If Starbucks Marketed Like the Church

Check out this video by beyondrelevance.com

Funny, sad, and true all at the same time.

Tags: beyondrelevance.com, Church, marketing, starbucks

Agility

Starting an organization from scratch makes you the little engine that could.  You chug along under the radar fueled by a shoestring budget and a dream. But when you’re small, you have an unfair advantage:  Agility.

Agility may be one the most overlooked aspect of organizational behavior.  To have that ability to maneuver swiftly to avoid obstacles or chart a new course at the snap of a finger.  In an age where speed trumps girth, agility is critical for long-term survival.

The same is true for churches.

Today, folks often look at some of the suburban monstrosities we call churches and shake their head in disgust.  People just aren’t impressed with size like they used to.  Even more, our churches are often ill-equipped to handle the climate of change we’re in and the transformation that’s looming in our culture.  The gaps between seeing the need for change to making a decision to take action to implementation is so vast a train could chug through them- sideways.

As a new church, I’m hoping we can be agile now to remain agile later.

We must.

There’s too much at stake.

Tags: Business, Church, Church Planting, marketing, organizational behavior, strategy

5 Cool Links

1. Top 10 Memory Hacks from Lifehacker.com- #10- Take a nap. Now that’s how you start a list.
2. Why Word of Mouth Doesn’t Happen from Seth Godin- The marketing guru allows his genius to show.
3. WetheChurch.org - This is a unique prayer website created by Scott from Updatable.cc. I like its simplicity. Good idea Chad.
4. Sweet Collection of Wallpapers- From the gang at Smashing Magazine.
5. Pete Wilson - I’ve been tracking his blog for a while now. Really digging it. Especially this post. Pete is a cool guy but now as cool as this dude.

Tags: blogging, Blogs, lifehack, marketing, pete wilson, prayer, rickroll, rickrolled, seth godin, wallpaper

Tagline for Project Church?

I’m just thinking out loud (and asking for trouble)…

Is this too provocative for a church tagline?

“Perfect People - and Picket Signs - NOT Allowed.”

Okay, so it probably wouldn’t be the best tagline- but it could make for a good billboard.

Tags: Church, Churching, marketing, Rapid City, tag line

Give Me a Sign!

I opened a new stick of deodorant this morning and imprinted on the top was this message.

Do you think it was a sign?

I’m not sure how much it cost to add a message to the top of Degree anti-perspirants/deodorants, but this is a cool touch.  Clever (and remarkable) product enhancement.

Tags: Business, deodorant, marketing, Neato!, signs

Business Cards

As I begin telling people about projectCHURCH and assembling a launch team, I thought it would be handy to have some business cards. Its got some basic information such as a mailing address, church website, my blog, and email.

It’s a pretty simple design but I dig it.

Tags: business card, Church Planting, Churching, marketing

What’s in a Name?

Pilot Inspektor . That’s what Jason Lee (star of My Name is Earl) named his son. True story. Odds are, you have one of two reactions to that name. Either you think it is a rad rock star name or you feel sorry for poor little Pilot.

Choosing a name for anything shouldn’t be taken lightly. It establishes an identity. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the name of a pet, an organization, or a child, you don’t want to mess it up. Which is why you don’t see many girls named “Bertha” anymore.

Prior to announcing that we’re going to start a fresh, new church in Rapid City, I made the decision to name it. I wanted a name that was unlike anything else in my area but nothing as extreme as Pilot Inspektor. Because we live in the beautiful Black Hills, most of the newer churches have something related to nature in their names. That’s cool. But for us, I wanted something that was memorable and represented what we’re about. A name that prompted questions. After many, many ideas, a name was chosen:

Project Church A.K.A. projectCHURCH

As I’ve revealed that name to people I usually get a, “That rocks!” reaction. They get the concept of the name right away. The rest have a “Project Church???” look on their face. This look is followed up with the question, “So why Project Church?” Which is a great question and one I’m getting used to answering.

The name isn’t complicated and neither is its meaning. To find out more about the meaning, stay tuned for my next post.

In the meantime, what do you think “Project Church” means? What’s your take on church names? What are some other cool church names out there? Will Pilot Inspektor be a rock star? What’s your name?

Tags: Black Hills, Church, church marketing, church names, Church Planting, Churching, jason lee, marketing, My Story, names, Rapid City