Wow…a major delay in posting. I am traveling and in Washington DC and really have not had a free moment to even think..(no cracks please)…but here is the post I worked on while flying east.
Being someone that works in the business world I tend to look closely at market trends, service and innovation.
My thoughts shifted to the church. How does the church fare from a business perspective?
Don’t kid yourself…the church is a business in many ways.
It operates staff, budgets, presentations and services a “consumer”. The consumer being the parishioners who attend each and every weekend.
The better the church operates itself from a business perspective, the larger that church grows and the more “consumers” it has. The larger the consumer base within the church, the larger the “revenue” or tithe in this case.
A strong church has a business model that uses a portion of its revenues (tithes) to give back in the form of missions.
Where churches often struggle in business is in the adaptation of current trends and business cycles. Many are slow to adapt or admit they have to change to meet the consumer. Some believe this is a very bad thing in that faith in God should not be a market trend but simply just the way you are.
What about new consumers? What about those who are young and have never been exposed to a life of faith? What about those who are even a bit older and have questions and/or have not been invited to a church that one day they might call home?
This is where an adapting trend based business model comes into play. A good business plan allows you to reach these people.
Social Media for example is a huge component of many companies business plans right now. It is also the driving force in our youth and how we live daily. You can receive fare specials for airlines through Twitter. Sites offer coupons for purchases, rebates for large ticket items and so on. Tweetups are occurring to discuss the latest and greatest and design new models for an ever changing world. Facebook has connected us with all of those people we long forgot. So how does this play into the church?
Some of the most active churches in the country are following suit. Recently there have been Twitter Sundays at churches, Facebook fan pages, tweets from your favorite church just to name a few. These very things are helping churches grow. Blogs of course even take the business of church a step further by allowing prospective clients or current consumers a look into the lives of their leaders maintaining a connection during the work week.
These churches work with the flow of a changing business climate. They are adapting their model constantly to help them gain market share.
It cannot go without saying that the church should be simply a place of worship and a chance for someone to simply grow their faith. It is a bit crazy to think of it as a business but that is reality…especially in the world which we live in.
General thoughts….you think church is a business?
If so, what is your churches business model? What does it do that is cutting edge and how well is it working? Are you reaching new consumers?
or blog for a living about Hockey and get paid for it…
