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July 31, 2006

Our History

Last week, Kevin wrote about why we do what we do for the first entry in our heart and soul series. This week I get to share a little of the history and how we got here.

A Growing Church in Chicago
It all began in 1997 as a volunteer for a suburban Chicago church of about 800 people who needed help with marketing. I had been attending for several months when Pastor Greg approached me--knowing that I was in the business of marketing and communications--and asked if I could assist with a few things. Being the naïve youngster that I was, I took the challenge. For two years I worked closely with church leadership to develop sermon series campaigns, the launch of the first church web site, ads for the blossoming radio ministry, and a host of other marketing components.

Today, I am the president of Personality™, a cause marketing agency I founded in 1998, shortly before I moved to Los Angeles. I am also the assistant vice president and director of communications for a Los Angeles-based denomination with 50,000 churches worldwide.

Mom Doesn’t Like Sucks
It was April 15, 2004, when I was sitting with the Personality™ team in a hotel conference room in downtown Los Angeles. We were dreaming and scheming about a variety of things for the company when an idea hit us. We don't work with many churches, but we're always getting requests from them. Instead of continually turning them away (mostly because of price), we thought: What would it look like if we created a platform where we could just give it all away, as well as provide a space and place for others to do the same? The idea for Church Marketing Sucks was born.

Continue reading "Our History"

Posted by Brad Abare at 9:39 AM
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July 24, 2006

Why We Do What We Do

It’s high time we talked about what we’re doing and where we’re going. We’ve asked for help and we’ve asked for money, and so it’s only fair that we clue you in to what you’re signing up for. Below is part one of a new series about the past, present and future of the Center for Church Communication (CFCC). It's our heart and soul series. We want to help the church matter, and we hope you do, too.

You’ve passed that building on the corner a thousand times and never thought about it twice. But today as you park your car and walk towards the front door you realize you have no idea what’s inside or who’s inside or why you’re really going inside in the first place. All you know is that for the first time in a very, very long time you’re going to church.

That’s why we do what we do.

Continue reading "Why We Do What We Do"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 9:15 AM
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Heart and Soul Series

It's been two years since the first Church Marketing Sucks blog entry appeared. It's been a wild ride. As we continue forward and hopefully celebrate many more anniversaries, we thought it was crucial to share our hopes and dreams for the Center for Church Communication. We need support to keep this wild ride going, and you can't expect people to jump on without knowing where they're going.

So we're launching a 'heart and soul' series to lay out everything it means to help the church matter. We hope you'll join us as we share our heart and soul, and ultimately that you'll join the wild ride of helping the church matter.

The Heart and Soul Series:

• Why We Do What We Do by Kevin D. Hendricks
  
• Our History by Brad Abare
  
• A Tribute to CMS by Mark Batterson
  
• How We've Helped by Kevin D. Hendricks
  
• The Future of CFCC by Brad Abare
  
• Communicating Any and Every Which Way Possible by DJ Chuang
  
• The Realities of CFCC by Brad Abare
  
• Pioneers by Kem Meyer

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:24 AM
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July 4, 2006

Support CFCC with Squidoo

You can now support the Center for Church Communication through the web 2.0 site Squidoo. We've been added as one of the charities you can choose to donate some or all of your Squidoo earnings to.

When you're editing your lens, look for payment options towards the bottom of the right sidebar. Choose to donate to a specific charity and look for "Center for Church Communication" in the drop down.

If you're still wondering what Squidoo is, it's a site that lets users be experts in specific topics by creating "lenses," single web pages that tell people everything they need to know about a particular topic. You can also make money through Squidoo with their text ads and by including products related to your topic. The cash you earn can go in your pocket or the pocket of your favorite non-profit (like the Center for Church Communication).

Check our our lenses on the Center for Church Communication and Church Marketing Sucks (which was chosen as the lens of the day back in May), as well as our entry on how your church can use Squidoo.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:41 AM
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