Is it necessary for churches to advertise?

Is it necessary? No, I don't think it is necessary. It certainly does not make up for not loving people.

But can we reach people who might not know of the church and deprive us of any opportunity to speak to her/him about Jesus with advertising?

Yes, we can.

For me it is also a theological issue, I believe Jesus told us to go. Advertising is a means of going even when I am asleep in bed.

I agree with with annsni, that we need to be careful that our advertising doesn't give a false impression either of God or our church.

 

The title of the poll and the actual questions you pose are different.

Title: Is it necessary? The answer is no.

Poll: Is is OK? The answer is yes.

Not asked: Can it be useful? The answer is absolutely.

In addition to those media you listed, having a web page is an excellent way to introduce your church to visitors. In fact, it's one of the most useful methods, as it allows visitors to go deeper into who you are, your beliefs, etc. than an ad in the paper. It's amazing what you can learn about a church by simply looking at their web page.

However, the cautions & concerns mentioned by Ann & Tom are well placed.

 

A church can advertize however it sees fit to do so. The church decides if it is necessary or not.

 

Listed below are mission statements from different churches - and different denominations - taken from their web page (with the only change being to remove the name of the church). This little bit of information alone gives you a "feel" for the church.

Three are Baptist, one is Lutheran, one is Presbyterian and one is a Bible church. Which ones go with certain churches may surprise you.


1. Our church exists to glorify God through God-centered worship and Biblically based education in order to serve one another and the communities in which we live.

2. Our core values are transformational Bible teaching, engaging worship, authentic community and service-based outreach—each supported by GRACE.

3. Our church is an independent, fundamental, Bible-believing, missions-minded fellowship of believers with strong Bible preaching and teaching and conservative music.

4. Our purpose: To introduce people to Jesus Christ and help them grow to be like Him.

5. Our church exists to glorify God through presenting the Gospel to every man, woman and child, connecting them to loving relationships with Jesus Christ and with others.

6. Our vision: Grow in faith to live a Christian life. Come together for inspiration, learning and strength. Go into the world to share God’s grace, joy and love.

 

When I am in a motel in a new town I look at "churches" in the yellow pages to see what sort of a town it is.

 

I do that too

 

We use newspaper spots for special events (including VBS), radio spots (free for churches), flyers (especially for events), T-shirts. No billboards yet, but that's a thought. no TV (too expensive).

Advertising to let people know you are there and what's going on, that you care, if fine. Trying to be "cute" or mislead people through words is not.

 

Sorry to hear about your dad's passing. My dad passed 5 years ago & it's still difficult. God's best,

 

I don't have a problem with churches advertising. Most churches have a marquis out in front. That would be classified as a form of advertisement. I also don't have a problem with them posting something on a bill board, TV ads, or handing out flyers. Especially if they are advertising an event.

I do have a problem with churches having something happen that's nothing more than a publicity stunt. One time, when I was in the youth group at one of the local churches around here, they had the body of an airplane out in front. They called it "Aero Sunday". It even attracted some minor media attention. What we did was start calling people out of the phone book to invite them to come. Church attendance was up that week & it was fun. Looking back, all it was is nothing more than a way for that church to get noticed.

 

We don't advertise for two reasons: the first is that we're so far out in the country, attending our church just wouldn't be practical for most of the TV audience, from a distance point of view.

The second is that we're not trying to attract the world. The church is specifically for the body of Christ, not for the lost so it probably wouldn't be very good stewardship of our money to spend so much money to advertise to such a small group of people.

Besides, we've done pretty well without advertising. We're just over three years old and have 340 members.

Now, on the other hand, our church does run two rescue missions and we do have flyers that we hand out and have posted different places to let the poor and those in need know about the services we offer.

 

Scripture neither commands nor condemns advertising. A church is therefore permitted to advertise as it feels appropriate.