Center for Church Communication

CFCC in Veritas

Veritas, an online magazine for twentysomethings in Des Moines, Iowa, did a story on social media and the church. The story includes an interview with our own Brad Abare who offered his perspective on social media and the importance of forging offline relationships.

Star Tribune Piece on Religious Marketing

The Minneapolis-based Star Tribune recently covered religious marketing and gave us a nod. They briefly mention own our "bluntly named" Church Marketing Sucks, noting that we criticize how marketing is done rather than the practice of marketing itself.

They also point out that "the bulk of the site offers tips on designing eye-catching web pages." Hopefully we're accomplishing more than that, but we'll take what we can get.

The article does have a lot more to say about church marketing from smarter folks, as noted on Church Marketing Sucks.

Q Conference Meetup & Discount

On April 27-29, 2009 the Q conference is coming to Austin, Texas. This is not a bells and whistles hipster event with big names and games. It's a strategic gathering of thinkers and doers who want to see change and bring change. I participated in the last two Q gatherings (Atlanta and New York) and you can see for yourself the caliber of conversation.

Q is not for everyone. However, we know there are a select group of people who should be there and that might include you. We've worked out a special CFCC discount which saves you $150 over the current rate--if you register by December 31, 2008 using the code "CFCC09".

We'd like to see you there if you can make it. Michael Buckingham, Josh Cody, Kevin Hendricks and I are planning to attend Q, and we'll be hosting a special meet up for those a part of the CFCC community.

Drop me a line once you register and if you're interested in connecting with others from the CFCC community. Once we know how many of us will be there we'll determine when and where we meet.

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)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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".

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

Interview with Bloggers Series

Church Marketing Sucks was recently featured in a series of blogger interviews by Issue Dynamics. They talked with yours truly, CMS Chief Blogger Kevin D. Hendricks. Check out the full interview.