Some people claim Jesus was a great salesman. But I think he was the worst marketer ever.
I’ve been a professional copywriter for 25 years. I’ve written the words…
Simple… Easy… and convenient…
Probably, like a bazillion times in every form of media invented. Except maybe stone tablets.
I’ve been a follower of Jesus Christ even longer. Not just a once a week church goer. But one who studies and applies his teachings to everyday life and leads my family on the same path.
Okay, I regularly fail in my efforts. Still, I press on with an intentional, Spirit-led focus.
So when I read material that extols Jesus as a great marketer or salesman, I don’t get it. I think he was terrible at marketing.
The worst marketer ever
Why?
Because nothing about my life as a Christ-follower has been simple, easy or convenient. Nor did Jesus use those words in his marketing efforts. Or try to persuade people to follow him.
He proposed the opposite.
Sure. Christianity offers one really attractive benefit statement—the hope of eternal life. But it’s an open ended invitation. You can always play the odds, risk it and put that decision off to the last minute.
Beat the buzzer, as they say in sports. And enjoy the best of both worlds. But that’s a separate discussion.
Bad Recruiting Statements By The Worst Marketer Ever
Here are some of Jesus’ marketing statements recorded in scripture:
Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. –Matthew 10:37
Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. –Matthew 24:9
Then he said to them all: Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. –Luke 9:23
In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. –Luke 14:33
The point being…
Following Jesus involves costs.
Wow. Really? Well, sign me right up.
But wait, there’s more!
Sorry, couldn’t help myself.
There’s also, no simple, provable and easy answer on why you should sign up for it. I think God planned it that way.
For me, it has been a challenging journey with some costs. Fortunately, not the ultimate cost some have paid.
Why Follow The Worst Marketer Ever?
On the positive side, I’ve enjoyed some of God’s pretty cool promises.
So why spend a professional career as a marketer myself? Why persuade people to buy products and services that are simple, easy, and convenient and live a life following someone whose marketing message offers the opposite?
Because there’s something undeniably compelling about Jesus. Something authentic, real and genuine. Something that tells me following him is worth it. That he’s worth it.
And it demands a response. First, a decision of belief. Followed by acts of faith.
A Church intramural sports league is a great way to engage young men and women in your church. Here are three advantages an intramural league offers over an inter-church sports league.
The Difference Between an Inter-Church & Intramural Sports League
Let’s be clear on the difference between an inter-church and intramural league.
In an inter-church league, you form a team—like basketball, softball, volleyball, etc.—from within your church and compete against teams from other churches in your community.
The league is a joint effort among participating churches and is led by representatives from each church.
An intramural league is formed by creating teams from within your congregation. It offers three advantages over an inter-church league.
A Church Intramural Sports League Engages More People
In an Inter-church league, you’ll engage 10 people on your basketball and volleyball team and around 15 for softball. And there’s competition on who makes the team roster and plays.
But in an intramural league, multiply 10 players per team times 4- 8 teams and you engage 40-80 people! So there’s room for everyone that wants to play.
The task of engaging that many people may even sound a bit daunting.
Competition releases the warrior side in men. Rather than discourage it, I plan for and even promote a competitive league environment. But it must be managed.
It’s difficult to exercise control over coaches and players from other churches in an inter-church league. But the players and coaches in an intramural league are your church members.
You recruit and direct the coaches, establish the direction and set expectations of behavior. And you’re the authority who enforces expectations and maintains accountability.
An Intramural Sports League Promotes Community
When different churches compete against one another, the “my church is better than your church” mentality is always present.
But in an intramural league, everyone is from the same church. You worship, pray, study, and serve together.
We also strategically plan fellowship opportunities during and at the end of the season to promote unity.
Even though you play hard, and perhaps, become a little testy in the heat of competition, it’s easier to let it go after the game because there is a greater sense of unity.
So now that you understand the advantages of an intramural sports league and the potential for engaging people in church life, why not start building your own intramural sports league?
About Chip Tudor:
Chip Tudor is an author, blogger and professional writer. He publishes books, humorous Christian drama, and thought provoking blogs from a Christian worldview.This blog is originally published here.
Want to build intramural sports leagues in your church?
I built an entire intramural sports league ministry that included basketball, volleyball, softball, golf, running, and aerobics classes that engaged several hundred people within our congregation and reached into our local community. This book walks you through the entire process.
