March 10, 2010

Announcing the Church Marketing Directory

We're pleased to announce the latest project from the Center for Church Communication: The Church Marketing Directory.

The Directory is a list of tools, resources and companies that help the church communicate better. Consider it a yellow pages of church marketing. You'll find technology blogs, freelance designers, marketing communities, church management software and more.

The site has a handy 'Suggest a Link' feature where you can add resources we may have missed. We expect the Directory to grow and expand as more resources are suggested.

An important thing to note is that the Directory is focused on church marketing. This is not a list of Christian marketers or a list of companies that could help the church. This list is limited to organizations that specifically cater to the church. That's not to say these are the only organizations that can help the church, just that they specifically cater to the church. It's the difference between Seth Godin's blog and LifeChurch.tv's Swerve blog--both great resources, but only one focuses on the church. That niche focus will keep the list efficient and useful.

So we encourage you to check out the Church Marketing Directory. Help us add links to it and make it a helpful tool for churches.

Continue reading "Announcing the Church Marketing Directory"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:11 AM
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February 9, 2010

Regional Network Coordinators

As the Center for Church Communication (CFCC), we exist to help the church matter. We’re a resource for church communicators. Churches have the greatest story ever told, but struggle to tell it well. We want to help churches tell it better.

Last year, our newly appointed board of directors gave me the task of acting as hub (read: director) for our communication initiatives in 2010. I realized I would never be able to tap into all the creative communicators serving in churches across the United States (and the world!) without a lot of help. Fortunately, since I’ve worked in churches for so many years, I’ve got a lot of friends.

Continue reading "Regional Network Coordinators"

Posted by Cynthia Ware at 7:00 PM
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January 14, 2010

CFCC Announces Board of Directors & Executive Director

The roots of the Center for Church Communication go way back to 2004 and the launch of our flagship blog, Church Marketing Sucks. So it took a little more than five years, but we're very happy to announce the formation of the Center for Church Communication board of directors and the appointment of an executive director.

The board members include Brad Abare, Dawn Nicole Baldwin, Phil Cooke, Drew Goodmanson, Scott McClellan, Kem Meyer and Kent Shaffer. They first met in October and appointed Cynthia Ware as our executive director.

That's quite a team of church communicators and we're proud to have them on board. This new executive team will lead us forward, giving us direction, wisdom and guidance as we help the church matter.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:45 AM
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September 23, 2008

You Know You're in Church Communications If...

Earlier this year the minds behind MinistryCOM wanted to create something light-hearted and humorous to share at the conference this year. They turned to the brainpower of the Church Marketing Lab (original discussion) and got over a hundred ideas for You Know You're in Church Communications If.... We offered to cut the list down to a manageable 20 and edit the list for MinistryCOM, then share a PDF version after the conference.

None of this would have been possible without the extraordinary minds of the Church Marketing Lab, the design prowess of Michael Buckingham or the creative ideas of the folks behind MinistryCOM. Special thanks go to all of them, and without further ado, the Center for Church Communication is proud to present...

You Know You're in Church Communications If... (PDF, 176 KB, 6 pages)

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:23 AM
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July 18, 2008

CFCC Ad Network Latest

We would like to extend a special thanks to Integrity Music, the newest member of the CFCC Ad Network with the new album from Canadian worship leader Joel Auge.

We're extremely proud to feature them throughout the CFCC network alongside our other current members Splat Print, FellowshipOne and faithHighway.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 8:47 AM
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May 20, 2008

Towards a Better Don't Suck List

We wanted to give a last call to anyone who might be interested in helping to rebirth the Don't Suck List. Whether you're a company or an individual, if you have the skills to get the list up and running, reply to our post on the Freelance Lab. Here's how you can help:

• Designing and programming
• Volunteering to help plan and steer the project
• Feed us ideas about the Don't Suck List

For a more complete description of what we need, check out Brad's original post, Our Don't Suck List Still Sucks.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 12:58 PM
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May 19, 2008

CFCC Ad Network Update

The Center for Church Communication is proud to welcome two new members to the CFCC Ad Network:

• Splat Print provides low price printing with professional quality.
• faithHighway is your one-stop home for web and print outreach.

We're extremely proud to have both of these companies in the CFCC Ad Network. If you're interested in becoming a part, check out the information page and drop us a line.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 8:09 AM
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April 16, 2008

Job Lab and Freelance Lab Are Now Free

About a year ago we announced the new Job Lab and Freelance Lab. These labs are two ways churches can get marketing and communications help. Churches can post open communications positions in the Job Lab or post short term projects in the Freelance Lab.

