I just read at the PC(USA) denominational site that the median size of the typical PC(USA) church in the United States is 67. 1/2 of their churches have 100 or less members and only 51% of recorded members attend any given week. And the numbers aren't getting better. There's been a 15%+ loss of members over the last decade across the entire denomination.

I'm not picking on PC(USA) – most North American denominations sit in the same boat.

My point to "the Church" which really means any person active in ministry!…instead of criticizing "church marketing" – why not figure out how your own ministry can borrow from some of the best practices out there for marketing communications? While some churches may embrace billboards, splashy TV ads or direct mail, there's tons of other useful tactics that I can guarantee would both help you achieve success in your work and vocation while not "compromising" anything that you feel you stand for.

Church marketing is a very generic and broad term. And I'm almost certain that your ministry can benefit from *some* form of church marketing!

For example, one church I visited had a board in the foyer with nice name tags for EVERY MEMBER of the church. People just rolled in on Sunday mornings, took their permanent engraved name tag from the board, put it on, greeted the ushers, got the bulletin and continued into the sanctuary. Of course most people knew each other in the church, they didn't need the name tags.

But you know who benefited from this now-part-of-the-entrance-routine name tag culture? The handful of visitors that came on any given Sunday! This is a sign of an outward facing church! This is church marketing.

If you aren't putting your thinking caps on right now to figure out how church marketing can help your own church build His kingdom, what are you waiting for?!