Biblical Foundation of Church Marketing

If marketing is not evil and there is a role for it in the church, then what does the Bible have to say about marketing? Looking at the example of Jesus Christ, we will see that He was the master of marketers because every message, every parable was in effort to manage the perception of the people he spoke to. Over thirty times in the Bible we read about Jesus perceiving the people’s thoughts and adjusting His ministry to meet their needs. His level of perception was so high that He could sense when someone had just touched Him in effort to receive healing. Realizing that the current view of the “church” was one of hypocrisy, greed, and corruption, He attempted to distance Himself from the Pharisees and spend His time with tax collectors, prostitutes, and sinners. Rather than coming to “save the saved,” He came to save the lost. Understanding who the lost were required managing the perception of those around Him. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, not only did he wait three extra days to prove a point (a method of promotion), but He prayed a prayer after arriving at the tomb and raising Lazarus from the dead. He prayed, “”Father, I thank you that you have heard me. ⁴²I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me” (John 11:41-42, The NIV Bible). Jesus’ prayer was unnecessary for His benefit, but He prayed so that the people around Him would better understand His authority and His message.

Jesus understood where people were at and what their needs were. To some He was a friend who cleansed and offered forgiveness, to some a healer, and to some He rebuked and showed them their wrongdoing. The Apostle Paul understood this principle as well. In 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, Paul wrote:

¹⁹Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. ²⁰To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. ²¹To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. ²²To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. ²³I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

Paul understood that his level of effectiveness depended upon being able to reach people where they are at and discovering their needs. This is usually the problem with churches and their lack of growth: they fail to meet the needs of the people in their community. Effective marketing begins by understanding who you are and who you are trying to reach. If you are an Italian restaurant but you’re advertising in a primarily Chinese community, you won’t find many people responding to your ads.  Marketing must affect who we become before it can affect who we pursue.