How do you market a church?

My doctor recently asked me this question. I went in for a routine visit, and we were exchanging the usual casualties when she asked, “Do you still work for a church?”

“I do. I’m the Marketing & Communications Director for my church.”

“Really,” she said, somewhat puzzled. “How do you market a church?”

Maybe you oversee marketing and communications for your church. I’m sure you’ve been asked a similar question. If not, you may. How will you answer it?

First, what is marketing? How do you define it? Some believe marketing is synonymous with advertising, but advertising is only a facet of marketing. Seth Godin says, “Marketing goes way beyond advertising.”

For consumers marketing may feel icky like when you’re swindled into a bad deal. For this reason, church and marketing certainly don’t feel like they should go together, but in reality, everything is marketing.

It’s how you position your organization in the community. It’s the colors and texture you choose to use on your building and the fonts you use on your website. Everything communicates, and everything tells a story. The real question then should be, “What story do you want to tell?”

After a brief pause. I shared my answer with my doctor. How do I market a church? I tell the truth.

Tell the truth about what you want your community to know. Do you want them to know that you are for them and with them? How are you communicating that? Do you want them to come to be a part of your story, or are you positioning yourself to become a part of their story?

Jeff Henderson, founder of The For Company, can help you unpack answers to the questions of what you want to be known for and what you are known for, and when it comes to learning more about the power of story. Read Building A StoryBrand by Donald Miller.

Be the local church God has called you to be. Serve your community well. Share good news. Tell the truth.