DayCare is Different Than Jesus
Buzz is good but there is a greater power in unsolicited, good, personal recommendations. People talk about what is important to them. If they have kids, they ask questions and make suggestions to people who have kids. Moms talk to moms about mom things. It is natural.
What would it be like if unsolicited, good, personal recommendations were made about living with and for God? Would we need church marketing if people who were experiencing Christ just made unsolicited, good, personal recommendations? Does God need us to market the church? If we market, will we be ready to disciple those that show up? Will they give strong, good, personal recommendations about Christ, God, us, and Christianity?
There is a difference between a daycare (something moms and dads need and need good referrals for) and the church (which lost people don’t believe they need or they wouldn’t be lost). Moms who need daycare talk to moms who are getting daycare. But people who could really benefit from walking with God don’t talk to people who are walking with God. The need for God is not a perceived need for them. Christians who have been Christians a while are often the worst at providing strong, personal, good recommendations simply because people aren’t asking and there is no common ground to even start the discussion. At least if a mom sees another mom she can say, “Hey. You have a kid, do you use daycare?”
In essence God is a new and seemingly unnecessary “product” to the person who doesn’t know God. This is why many churches use the power of mass marketing. They are trying to show people that God might be a great thing for them — a relevant thing for them. I find myself asking, “How did Jesus do this without billboards, the internet, global reach, postcards, and the like?” How did Jesus (God) show the world that they needed him without marketing?
He lived a good life, he lived for God, he loved people, and he went out like a vacuum cleaner salesman door to door because he knew everyone needed God.
It dawns on me that we Christians cannot just sit around waiting for someone to bring up the conversation. It might be easier if someone is desperate but we can’t just pitch Christianity as a need to someone who is perfectly happy.
So how do we provide a great referral for God? We are going to have to be a bit more like Jesus. We are going to have to open the door to that conversation. If we do this right, they might even ask us how to be saved! More on that in the next part…
Doug Burrier © 2016