It makes sense to arm one’s congregants (the personal product evangelists of your church) with branded invitation cards that match the distinctive graphics of a direct-mail piece. The recipient of your direct-mail advertising (DMA) piece has a substantively different reaction when they have already been handed a co-branded invitation card from an acquaintance. This strategy marries the power of two basic advertising principles.
But these strategies pale in comparison to the effectiveness of what I call the personal character impact (PCI) of God’s people on the unchurched. Jesus laid out this marketing strategy when He called His Church “the light of the world.” (Mt. 4:14) In the same verse, Jesus added the observation, “A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.”
What is this light that has the power to shine in the darkness and draw men to Christ? It is the light of transformed human character. When people at work observe someone who has been transformed by the activity of the Spirit, they cannot help but notice. Consider the peaceful Christian being approached by a workmate. “How can you have such a calm demeanor in your financial situation? You could lose everything!”
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Hear the response of the faith-filled believer. “I have a peace that passes understanding because I have learned to trust in the goodness of my God. He has my back at all times and is fully committed to the highest outcomes for my life. No circumstance can assassinate the goodness of my God in my heart!” Now we have arrived at real, life-changing marketing power! And it’s free!
Christian leaders need to remember, in the midst of their godly quest to increase their church’s sphere of influence, that the power of changed lives has always been the greatest marketing coup of the church. That is why churches need to consider discipleship as an inherent part of their marketing program. It’s also why I sold ConnectionPower.com and founded SpiritualProgress.com. After years of speaking and designing software to help the church to grow wider, I came to understand that God was calling me to play a part in helping the church grow people deeper.
So, what is the best marketing campaign for your church? Think multilevel! Combine word of mouth (WOM) with direct-mail advertising (DMA) and empower your people to make personal character impacts (PCI) on everyone within their sphere of influence.
