Christian Church Search

We are also pleased when we can complete a project to not only our satisfaction but especially those we do it for. In this case we had a reference to do Hoeing Supply, a family Indiana business.

If you or your ministry or business needs a reasonable website completed we would be happy to help you. The setup fee for most sites is $250 and a yearly $120 fee for webspace, domain name and email. If you have questions please feel free to contact us.

We want to thank Hoeing Supply for allowing us the opportunity to serve them.

This may make those working in the ministry a little better. Often they take the brunt for not working a real job. Certainly the ministry has its advantages but don’t equate that to being the idea situation… at least not always. Read on.

I’m sure we’ve got at least a few readers out there who are in the corporate world and thinking of dabbling in the realm of churches. If you’re thinking of leaving a job with a profit-making company to one with a nonprofit, there are some issues you need to concern yourself with.

The New York Times writes in a question and answer article “Your True Calling Could Suit a Nonprofit”:

Q. What are the biggest misconceptions about switching from the corporate world to the nonprofit world?A. Many people are surprised to find the hours longer and stress greater than in the corporate world. Brian Olson, who left the private sector for a nonprofit in 2006, found the decision-making process to be unfocused.

“No matter how good a volunteer board is, it’s not the same as a corporate board, because everyone has a different agenda,” said Mr. Olson, who returned to the private sector a year later to be vice president for public affairs at Video Professor Inc., a company in Lakewood, Colo., that sells self-tutorial programs. “There was a purity to corporate life I missed,” he said.

I always find church names rather amusing whenever I travel. Churches over stretch to create meaningful names but often… well… fall short. Church names like “The Open Bible” Church… what like we really want a “Closed Bible” Church, thought there are probably a number of those already. One of the Best Ones was the “Free Will” Church. Is that combating the idea of “Against My Will” Churches. Well, there is an interesting article and conversation taking place over this article. Stop in to read the complete discussion.

I’ve been inspired by Seth today. He did a post on dumb branding strategies. It reminded me of conversations Emily and I have had in the past about business names that rub us wrong. In fact, call us small-minded, but we tend to boycott businesses that use these strategies to name their businesses:

• J & K Plumbing - People don’t care that the two people who operate your business have first names that begin with “J” and “K.”
• Town & Country Podiatrist - We get it. You’re hoping to sell your foot-fixing services to people in the city and in the country. Isn’t everyone?
• Fast Fotos - This bugs Emily more than me, but, generally speaking, we think it’s annoying when businesses purposely misspell words to get the first letters to match.
• Dress Barn - OK, that’s a real business. All I can picture is very big dresses that fit barn-sized women. You may want to consider what your name communicates before you invest in the letterhead.

In case you’re wondering, there are also some annoying branding practices I see within the church. For example…

• Churches that feel like every ministry and every event in the church needs a creative name with a logo.
• Churches that brand ministries that mean something to insiders but are meaningless to the audience they’re trying to reach.
• Churches that brand ministries ahead of the church itself.
• Churches that brand the church ahead of the teaching series they’re hoping will impact the audience they’re trying to reach.

Saw this stat and the offer for free installs. Well, that’s what we already do. If you need webspace and want to start blogging we can set you up right away. We will set up the blog and database for you. Then all you have to do is begin writing!

Free Wordpress Blog Installs for Church Leaders

56% of you pastors out there haven’t started blogging yet, according to a super scientific poll done by the Church Marketing Sucks Polling & Research Department. Now, a lot of you might be interested, but you have no idea where to start.

A new posting for a ministry opening in Northern Viriginia. Also a reminder that we are allowing free postings of ministry openings for the Restoration Movement in the Christian Forum. Please check it out.

A friendly congregation in suburban, cosmopolitan, multi-ethnic Northern Virginia, near U.S. capital, seeks experienced senior minister to join elder team in leading us in spiritual/numerical growth. Goal: Carrying out Great Commission in community/world with emphasis on equipping saints + youth/children + missions. Solid leadership in place. Debt-free, with building fund and 10 acres for future expansion. Open to candidates’ recommending youth/associate/music minister to serve with them as team. Send resume, statement of faith, ministry philosophy, writing sample, and sermon tape/video to office manager (calvaryfamily.com). Contact: Jim Ray, 703-327-2571.

If you visited here before you will find that we have referred to Church Marketing Sucks. You may not like the name (I didn’t choose it) but some of the information is useful. It’s useful for my own ministry and I hope it gives you food for thought. Spending time on a good logo and tagline isn’t a bad idea. In fact it can be really important. However the article suggests that what your ministry stands for take on a an added “complete” aspect in your ministry. I hope you find the article useful. A portion is available here.

Brands Are Bigger Than Logos

by Scott Magdalein, Guest Blogger

If you read Church Marketing Sucks often, then you’ll see the word “brand” come up here and there. It’s used as a noun, meaning the collection of your logo, letterhead, visual identity, design guide, etc. It’s also used as a verb, as in the action of standardizing all those things mentioned above.

Here’s another point-of-view: If traditional marketing is dead (not yet, but almost), then you’re going to have to move beyond the traditional view of branding, which tells you to get a good logo and plaster it everywhere. Your brand needs to become more built-in, natural and part of everything you say, do and think — not just everything you publish.