Prehn, Ministry Marketing Made Easy

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Yvon Prehn, Ministry Marketing Made Easy: A Practical Guide to Marketing Your Church Message. Abingdon, 2004.

Referenced in: Marketing and Communication

LifeandLeadership.com Summary

If churches advertise intentionally, they usually do so very poorly and with little appeal to the persons they are trying to reach. On the other hand, even when churches are not trying to advertise, e.g. with the church bulletin, they may unwittingly send the only message about themselves many will ever see or hear. While Prehn’s book will not do the layouts for you (i.e. it’s not a book of templates), her advice on how and how not to “market” is excellent. I recommend this brief guide even if just to follow her instructions for better business cards, invitation cards, post cards, bulletins, inserts, and niche newsletters (publications that are produced by most congregations, even those that are not consciously trying to advertise). Listen to this piece of advice:

Open the bulletin and find words like Introit, Offertory, Prelude, Postlude, and various other church terms and events. Few if any of these terms are explained. The bulletin is filled with announcements about AWANAs, the Going Concern, the Growing Edge, the Becomers, and the Mariners. A visitor can’t begin to guess what these words describe. The budget is often included and a plea for increased giving can be found. None of this content speaks to seeking souls. The main message of the bulletin to an unchurched seeker is, “This is an insider club and you don’t belong.” (p. 46)

Even beyond the specific help she gives on designated publications, Prehn provides valuable guidance for developing a marketing philosophy and plan that is easier and more affordable that one might expect. This a very realistic, credible approach to help churches take the publications they normally produce and make them much more effective in communicating to both insiders and outsiders.

From the Publisher

Most churches are not as effective as they could be in their marketing ministry because printed communications are not seen as vital and essential tools in church growth. Often, church publications primarily consist of getting the bulletin and newsletter completed, plus whatever flyers people need for youth group meetings or the church potluck. This book gives a simple how-to explanation of how to implement a church marketing plan. Using church growth paradigms combined with proven marketing strategies and specific publication techniques, this book shows pastors, church leaders, and administration staff how to produce publications that will grow their churches and change the lives of people in congregations. This book assists pastors and other church leaders intentionally move people from one stage of church growth to the next.

From the Back Cover

Ministry Marketing Made Easy defines Ministry Marketing as everything the church does to share the story of Jesus. This book challenges church leaders with a totally different and practical approach to marketing the church’s message.

Often, church leaders define marketing as spending large amounts of money on big ads in the church page section of local newspapers, building a killer web site or a dozen other standard marketing ideas that cost lots of money, or creating publications in full color that are professionally printed. Just as often, the church realizes very little return on its investment. Ministry Marketing Made Easy provides alternative, practical ways for church leaders to communicate the church’s message.

This book deals with how to reach people where they are today; people who:

are authority indifferent
are time starved
have no understanding of Christian terms or references
and yet are spiritually seeking.

Reaching people with the church’s message isn’t as hard as you might assume. Rather than using fancy expensive ads, the book recommends the use of:

postcards and business card-sized invitation cards
ads in movie theaters and other unexpected places
bulletins that make sense to people who visit the church for the first time
welcome centers that really welcome people
messages repeated enough times for even erratic church attendees to know what is going on
niche newsletters, and more.

Ministry Marketing Made Easy also suggests radical ideas to reach the unchurched, such as:

becoming a local media spokesperson for Christianity
allowing coffee inside the worship space during the service
setting up a smoking area at church
using pop-culture as the source for sermon illustrations
serving the community by doing what no one else wants to do.

Finally the book provides practical tips on how to:

manage Marketing Ministry volunteers
choose the right combination of software and printing tools
find resources that will make your Ministry Marketing more effective.

About the Author

Yvon Prehn teaches seminars on communication and marketing all over North America. In addition to talking to and learning from her attendees on what works and what doesn’t in ministry and marketing, Yvon is a pastor’s wife and personally practices what she shares in the book to help her church successfully market its ministries.

***For additional information on this resource, including reviews, click the bookstore links. Check the reference at page top or the links below for resource guides on related topics.***

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