Internally Marketing Church Events increases your event attendance. Even though ministry is about more than achieving a high attendance at events. More people means more opportunity for ministry. So here’s how to increase your numbers.
Internally marketing church events. Standing out from other voices.
Larger churches offer multiple ministries and therefore, more engagement opportunities for the people who attend them. And for the people who plan and lead these events, this means you must compete for the attention of your prospective attenders.
Because just like the world outside of church life, people set priorities and make choices on where and how to spend their time. And even though your event has the noble intention of contributing to their spiritual welfare, it doesn’t mean they’ll automatically flock to it.
Therefore, you have to persuade people to attend your event with messaging that stands out from the other church ministries.
Internally marketing church events. Knowing and speaking realistically to your audience.
In a large congregation there are many people with a variety of needs. So who exactly are you trying to reach? Is that target audience clear in your mind?
Smaller churches tend to plan events with a general focus and for the entire congregation. But in a large church setting, your events should have a more specific purpose, audience, and message in mind.
And don’t assume people people intuitively know the event is for their spiritual good and want to attend. Instead, market to them as consumers. In other words: WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?
So position your marketing message from their viewpoint. How will they benefit? Be concise and use bullet points. Especially if you only have 30-50 words in a church bulletin. Your target audience may respond altruistically to a cause, but they still look for an intrinsic benefit.
So don’t recruit church ushers with this announcement:
We desperately need church ushers for our 9:30am and 10:30am church services to hand out bulletins, collect the offering, and seat people. If interested, call the church office.
Strive for a positive, upbeat message that focuses on them.
Do you like meeting new people? Enjoy helping others? Skilled in the art of friendly conversation? Our church ushers often make the first impression on guests. And we’d like it to be a great one! Is that you?
Then join us as you…
Greet people at the sanctuary door
Help them find seats
Take up the offering
Internally marketing church events. Partner with other ministries rather than compete.
As much as possible, support and work with other ministries rather than compete against them. For example, plan a Men’s event alongside a children’s event. And encourage men to attend your event and take their kids to the children’s event.
Then position them as the family hero in your marketing message.
Give Mom a break. Take your kids to this Children’s ministry event and then come to this great Men’s event!
Plan your topic or theme around something that’s relevant to their stage of life. Then promote the event through men’s, women’s and children’s ministries. Why women’s ministry?
Because wives pay attention to announcements more than their husbands and will often champion an event they believe will benefit their spouse and also presents something attractive to them—a night off from the kids.
It benefits the Children’s ministry too. Because now, parents encourage their kid’s involvement. So the two events feed and support one another and present a win-win for everyone.
There are other internal church marketing strategies and methods that will improve your church event attendance. Check out Elements of Internal Church Marketing on Amazon.
It outlines a complete strategy to plan purposefully, market successfully and produce quality church events that attract participants and make a spiritual impact.
About Chip Tudor:
Chip Tudor is an author, blogger and professional writer. He publishes books, humorous Christian drama, and thought provoking blogs from a Christian worldview.This blog is originally published here.
Looking for a Bible Study for yourself or small group??
Writing comedy church skits was a fulfilling ministry for me. My professional work was freelance copywriting, but I also enjoyed writing skits for my local church in a volunteer capacity.
Writing comedy church skits
Many of the comedy church skits I’ve written were used as part of the church worship service to illustrate or support a particular theme or sermon. But there are also scripts for children’s church and youth events.
There are also several longer comedy dramas written for seasonal church services and events.
Are you looking for a humorous script for your church?
You can purchase the scripts from my website for a nominal, one-time fee.
You can read a summary and an excerpt from each script before purchasing. To check it out, visit: https://chiptudor.com/drama.html.
About Chip Tudor:
Chip Tudor is an author, blogger and professional writer. He publishes books, humorous Christian drama, and thought provoking blogs from a Christian worldview.This blog is originally published here.
Looking for a Bible Study for yourself or small group??
Join my list and I'll notify you of new blog posts and send you a monthly newsletter. It features inspirational thoughts, writing tips, and a peek into writing projects. I'll also include my article: Exaggerate to Make Your Presentations Funny. It shows you how to punch up presentations with humor and make them more compelling.
