Surprising advice – especially since it’s coming from a church marketer.

Richard Reising, from Artistry Labs, says churches should only begin promoting themselves when they’ve got something worth promoting. What’s more, once congregations can do this, there’s a strong possibility they won’t even need to tell anyone.

In this interview Richard shares his experience working with hundreds of churches that’s bound to help yours.

Watch the Full Program.

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Synopsis
Richard Reising thinks most churches could do a much better job marketing – and he’s got some solid advice. Here are my notes from the interview:

Common Pitfalls
Richard says the most common problems he runs across in churches are introverted cultures, poor signage, and ministry to the ‘insiders’ at the expense of newcomers. Do you see any of these problems in your congregation?

90% of First Time Visitors Don’t Come Back
Richard says this is the national average, though the really effective churches can get that down to 70%. It happens when there’s something worth coming back for!

Do Your People Invite Others?
And not because they’re told to? Richard says this is one of the greatest signs of health: people want to tell others about their congregation, without prodding. Does this happen at your place?

About Richard Reising
Richard Reising is the founder of Artistry Labs, a firm that helps churches, ministries and smart companies increase their connectivity through strategic consulting, design and technology. In addition, he is the author of Church Marketing 101; a book that provides unique perspectives and strategies for healthy growth. He spends his time traveling and consulting for great organizations worldwide. You can contact Richard via www.beyondrelevance.com

Books Richard Recommends
Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All
What Clients Love: A Field Guide to Growing Your Business
The Prodigal God

Thanks for the dozens of submissions in the ‘Rename this Website, Win Three Books’ contest.

I was flattered by the thought, time, and effort you put in – there were some great suggestions.

The winner, however, is…

…an Internet executive named Greg Swan of West Bloomfield, Michigan. He’s the president of GodClick. He submitted the entry ChurchNext.tv. He will be getting three books thanks to the good folks at Leadership Network who donated first prize for the best entry. The books are:

Missional Communities by Reggie McNeal
Organic Church by Neil Cole
Sticky Church by Larry Osborne

Congrats Greg!

I chose ChurchNext because we’re foremost about helping your church: building healthy congregations is our mission. It’s also about helping us prepare for what’s next. In this unprecedented time of change and transition, it’s so very helpful to keep informed about the breadth of activity of the Holy Spirit. I hope this ChurchNext allows us to do this through the broad range of trans-denominational interviews – as well as through the courses we’ve been able to offer – and look forward to offering in 2012.

Thanks so all who submitted entries – I thank God for you and your creativity!

In the 5 months Grow My Church! has been on the web your support has been awesome. Your emails, your comments, your patronage has been stunning.

However, the biggest complaint has been the name, Grow My Church!

So it’s time to change that – and I need your help.

Sure, it’s great to see so many people passionate about building healthy congregations, and energized to learn from people who are doing so.

But too many people tell me they aren’t apt to take this work seriously because of the name, Grow My Church! which, admittedly can have a self-reliant, empire-building connotation.

The idea was to paraphrase Jesus’ Great Commission in Matthew 28 who sent people off to do the work of Christ which includes spreading the word. However, for too many people, this has backfired. And I get feedback saying it’s more of a stumbling block than an invitation to join in. And I would much rather spend time posting great content than explaining the origins of the name.

So I need you to help me come up with a new name.

And the good folks at Leadership Network (www.leadnet.org) have donated 3 books as first prize for the best entry. The books are:

Missional Communities by Reggie McNeal
Organic Church by Neil Cole
Sticky Church by Larry Osborne

I’m asking you for your help for two reasons, 1) I obviously am not very good at naming websites, and 2) I can’t do this work without you. Period. I value your feedback and want you to know that when you talk I am listening.

Please list your suggestions below.

I’ll be debuting the new site in January so get your entries in by Christmas.

Thank you so much for your support!

How can you take advantage of that packed Christmas season house?

Church marketing and branding guru Maurilio Amorim says many churches fail to do 3 easy things that can keep holiday visitors coming back.

I interviewed the visionary founder of Nashville’s, ‘The A Group’ to talk about the appropriateness of church branding and marketing, and part of our interview turned into some helpful considerations regarding Christmas evangelism.

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Synopsis

Before the world called it ‘marketing’ Maurilio Amorim says the church called it ‘evangelism.’ That’s why he’s not shy about sharing ways in which churches can go about ‘shining the light’ of Christ via modern marketing vehicles. Here are my notes from the interview:

3 ‘Musts’ to Prepare for Christmas
1) Prepare a solid promotion of your January sermon series for Christmas season guests, it will give them somethign to come back for, 2) DO include a sermon during Christmas services as people need to connect with your pastor, 3) play it straight, with a traditional service – Christmas is not the time to experiment.

Resource Church Members
Since your church’s best ‘marketers’ are your members, why not resource them with business cards and email-flyers they can easily forward? How can you make it easy for your best spokespeople to spread the word?

Come Up with a Marketing Budget
Even if your church has very little to invest, if you’re creative, you can get results. Spending 5% of your budget on marketing/evangelism can yield remarkable results.

About Maurilio Amorim
Maurilio is the CEO of The A Group, a media, technology and branding firm in Brentwood, TN that I started in 2001. He has consulted with some of the country’s largest ministries, leading churches, and Christian publishers. Maurilio has worked as a Youth Pastor, then as an Education Pastor and later as an Executive Pastor of a fast-growing mega church in the Nashville area. His experience in developing best practices in church marketing gave birth to The A Group. Since we have been a solutions based company first, The A Group has transitioned from a traditional marketing agency into a marketing technology  and branding firm, leveraging social media and mobile technologies. Maurilio is married to a very sweet and caring woman who puts up with a crazy travel schedule and eccentricities (or, as some say, “high maintenance person”). He is also a dad to two boys.