It's a great way to connect with communicators who can help your church. And now it's permanently free.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 12:14 PM
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March 25, 2008

And the HOW Winner Is...

The winner of the CFCC HOW Design Conference giveaway is Vincent Scatliffe of Peace Baptist Church in Decatur, Ga. Vincent was one of the first 30 people to respond to the offer and was entered in a random drawing that was conducted today.

Congratulations Vincent!

If you'd like to join Vincent, Michael and the many others from the CFCC community that are attending HOW, it's not too late. Register by this Friday, March 28 and you can save up to $120 when you use code "CFCC8".

Posted by Brad Abare at 7:02 AM
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March 19, 2008

Michael Buckingham To Present At HOW

Last week we announced the beginnings of our partnership with HOW, including an invitation they extended to CFCC for doing a workshop at the HOW Design Conference this May 18-21.

It's my pleasure to introduce Michael Buckingham as the presenter for the CFCC session at the HOW conference this year. Many of you know Michael from his active involvement in the Church Marketing Lab. He's also the founder of Holy Cow Creative and lives in Michigan. Michael hosted a workshop for the Church Marketing Lab at last year's MinistryCOM and did a great job. I can't wait to hear what he has in store for HOW. I've asked him to give us a sneak peak at his notes in the next few weeks.

In the meantime, if you haven't registered to attend HOW, you still have time. See you there.

Posted by Brad Abare at 7:12 AM
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March 14, 2008

CFCC Partnering with HOW

The relationship started nearly two years ago when I met HOW magazine editor Bryn Mooth at a conference we were both attending in Chicago. And after the nice little article that ran last December in HOW magazine, I decided to re-visit the conversation and put some ideas out there for a possible partnership. I'm pleased to announce that CFCC and HOW are officially dating.

The full potential for this partnership will only be realized over time, but things are off to a nice start. Consider this:

• CFCC has been invited to do a special workshop at the HOW Design Conference this May 18-21 in Boston. Look for details soon, including an exciting announcement about who will be doing the workshop. Nope, it ain't me!

• HOW has issued a special code for the CFCC community (that's you) that will save you up to $120 off the registration price for this year's conference. Just enter coupon code "CFCC8" when you register online. But hurry, the early-bird deadline is March 28.

• HOW has also given us one free full-conference pass for May 18-21 in Boston! You want it? Just drop an email to HOW2008@cfcclabs.org and tell us why it should be yours. The first 30 people to respond will be entered in a drawing for the winning ticket. Transportation, lodging, meals, etc. will be your responsibility. You don't have to wait to see if you've won before you register. HOW will issue a refund if you win the drawing and you've already registered.

Not bad for a first date, eh? So go register for the HOW conference. There's also a meet-up in the works for folks from the Church Marketing Lab. We'll have more details on that later too. See you in Boston!

Posted by Brad Abare at 2:49 PM
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March 6, 2008

Announcing the Local Labs

We're happy to announce that the Center for Church Communication is going local. We've just launched the Local Labs, an opportunity to meet up with local church communications folks to share ideas, encouragement and horror stories.

Local Labs are meet ups organized by people in your area and give church marketers a chance to get together. It's a chance to talk about what works, what doesn't and why it matters. It's an opportunity to connect and encourage other local communicators.

Local Labs are being organized across the country, with groups popping up in Denver, Phoenix and Los Angeles. It's truly a grassroots effort--and one that we can't claim much credit for. We're doing what we can to facilitate the meet ups, but it's local church marketing heroes who are making it happen.

Read more about Local Labs, including how to join one or start your own. And be sure to drop us a line and let us know how your group is doing.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:13 PM
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December 8, 2007

Internet Ministry Survey

The Center for Church Communication is partnering with Biola University professor Dave Bourgeois and the Internet Ministry Conference to present a research project on how ministries use the Internet. The goal is to explore what organizations are doing online and figure out what works and what doesn't.

The first step in the research project is to gather data, and that's where we need your help. We're looking for churches and ministries to take the online survey. Only one person from each church or ministry should take the survey, and it should be the person who has the most overall knowledge of the planning, design and development of the organization's web presence. So if that's you--go take the survey. If it's not you, please pass it on to the right person and help us gather the necessary data.

