There is something going on but I quite can’t put my finger on it. It’s a gut feeling that’s right more often than not. I think the church landscape is drastically changing and that church as we know it now is going to evolve (no, I am not supporting Darwin) into something much different. It’s just a hypothesis or idea I’m working on, whatever that’s worth.

One thing I do know in many conversations I’ve had lately with church leaders and church planters is that some of the media tools we have used over the last few years is losing their effectiveness or not working at all anymore. Are people fed up with advertising and marketing? Or could it be the message isn’t clear enough or that possibly the product, service, or dare I say it, the church just stinks?

I think it’s a combination of all of them.

People are tired of getting spammed or hordes of junk mail. I see and get stuff from churches that are atrocious! They say too much, don’t communicate clearly, make unchurched people feel judged, or look like somebody hurled on the paper and attached a logo. Some of the marketing tools observed from churches I have visited over-promises and under-delivers. They try to be something they are not.

Even though I believe that many churches still need to catch up with the 21^st century, I think by the time they do, it will be too late. So what do we do, or better yet, what’s my buzz word for the day?

“Realationships”

Yes, it’s misspelled but notice it says real. You know what’s going to build your church and the Kingdom? Forming real relationships! Not those cheesy types of friendships where it’s surface level or fake. You can’t pretend to care or be interested – it has to be true and authentic – or you might as well stay in a cardboard box. And building “realationships” is going to take work… a dirty, four letter word! There’s no magical kool-aid, pill or Three Minute Program to do it for us. We have to go in this messy world and love people. It’s a simple but difficult to follow solution.

Church marketing is dying. Throwing a slick advertising piece or website at the public isn’t going to cut it much longer. The church of tomorrow will require more than a campaign. It will require investing personally and hanging out in people’s jacked up lives.