pick is your identity and the one you go forwardExample:
with is your image.Growth - 3
Marketing strategyService - 8
Be careful not to sell what you cannot deliver!Pastoral - 7
You may not understand who you are.Evangelism -3
Why do tag-lines matter? Think of it as yourEvents - 2
bumper sticker. It tells who you are and how youSocial Work - 2
want to be seen.Facilities - 1
A large southern church that has just come outFinances - 4
of a long successful revival and is now trying toCompare what you feel is important with the
get back to being a church again, has picked avalues you have selected for your church. Are
tag-line ( Explore Life Now ). Their market is ayou being truthful in what you say your values
large geographical area that the past revivalare and what you place importance on. For
reached and the congregation usually spends theexample if you place growth as a value and you
weekend when coming to the church. Withare not growing, then growth is not a value.
beaches nearby, the message is to come, attendIn the example above, do you think that these
church and enjoy the beaches.are true values with the low importance placed on
A few bad tag-lines:some of the items?
"It's not your father's Oldsmobile", Oldsmobile is no