The results will be unveiled at the upcoming Internet Ministry Conference, held Oct. 20-23, 2008 in Grand Rapids, Mich. After the results have been made available at the conference, the Center for Church Communication will release the results online.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:52 AM
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November 5, 2007

Communication Toolbox in Ministry Today

If you check out the November/December issue of Ministry Today magazine you'll see a new column powered by the Center for Church Communication (that's us). Communication Toolbox is a new column of church marketing ideas and wisdom that appears in each bimonthly issue of Ministry Today.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 5:11 PM
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July 16, 2007

CFCC Ad Network, Update

At the end of last year, we announced the CFCC Ad Network. It was slow to get started but it is finally gaining some momentum. If you're interested in advertising across all CFCC sites, there is still space available through the end of 2007. Although painful for a little nonprofit like CFCC, we have had to turn a few ad buys down. We subscribe to the philosophy that says if we haven't paid for and/or used what an advertiser has to offer, we're not so sure the CFCC community will either.

This month, we are pleased to welcome three new additions to the CFCC Ad Network:

The Internet Ministry Conference
Training to improve your online ministry.

Outreach Cinema
Engage your community with feature films!

Power2Show Media Player
Use Power2Show to announce activities/events.

We're grateful for the support of these advertisers and the CFCC community.

Posted by Brad Abare at 6:23 AM
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April 23, 2007

Introducing the Job & Freelance Labs

We're pleased to announce the new Center for Church Communication Job Lab and Freelance Lab. CFCC is now connecting churches and creative professionals in an effort to help the church matter.

Churches can now turn to the Job Lab and Freelance Lab to post full-time positions as well as per-project jobs that require a freelancer. Likewise, Creative professionals now have a place to find church communications and marketing related jobs, as well as freelance projects.

For a limited time both the Job Lab and Freelance Lab are free.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 4:47 PM
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Meet Joshua Cody, CFCC Intern

You may have noticed that our posting frequency has increased a bit on our flagship blog, Church Marketing Sucks. You may also have noticed a new name cropping up in a lot of bylines, Joshua Cody. We thought it time to properly introduce him.

Joshua Cody is our intern. He's a junior at the University of Georgia-Atlanta, going for his B.A. in journalism.

1) When did you become a Christian?

I started when I was about thirteen, and I'd like to think I'm still becoming one.

2) Tell us about your church-going experience?

I've been interested in ecclesiology since before I knew what the word meant. I've always been inclined to experience new and exciting ways of doing church. From Southern Baptist to Pentecostal to Methodist to house church to the African Inland Church, I've gotten a good cross-section of churches thus far. I look to keep on going with this and continue learning that no one has it quite right, and they won't. But we sure as heck ought to keep trying.

Continue reading "Meet Joshua Cody, CFCC Intern"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:05 AM
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March 22, 2007

Squidoo Lens of the Year

Squidoo has put together a Lens of the Year list, featuring all the former lenses of the day. We're pretty happy to have our Church Marketing Sucks lens on the list. It's a great introduction to who we are and what we do.

If you're familiar with Squidoo's lists, you know they give you the right to vote for your favorites. So if you get the chance to check us out, and you like us, we'd love your vote. We're proud to be sitting in the Top 20 for now!

Posted by Joshua Cody at 8:25 AM
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January 18, 2007

Why CFCC is a Smart Online Organization

We were recently listed as one of the top 59 smartest organizations online. It's quite the compliment, but we thought it might help if we spelled out what we actually do online that makes us so smart. Or smart enough to make the list anyway.

• Blogging - Church Marketing Sucks is our flagship blog that draws thousands of readers every day. This is where it all started and the primary place where we spread our message. It comes with all the bells and whistles like comments and RSS feeds and helps generate conversation among other bloggers. We also do more organization-centric blog posting right here. It's a cheap and easy way to communicate our message and connect with our audience.
• Community/Photos - The Church Marketing Lab is a Flickr group we started in early 2006 to help church communicators share their work and get feedback from others. Since its launch we've had more than 600 members join and more than 1,000 pieces posted. This is definitely a case of empowering a community and letting them take over. We have a handful of moderators who keep things in check, but this is mostly a community that runs itself.
• Events - We launched our Events Lab in 2006, which utilizes Google's Calendar to share church marketing and communications related events. It also offers easy syncing with iCal and Outlook so anyone can subscribe to our calendar and be aware of upcoming events.
• Squidoo - We launched a pair of Squidoo lenses on Church Marketing Sucks and Center for Church Communication. These lenses are simple ways to introduce people to the work we do and just another hook to pull people in (like when we were chosen as the Lens of the Day). Plus as a bonus, we're listed as a charity with Squidoo, so any lensmaker on Squidoo can choose to donate all or some of their income to us. Every little bit helps.
• E-mail Newsletters - We send monthly e-mail newsletters highlighting news and updates, as well as less regular announcements about important updates. It's another avenue to keep in touch with our audience.

