Beginning in the late 1980s, several firms specializing in promotion for churches and ministry organizations sprouted around the country.  The idea was simple: take the broad-based tools used by the marketplace for "getting the word out" and apply them to churches and ministries.  The widely used term for these agencies is marketing firm, but I prefer promotional firm, because our objective as the church is not to market (sell) our message, but to promote (go forth and share) the Gospel.

These firms have by-and-large taken positive steps toward increasing the exposure, level of professionalism, and consistency of message of the church in the broader culture.  Unfortunately most church leaders have no idea how to enlist and effectively use a promotional organization to benefit their congregation.  Worse, some perceive "marketing" as the answer to problems in the church, like lack of growth, ineffective ministries or issues of vision or direction.  If you are considering using one of these firms, look closely at some valid reasons for enlisting their aid:

When you have no clear strategy. There is a difference between vision--the overall direction and an understanding of your purpose and calling--and strategy, which is how you carry out that vision.  Never outsource your vision or even the discussion thereof to a promotional firm.  God is always quite clear about where He wants His people to go and what He wants them to do.  Seeking God through His Word, prayer and the (unpaid) counsel of trusted fellow believers are helps to solidify your vision.  If your vision is unclear, seek God for that, not a promotional firm.

Strategy, however, which is how that vision is to be carried out, can benefit tremendously from outside help.  When you can approach a firm and say, "This is what we are called to accomplish, but we need to understand how that can be accomplished," you've created a tangible goal for the relationship.  Promotional firms are excellent at helping you to determine various means available, timetables, and the resources needed to accomplish your goals. 

They'll also help you nail down those goals.  Too many churches live in a world of vague ideals, with little or no accountability.  "We want to reach our city."  Granted, that's a vision--but what does it mean?  What does it look like?  Reach who, how, and by when?  What's the measuring stick?  A promotional firm can help you put hard numbers and reachable mileposts on the road to the goal.

When you need to gain a more complete understanding of your unchurched community.  One of the easiest things to do in the "bubble" of a church is to lose connection with the unchurched community.  A promotional firm can help you identify and understand the people God has positioned you to reach (georgraphically or demographically).  Where do they live, work, shop, learn, hang out?  What are their common challenges?  Most importantly, where are the places and situations where you can make a connection with them?

A promotional firm will help you watch your language, trading "in church" words for those that the unchurched community more readily understand.  They'll look at your facilities and programming, pointing out weaknesses that may be keeping guests away from your church. They can give you a sounding board for ideas, and test the friendliness, focus and support mechanisms of your fellowship.

When you reach a creative impass.  If you find yourself in a creative desert, faced with a lack of ideas, motivation, or unfamiliarity with the project, a promotional firm can be of tremendous assistance.  Any firm worth their full-color, oddly-shaped business card is going to salivate over the creative portion of your task--giving their input and thought power into making God's vision a reality.  If you can't flesh out what something should sound like or look like, what words to write or what media to use, you'll find some solid answers and alternatives from a promotional firm.

One negative can arise in the creative area is the tendency to emulate the promotional practices of the unchurched world.  Be careful when you (or your promotional firm) is sending the same or a similar message to a secular company.  In fact, I would not use the term marketing--we are not creating a need or satisfying a want.  We are fulfilling God's call to take the Gospel to all the earth.  Our message is unique, and the core of what we want to communicate must never be compromised for the sake of "following a trend."

When the task is too big or complex for your team.  Often the task is just too big to do "in house."  It may be a capital campaign, or a major promotional effort, or launching a new ministry.  Outside firms can bring raw manpower--and more importantly, experience--to the table.  They've done a big video, a full-color brochure, a mass mailing, radio and television spots.  More importantly, it's their area of talent or expertise.  They will simply know more about how to get these things done that you will.

Remember, with a church promotional firm, you are primarily paying for expertise, not the final product.  You may look at a finished video, mailer or website and think, "I could have done that."  In reality, you are paying more for the thought and experience leading up to your promotional tools than you are for the tools themselves. 

Also remember, these firms will not grow your church (God will).  They will not cast your vision (God will).  They will not fix your ministry deficiencies (God will).  They are simply partners in ministry, helping in areas where you may not have expertise, time, resources, ideas or experience. Their involvement should never supplant or fail to be in complete sync with those commands and plans God has laid out for the church in Scripture (see Acts 2 for a good example).

Promotional firms are billing you based on the time and thought they invest in your project.  So, having a clear understanding of what you want to accomplish from the start will save you time, and therefore, money.  Often, because church leaders don't really know what they can get out of a promotional firm when they seek help, they will be paying up front for some education on expectations and organization of a promotional effort.  There's also the temptation to get lost in tangents with a promotional firm ("As long as we're redoing the logo, let's also redo the guest center and the sign and the letterhead and the...").  Get a cost estimate in advance, and stay on mission when working with a firm to steward your dollars effectively.

Several church promotional agencies I would (cautiously) recommend:
> Speak! Communications
> Details Communications
> RSI

About the Author. Eugene Mason has more than two decades of experience in ministry communications and technologies. More...