Simple Church Minute 7--marketing plans

7—Marketing plans   

My name is Tom; this is Simple Church Minute.

            Whether it is formally laid down on paper or not, almost all traditional churches have marketing plans.  It includes a name, which inside of it includes a denominational name or not, sometimes a logo, a location—sometimes a small building down a residential street, or a supermarket sized building on a heavy traffic count street, or something in between.  The building will have a certain look—maybe historical, maybe ultramodern.  Usually it has a person designated to serve as the head of the organization, presenter of lively, witty speeches, and, if he and his family are young and attractive, may also serve as mascots on billboards, websites, and TV.  Certain other features might be done to attract higher than average income and education types—or maybe lower than average, or a certain ethnicity, or a mix of ethnicities, or something else.

            None of that is scriptural, although some of these items may not actually be wrong, depending on the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  We all fall somewhere on the attractiveness scale, where the church meets will have a traffic count, even if only two or three are gathered.

            BUT if everyone, or at least many groups of believers do these same things the same way to the degree that it looks like we’ve added it to scripture, then—have we? Revelation chapter 22 verses 18 and 19 says, For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things that are written in this book.  Jesus addressed this in his day, as the Pharisees added, and the Saducees deleted, with regard to the Old Testament.  It is personally each of our jobs to desire to live in the direction Jesus is pointing.

            You can email me at simplechurchminute@gmail.com.  For info on organic simple church*, see http://www.simplechurch.com/ or locally, (local website).

On the recording, at this time, it says, “house churches.”  While that phrasing is OK, to say “organic church” is better.  I comment on that in blip 94.