These are some of the major online tools we've taken advantage of to spread our message, build an audience and keep in touch with our supporters. These are also all great ways for local churches to do the same.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 12:08 PM
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December 13, 2006

CFCC Ad Network

We're happy to announce the brand new Center for Church Communication Advertising Network. We are now accepting advertising on CFCC sites, including this one and Church Marketing Sucks.

This is something we initially talked about during our 'heart and soul' series, and hope will enable us to further build CFCC and allow us to continue helping the church matter.

The Advertising Network will reach a unique group of church communications professionals who know that the church has the greatest story ever told, but not enough people are listening. These are people on the cutting edge of church marketing and communications, ready to consider unique (and effective) ideas and methods for not simply putting butts in pews, but seeing Christ in hearts.

Learn more about the CFCC Advertising Network.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:36 AM
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November 20, 2006

Church Marketing Sucks T-shirts!

Now you can support the Center for Church Communication and look good doing it. Church Marketing Sucks, our popular blog about church communication practices, now has T-shirts available for a limited time.

Five unique designs are available with orders taken until December 4. After that you're out of luck. All profits from the shirts will go to support CFCC and keep efforts like Church Marketing Sucks moving forward.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 10:28 AM
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October 4, 2006

New Events Lab Coordinator

Say hello to our new Events Lab Coordinator, Elizabeth Anchondo. She answered the call and stepped up to run our Events Lab. She'll be keeping our events calendar updated and helping with events coverage, like the recent MinistryCom write-up on Church Marketing Sucks.

Elizabeth has worked in the advertising/media industry for two years and recently broke into the realm of Internet marketing. Having grown up in a loving Bible-based church in El Paso, Texas, she has volunteered in all aspects of ministry from hospital visitation to dance, drama and community outreach. As a living testimony of God's healing power, Elizabeth is spreading God's message through whatever venue she can.

Elizabeth spends her free time with family and learning about all things advertising and culture and currently attends Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 3:59 PM
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September 5, 2006

Pioneers

Editor's Note: And so we come to the final installment of our 'heart and soul' series. Last week Brad talked about the realities of running a non-profit, and this week we'll close with another guest blogger entry. This time around it's Kem Meyer, the director of communications for Granger Community Church and prolific speaker (she'll be at a church communications conference near you). Kem has some kind words for us and reminds us how far we've come.

Pioneers
by Kem Meyer

Happy anniversary Church Marketing Sucks. You were the first to acknowledge that, yes, church marketing does suck. Some people couldn’t get past the "naughty" word on your site. Was it marketing or sucks that was naughty? Who knows. For the rest of us, it was an inspiration to move. You had the courage to call it for what it was--with a jolt. And, as a result, ministry professionals across the country were awakened, united and empowered to make a change; to get out of our own way so people could actually experience life change through the story of Jesus.

Continue reading "Pioneers"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:42 AM
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August 31, 2006

The Realities of CFCC

This week we continued our 'heart and soul' series with some kind words from DJ Chuang. Last week I shared some of the dreams that have been twirling in our heads and hearts, and where we see things going with the Center for Church Communication. Now we want to bring it back to earth a bit and talk about some of the practical realities of making a non-profit work.

Right Now
First, let me give you a snapshot of what we're working with. There are a handful of people working behind the scenes to keep the labs going. The primary caretaker for the labs, including Church Marketing Sucks, is Kevin D. Hendricks. He works way more hours than we compensate him for, alongside his day job of freelance writing. We also have a number of volunteers who have stepped up to moderate the Church Marketing Lab, run the Events Lab and help out in other ways. So far, we've been funded by yours truly, which is running about $1,000 a month just to keep things going. We've received a handful of donations including a small grant from a foundation. Our overhead is low because most of what we do is virtual, which is nice.

Building something great is never easy. It takes time, people, patience, money, talent, persistence and so much more. While I have always had a healthy respect for the potential that the Center for Church Communication could realize, I have also made a commitment from the beginning that we are not going to rush or ramrod the process of allowing it to evolve. This whole deal is bigger than my puny ideas anyway. To be honest, if it's going to succeed in its mission to help the church matter, it's going to take lots of us, not some of us. How can you help? I thought you would never ask.

