Granger in USA Today Article

August 21, 2005 in Communications with 2 Comments

Granger Community Church is mentioned in an article posted today on USA Today’s site. The article is on church marketing.

2 Responses to “Granger in USA Today Article”

  1. Church Marketing Sucks August 22, 2005 at 10:07 am #

    Hey Look, Church Marketing!

    USA Today covered church marketing yesterday with the headline, “God is cool.” The story covers the growing trend of churches doing marketing, including the following techniques: An ice cream truck passing out free treats in the neighborhood (New Life …

  2. Bumble August 23, 2005 at 9:36 am #

    Thanks for the link. Very enlightening. But how would you response to the quote below…

    But in catering to popular demand, churches might set visitors up for disillusionment, says Philip Kenneson, co-author of Selling Out the Church: The Dangers of Church Marketing.

    “Part of becoming a Christian is coming to see that what you thought you wanted deeply is not what you most wanted,” says Kenneson, a theology professor at Milligan College in Tennessee. “It’s having your wants retrained. So it’s pretty hard to appeal to this old set of desires to get people in the door and then all of a sudden say, ‘You know, we didn’t quite tell you the whole thing.’ Then people feel betrayed.”

    Another danger of marketing to an audience: People are viewed merely “as bundles of needs,” says Inagrace Dietterich, director of theological research at the Center for Parish Development in Chicago. “This approach assumes the dominance of personal and private needs” above those of the community or the Creator.