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Rev. Derek Elphick CONTINUED

Principle 3: The Church Collaborate with Other Non–Profit, Community Groups

Historically, the General Church has taken what you might call a "lone wolf" stance against the rest of the world. We’ve explained our position by saying we’re "in" the world but not "of" the world, but in reality it seems to me we’ve spent quite a bit of time keeping the world "out." From a doctrinal perspective, we’ve said we can’t mix with the outside world until the falsities of the former church have been removed. But a good one hundred years have gone by with little evidence to suggest this technique has helped us that much. How much longer should we wait? And besides, can’t we assume that some of these falsities have been removed or are being removed? Vatican II comes to mind, in which the Bible was given back to the people. And if you study our competition very closely you will find a few Christian ministers preaching things that don’t comply with traditional Christian dogma.

How can our Church "officially" collaborate with other non–profit groups and not compromise our principles or values? Well, in the non–profit and business world this is done all the time, and no one loses their identity! But more importantly, why do they do it? They do it to strengthen and build up areas of common, mutual interest. In the non–profit sector, the common ground is strengthening the community. In the business sector, the common ground is growing commerce. What about the Church? The common ground or areas of mutual interest for us would be working together to strengthen and build up marriage and the family, knowledge about death and dying, help with spiritual growth, education, charity work, and ecumenical activities.

Principle 4: The Church Disciplines Itself to Follow Through on Every Aspect of its Programs and Services

This principle has a lot to do with work ethic. It has to do with being consistent, principled and highly disciplined. Let’s face it; we all let things fall through the cracks. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. We have so many details to follow through on in any given day, it’s almost impossible to stay on top of it all! Unfortunately, sloppy habits and skewed priorities have an adverse affect on our ability to pastor well, whether it’s the pastoral visit we put off making, the phone call we’d rather not make, that e–mail we need to send to a young adult away at college, or that follow–up call with a recent inquirer.

I realize this is all common sense, but it still needs to be said: sometimes it’s the small things in life that matter the most to people. Having a system in place which helps us follow–through and track these small but important details goes a long way to showing that we care, and, dare I say, to winning converts?

Principle 5: The Church Has a System for Being Consistent

There are a number of relatively simple things we can do to remove a lot of unnecessary stumbling blocks for people who are searching for a new religion. One thing we could do is work to stay "on message." When we are consistent and clear in communicating who and what we are (our mission), we give the public a better chance of connecting–the–dots.

Are we (each congregation) articulating the same mission or different ones? I don’t know, but if we’re putting forward different missions it will be hard for people to pick up on a consistent, common theme.

Another simple thing we could do is have a consistent denominational name which conveys real meaning to the public and is used consistently. Again, this would have a "domino effect," in that people would start to see the same name in all sorts of different places, making the significance of the Church start to register in people’s minds (a bit like those bright orange tree service trucks we see in the Continental U.S. and beyond–a joke).

These may seem like trivial, external things with which the Church shouldn’t concern itself, but sometimes these external, trivial things make all the difference between whether or not people actually find us! Think, for example, of what the Mormon Church, the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints has done. This particular religion has a remarkably similar profile to us, and in the last five years or so the Mormons have worked very hard at branding themselves with a certain look and feel, as a marriage and family church. They have been extremely successful. Was this just luck on their part or did professional marketing have something to do with it?

Principle 6: The Church Constantly Measures Feedback

The Church isn’t in the business of conducting surveys and exit–polls to see if people "like" God’s Word! The Church isn’t a consumer church in which people get to "pick and choose" what they like, saying "I prefer this but not that." Still, a good shepherd wants to know if the truth he teaches is reaching his flock. A pastor must always ask himself if he’s talking the same language as his parishioners. If he’s talking over their heads, he’s not feeding them. Therefore much of the feedback he receives (you have to ask for it) has to do with whether or not he’s meeting people where they’re at, that is, addressing their needs, states, concerns, worries, issues of the day, etc.

The same principle applies to the Church as a whole. This means the General Church needs to find a way to constantly measure feedback, to see if the necessary connections are being made with our own people and with the public. This last principle is the follow–up to the first—understanding and meeting needs. A good way to find out if you’re leading people effectively is to constantly measure your work. And in terms of evangelization, the most important feedback you can get is that of your newcomers. They’re the ones who will tell you what it’s like to be on the outside looking in.

Each of these principles challenges the Church to be alert and ready to serve with efficiency and effectiveness. These principles challenge the Church to act with humility since the Church must be willing to learn, willing to acknowledge fault, willing to adapt and change to the states and needs of those it serves (recognizing that the outside world is changing — intellectually and spiritually). Most importantly, these principles challenge the Church to lead more visibly. In short, the tools of professional marketing will help us build bridges in such a way that we can step onto the world stage of public opinion and offer the "leaves of the trees for the healing of the nations" (Revelation 22:2), the rational truths of this New Revelation which promise to help people "think soundly and live becomingly" (Apocalypse Revealed 936).

In summary, I believe these marketing principles dovetail almost seamlessly with the work of regenerating individuals and thus, by extension, the work of the Church. And so we can picture the General Church growing in its ability to reach out and communicate more effectively as it:

• freely compels itself to confront bad habits
• desires to perform kind offices for the neighbor
• has pity on anyone who is in trouble, especially those who are in error with respect to the doctrine of faith
• puts a good interpretation on the faults in others
• looks to strengthen the common ground (good) in others
• strives to help more than correct
• remains steadfast in an affirmative outlook.

I hope I haven’t given the impression that I think we’re doing a bad job in evangelization. I would give the General Church a solid "A" for effort and perhaps a "D" for methodology and maybe a "C" for the results.

To my mind this means there’s plenty of room for improvement, and a big part of self–improvement comes down to motivation. Are we willing to invest the time and energy that is necessary to study needs, to enter public debates, to collaborate with others, to measure the feedback we get and adjust? Are we willing to invest the time and energy to develop a well thought–out methodology, a disciplined plan for church growth? Are we willing to do as much leading as teaching, so that people not only hear that we care but see that we care? Are we willing to "preach life" (Arcana Coelestia 5006:3) so that the value and use of our teaching is more readily felt and seen?

by Rev. Derek Elphick