Continue reading "The Realities of CFCC"

Posted by Brad Abare at 6:12 AM
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August 28, 2006

Communicating Any and Every Which Way Possible

Editor's Note: Welcome to the latest installment in our 'heart and soul' series. Last week we dreamed big. This time around we invited DJ Chuang--the executive director of the L2 Foundation, manager of online strategies and tactics for the American Bible Society and editor of Asian American Youth Ministry--to share his thoughts on the Center for Church Communication and Church Marketing Sucks. Thanks for helping us celebrate two years, DJ.

Communicating Any and Every Which Way Possible

by DJ Chuang

The Internet has so much potential for ministry! Hundreds of web sites and a handful of Christian books and conferences have called attention to the potential of the Internet for ministry. Indeed, there is a lot of potential and tons of opportunity for connecting people through the Internet. The word "ministry" can refer to a wide range of things, but essentially it is about communicating effectively with a kingdom purpose in mind.

When I first stumbled onto Church Marketing Sucks, I had my reservations.

Continue reading "Communicating Any and Every Which Way Possible"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 10:56 AM
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August 22, 2006

The Future of CFCC

The 'heart and soul' series continues. Last week, Kevin shared some of the accomplishments we’ve realized over the last several years through the Center for Church Communication, especially in light of Church Marketing Sucks and the overwhelmingly amount of people who are benefiting from its mission to frustrate, educate and motivate the church to communicate, with uncompromising clarity, the truth of Jesus Christ. A couple weeks ago I shared about our history. This week I get to share about our future...

Big Dreams
I love dreaming big dreams. I'm sure it stems from the entrepreneur blood rampant inside of me, but there is something about the process of thinking big thoughts, wild ideas and unimaginable scenarios that keep me up at night and lost in thought during those few alone times each day, like in the shower and during the morning commute. I know many can relate.

When I think about the future of the Center for Church Communication, it is difficult not to get too far ahead of ourselves! As we continue in our attempts to recruit a team of people to help steward this vision, we will keep moving ahead with the many ideas we've been tooling with and talking about. The only real hurdle to any of these being accomplished is--no surprise here--is help. More about that later, but for now, won't you dream with me?

Continue reading "The Future of CFCC"

Posted by Brad Abare at 6:31 AM
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August 14, 2006

How We've Helped

Welcome to another round of the 'heart and soul' series. Last week Mark Batterson shared a tribute to Church Marketing Sucks. This week it’s time to look at what we’ve accomplished. It’s time to brag a little.

Church Marketing Sucks
Church Marketing Sucks had its first blog entry in July of 2004. Two years later over 30,000 people visit the site every month. We’ve had over 1.5 million total visits. Our team has written over 650 blog entries and we’ve racked up over 3,300 comments.

This one sums it up pretty well:

"All of 2005 I was concerned with me, myself, and I until I ran across Church Marketing Sucks in late 2005. ... I was ashamed and realized that I was doing a great disservice to my church by not using my education and gifts for God. I asked my leadership if I could volunteer my gifts and I was welcomed with open arms." -Davin, March 2006

Continue reading "How We've Helped"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:18 AM
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August 7, 2006

A Tribute to CMS

Editor's Note: We're in the midst of a 'heart and soul' series, explaining why we want to help the church matter and just how we hope to do it. We started off talking about why we do what we do and last week Brad explained the history of how this whole thing started.

This week we invited Mark Batterson—pastor of National Community Church in Washington, D.C., the man behind the Buzz Conference, and author of the soon-to-be-published In A Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day: How to Survive When Opportunity Roars—to be a guest blogger for this series and share his thoughts on the Center for Church Communication and specifically Church Marketing Sucks. Thanks Mark. So with no further babbling from me...

A Tribute to Church Marketing Sucks

by Mark Batterson

We have a core conviction at Theaterchurch.com: the greatest message deserves the greatest marketing. Another way of saying it is this: the greatest gift (salvation) deserves the greatest packaging!

Something in my soul gets riled up when I see Hollywood and Madison Avenue doing a better job marketing their wares than the church does marketing the Good News.

Continue reading "A Tribute to CMS"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:16 AM
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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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June 27, 2006

Events Lab Simplified

The Events Lab just got simpler.

Thanks to Google releasing some added functionality to their calendar, we can now post the Events Lab calendar on our site and you can check out the Events Lab without a Google login.

So if you're looking for upcoming church marketing and communications related events, check out the Events Lab.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 11:56 AM
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June 12, 2006

Introducing the Events Lab

Events are a great way to learn, interact and just get away from it all. You can learn more about your field of expertise and discover new ideas, you can interact with people and discover that you're not the only one trying to do what you do, and you can change the scenery and have a chance to recharge your batteries.

