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Why should the church promote herself?

The church's chief aim is to follow the commands and example of Christ and His disciples as given in scripture. That is, individually and corporately the church is constantly becoming more and more like Christ. Her function, then, is primarily one of obedience--to God's Word and to the example of Christ and His Apostles.

There are certain clear and unmistakable commands in the Bible that obligate us to share the gospel. Matthew 28:19-20 tells us to go to all nations and make disciples of Christ. Additionally, there are examples in scripture that we should follow. In Matthew 4, for instance, among the very first acts the disciples did once they obeyed Jesus' command to follow Him was to go and tell their friends about Christ. In Acts 1 and 2 we see further examples of the activities of the first century church as she is established on the earth. From these scriptures we could make a list of the functions of the church today. It might include things like:

Sharing the gospel locally and globally
Meeting the needs of the poor, orphans, widows, the sick and those in prison
Praying to God and worshiping Him individually and corporately
Having fellowship--sharing life--with other Christ followers
Studying the Bible and living out its teachings in our own lives

This list is biblical and applies to Christ's church anywhere in the world--whether our church facility is in the form of air-conditioned worship center in suburban North America, or a shade tree in sub-Saharan Africa.

Clearly, issues like videos and broadcasting, sports and youth programming, para-church tie-ins and promotion are not core foundational elements of what the church must do. So where does promotion of the church fit in the overall mission and activity of the body of Christ?

Promotion is a modern and cultural phenomenon using various forms of media to inform and inspire. I would not use the words "advertising" or "marketing" or "branding" to describe the use of mass media in the church, as these are economic terms that misdirect the promotional effort. However, in the North American culture, there is, I believe, a need for the church as an organization to promote herself. Some would look to promotion as justified if for no other reason than the practical matter of keeping the body informed of the ministries, activities, opportunities and other aspects of the life of the church.

I would submit instead that promotion in the church must be undertaken first and foremost to support its biblical mandate. So, in the North American culture, promotion within the church should help her to accomplish the following:

To make disciples. Disciple-making is the simple and biblical process of learning about Christ through His Word, becoming more like Him in attitudes and actions, and leading others to do the same. Scripture is clear that disciple-making is an activity that every believer should be engaged in.

Media tools can help us make disciples both locally and globally. Through the internet, email, social media, mail, phone, video and other resources, we can connect and communicate with one another, learn and teach, and support other believers around the block or across the globe. Media can help us learn and teach the Word.

To tell others about Christ (the gospel). Many with media experience may appraoch the gospel as something to be presented--and indeed there are dozens if not hundreds of "gospel presentations" and methods available today for that purpose. Instead, let me suggest that we follow Paul's lead in the New Testament to "be imitators of Christ", so that if someone really wanted to see the gospel, they would merely look at the church as a whole and at us as believers individually.

When we align to scripture in this way, then promotion is not about presenting the gospel to the unchurched, but rather presenting the church opportunities to live out the gospel with their own lives. Look at Christ in the gospels and see how people began to follow Him as they heard what He was doing in the lives of people. Imagine the impact of a church that went about serving others with all of her resources--

To serve the world. Internet access now gives us direct access to nearly 2 billion people. If we translate our Bible study materials into just 15 languages, we could re-teach what we are learning to 65% of the world's population. A journey halfway around the world took between 2 and 3 weeks to complete a century ago, at a cost of $75,000 in today's dollars. Now we can travel that distance in 16 hours for less than $1,000. We can also carry a full battery-powered video editing studio (camera and laptop) in a backpack.