< Back to Making Disciples Seminar

Excerpts from a Keynote Presentation by Andy Sullivan

Ground Rules

• When Andy talks about Bryn Athyn, it is not because he believes it is the center of everything. He grew up there. 
• When Andy talks about change, he is not suggesting that we change the message, we just need to change the delivery of the message on certain occasions. 
• When Andy uses marketing terms or compares business practices with religion, he does not believe that religion should be run as a business, but why wouldn't we look at Best Practices of other religions, organizations and businesses. 
• Andy does believe that changing one person's life is a success, but we are not here to talk about just one person today. 
• Andy will no longer talk about himself in the third person.

Why market? Why spread the teachings? 

• "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations," Matthew 28:18-20 
• Moral Reasons 
  
  • It is not ours alone to keep 
  • Why wouldn't we want to help others lead better lives 
  • Because people are looking for us, they just don't know us by name
• Practical Reason 
  
  • If we don't grow, we shrink

Our Dilemma

We have the best message in the world, but we don't market close to its potential. Why don't we market (on a larger level)?

• We don't want to commoditize our religion 
• We don't like the idea of selling religion 
• Most marketing seems to be deceptive 
• Marketing is about measuring ROI (Return on Investment) and numbers remove the humanity 
• Marketing is not our expertise 
• What if we grow? What if we don't? 
• We fear we will sacrifice quality for quantity 
• "Because we've always done it that way."

What are the common threads of religion?

• Being a part of something greater than one's own self 
• A path to help others 
• Answers to the grand questions 
• A sense of community
• A path to becoming a better person 
• A purpose 
• Accessibility & Simplicity 
• Real world application

How many out of 6 billion should we seek (today)?

• Is our target audience a million, 10 million, a billion? 
  • We need to decide who we go after today and who we don't 
  • Knocking on every door is the wrong approach 
  • Who shouldn't we go after today? - Those dedicated to another religion
• Who is our primary target audience? 
  
  • Existing members of the Church 
  • Children of existing members of the Church 
  • Seekers

How do we find seekers?

• Positioning the Church 
  
  • 7up
    • During 70s & 80s, 2 out 3 soft drinks consumed were cola drinks.
    • How do you compete with Coke & Pepsi?
    • Become the "uncola"
  • Bryn Athyn College
    • How does the college separate itself from ANC Secondary School
    • How does the college welcome seekers without hitting them with the religious 2x4
    • Bryn Athyn College's new slogan: "intellectually liberal, morally conservative, and spiritually bold"
• Positioning the Church 
  
  • How should we position the Church? 
    
    • Our position statement must be simple
    • Our position statement must be known by all of the members of the church
    • Words like "unique" and "distinct" are not unique and distinct, they are generic. We need to describe what is unique and distinct
    • Compare and contrast the strengths of our beliefs versus other religions
    • Past examples include "A religion that makes sense."
• Measure for Success 
  
  • If you don't measure, you will never get the outcome that you want 
  • Without metrics, every argument seems valid 
  • Metrics help us face a reality that we tend not to look at otherwise 
  • When creating metrics, consistency is everything

Where does this leave us?

• The past 100+ years have given us a foundation for growth. 
• If we believe in the scripture, we are all responsible for spreading the teachings and thus we are responsible for when we don't spread the teachings effectively. 
• The vision must come from top down. 
• Bryn Athyn College is one of our strongest tools for growth. 
• Get ready for Africa and for overall international growth. 
• A Pastor has too many jobs. We can't have pastors doing six or seven things somewhat well, we need them to do two or three things great. Combine Pastors with the willing. Example: David Roth & Anna Woofenden. 
• There is a new level of energy at the Theological School. The students want growth and they aren't going to wait for it. 
• We MUST watch out for society erosion. Growth without proper planning is a waste of time and energy and is very hard to recover from.

Summary

• Effective Marketing starts with 
  
  • A great product 
  • Visionary leadership 
  • Defining target audiences 
  • Researching the needs of your audience 
  • Developing a position statement 
  • Determining metrics for success 
  • Building campaigns 
  • Measuring results
  • Supporting the successful initiatives, adapting or eventually retiring initiatives that don't work