So we've started the Events Lab, a public calendar listing all sorts of church marketing and communications related events. This week alone there are four events from Miami to Phoenix to Philadelphia to Chicago.

It's powered by Google Calendar, so you can subscribe via RSS or iCal and keep track of the events yourself. We've also probably missed a few events, so if you know of one that should be included, let us know.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 12:04 PM
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June 10, 2006

Foursquare Convention 2006

The Foursquare Convention finished up in Washington, D.C., last week and our very own Brad Abare had a chance to participate in the technology forum, "Harnessing Technology for Ministry." Brad covered a number of points, including:

• Be who you are, not who you're not.
  
• Eliminate confusion.
  
• Pay attention to how your message is being translated.
  
• The audience is always right.
  
• Design matters.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 1:02 PM
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May 19, 2006

Church Marketing Sucks Web 2.0 Series

Web 2.0 is yet another techno buzz term that's popping up everywhere. Our Church Marketing Sucks blog just finished a series exploring web 2.0, sorting out the hype and figuring out what it means for churches:

• What Web 2.0 Means for Your Church
• How Your Church Can Use Flickr
• How Your Church Can Use MySpace
• How Your Church Can Use Video
• How Your Church Can Use Squidoo
• How Your Church Can Ditch Expensive Software
• Church Friendly Web 2.0
• How Your Church Can Ignore Web 2.0
• Web 2.0 Series Wrap-Up

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:45 AM
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May 9, 2006

CMS Lens Chosen as Lens of the Day

The Church Marketing Sucks lens on the web 2.0 site Squidoo was chosen as the Lens of the Day today. Squidoo's Editor in Chief Megan Casey called Church Marketing Sucks a "very smart and thought-provoking blog."

She went on to compliment the lens as:

• a fantastic starting point for newcomers to the blog.
• an easy introduction to the philosophies put forth by Church Marketing Sucks.
• successfully spreading awareness for a compelling nonprofit organization.
• very clear about 3 ways visitors can take action and help.
• a great lens in its own right–organized succinctly and clearly. (I especially like the Church Marketing Lab photos!)

Aw, shucks. Thanks, Megan. Check out our lens yourself for an introduction to our church communications blog Church Marketing Sucks, and be sure to check out our blog entry on how your church can use Squidoo.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 1:39 PM
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March 30, 2006

Church Marketing Lab is Go

For the past month we've been testing a better way to help churches communicate. Now the Church Marketing Lab is open for business. It's a public group on the photo-sharing site Flickr where anyone can share their church marketing work and offer feedback to others.

The idea started as the peer review section on Church Marketing Sucks but quickly proved to be too popular to remain a section of a blog. In six months 24 peer reviews were posted on CMS, but in the single month of testing the Church Marketing Lab we've had 60 photos posted by 40 people. It's the power of the people, working for your church.

Check out our detailed guidelines for how to offer your feedback or share your work.

This is one of our first ventures beyond our flagship CMS blog, so we're eager to explore the waters and help churches in new ways.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 9:05 AM
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March 28, 2006

Write for Church Marketing Sucks

Now your wildest dreams can come true. Church Marketing Sucks is accepting submissions from guest bloggers. Instead of looking for writers in it for the long haul, CMS is accepting one-off entries. This means it's easier to write for CMS and hopefully less work for us.

Become a guest blogger and get your name on Church Marketing Sucks. Won't your mom be proud? Well, maybe not.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 9:07 AM
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December 3, 2005

Communications Report

In the summer of 2005 we surveyed over 500 churches across the U.S. and published our findings in this free PDF report (488 KB, 8 pages). It includes juicy bits like:

• 76% of churches aren't documenting or tracking the results of their marketing.
  
• 63% of churches said marketing and promoting their church was important or extremely important.
  
• 80% of churches spend less than $10,000 on marketing and promotions each year.
  
• 59% of churches were dissatisfied or ambivalent about their web sites.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 11:58 AM
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December 1, 2005

CFCC Goes Non-Profit

The Center for Church Communication is now officially a non-profit. We've left our business days behind, but that doesn't mean we're not serious. Instead of selling marketing and design services we'll continue to help churches matter by fostering a community of church communicators.

That includes the blog Church Marketing Sucks and new ventures including a critique group, a directory and more resources for churches.

Visit the about section for more on our history.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 1:23 PM
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