I’ve been working with the team at Mountain Lake Church in Cumming, Georgia over the last several months. Here’s their current marketing for Christmas Eve services.
Having spent some time with the team at Mountain Lake, I can tell you this marketing is about much more than just trying to get as many people as possible to their Christmas Eve services. This is a reflection of their mission, vision and values. They’re not trying to reach religious people–they want to reach “naughty” people. They want to connect with people who are outside the faith.
The funny thing is religious people are probably more offended by the fact that Mountain Lake is using a picture of Santa to get people to church than the statement they’re making. That’s okay–I’m hoping religious people get coal in their stockings.
I share this not so you will mimic what Mountain Lake is doing. This certainly won’t work for every church. I hope it is an encouragement, though, to get very intentional about who you are trying to reach. Figuring out the “who” needs to be your priority before you give any attention to the “how.” Of course, most churches get that backwards.
And, by the way, if you are trying to reach people far from God, you may have to offend some religious people to accomplish your mission.
Ho! Ho! Ho!
Photo Credit: kevin dooley via Compfight cc
