Marketing Under A New Paradigm

The more things change, the more they are the same. [Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose] -Alphonse Karr, Les Guêpes, January, 1849

I know hospitals as places where acute and basic medical care is administered. Now these institutions are using terms like “medical center” to describe their business. But I would note that their original intent is still to provide medical care. Only the name has changed and their services becoming more advanced and specialized. These institutions remain by true definition a hospital with their original intent and purpose still the primary focus.

In the past few months I have noticed a lot of advertisings or postings by pastors and staff about events they stage at their church. Some omit the word “church”; I surmise that the new paradigm prefers the use of “campus” or other titles of sponsorship. I know that “campus” had been a term specifically to describe a place of education, and of course the church needs to be a place of learning.

Why this shift in names now? The auto industry employed the term “station wagon” a few decades ago but now it’s called an SUV. These vehicles are improved but still serve as transportation for a family. The caution I offer is to watch out for trends for the sake of trends. Is the campus still giving sound teaching and enabling transport to heaven?

It’s all about marketing your “product.” It may be easier for some people to attend such meeting on a campus. The term releases a preconceived stigma attached to this institution known as a church. To use a cliché, maybe it is a trick of the trade. Is that sugar-coating the Gospel? Whatever the reason, the leadership of the campus must be sure the message is the same and the original intent and purpose remains. I do not believe God erred when He put His plans together in the Bible. He definitely knows marketing but He leaves it up to His ordained to follow the plan.

It is not being puritanical to preach the unadulterated Word of God. Although it is not a matter of sales for profit, it must be marketed to the public in a fashion that enlarges God’s Kingdom. It is a serious thing to remember that all things done in the church or on a campus must be Spirit driven. God will not share His glory with any one. It is not about marketing your program or agenda, rather it is about giving Jesus to the spiritually hungry and thirsty.

I’ve also noticed many churches establishing unique names to identify their mission. There is a tendency to get away from denominational connections. This may be a step in the right direction. The covering of a hierarchy has turned from true support into a set of useless codifications that hamper the expansion of the church. The umbrella of covering that a church needs is the blood of Christ and the by-laws of Scripture.

The church is not a theater, circus, or carnival. Does your campus entertain the attendees? Call it a tabernacle, church, or campus; your marketing must be such to exhibit the transforming, nourishing, and sustaining power of God. There must be integrity in your outreach to the community.