Marketing Mistakes by Tony Morgan

I just read a great article from Tony Morgan of West Ridge Church near Atlanta. For more of his writing you can visit his site: www.tonymorganlive.com

• Making a promise you can't keep. The world already thinks churches are filled with hypocrites, so make sure you exceed expectations on everything you say you’ll do. The easiest place to begin is with the guest experience. Are you delivering a welcoming, friendly environment? When someone takes a step to connect to your ministry, make sure your team is ready to follow through.
• Trying to be all things to all people. Yes, we want the world to know Jesus, but who has God put in your world? That’s who you need to reach. And, more specifically, what person within your world are you most likely to reach? Design your ministry to connect with him or her. That means some people may not like your church. That’s OK. God uses different ministries to reach different people.
• Thinking other churches are your competition. We are competing with today’s culture. Other churches are on our team. It doesn’t help if you distinguish yourself from another church. You need to distinguish your message from the world people live in. Clearly communicate why someone should connect with your church instead of spending their time doing a million other things.
• Publicizing programs that compete with one another. More choices create more confusion. You may have lots of great programs, but the more options you provide, the less likely people will be to take a step. I know, it’s counter-intuitive. But you don’t want a situation where your men’s ministry is competing with your discipleship classes that are competing with your home groups that are competing with volunteer opportunities. Figure out what you do well and what God is using to reach people for Jesus—and do that.
• Promoting your church instead of generating a response. No one really cares that you are First Church Such-and-Such. And, no one really cares what your building looks like. Promote a message series over the church. Promote a conversation over the church. But don’t promote the church or a specific ministry. Others will do that for you if it’s worth promoting.

6 Mistakes Leaders Make

Here are the 1st 3 of 6 mistakes as written by Perry Noble.
To read the article in it's entirety, check out www.churchleaders.com

1. Not getting the entire story before confronting someone about an “issue” that had been brought to my attention! A leader who always believes the worst about the people he leads needs to do a serious gut-check!
2. Letting emotion get the best of me and shutting down a discussion when I should actively listen. A leader is way more likely to get buy-in if the people he leads actually feel like he listens to them…REALLY listens to them.
3. Choosing “the obvious” rather than listening to The Holy Spirit.