What if Starbucks Marketed Like a Church?

Doug

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7_dZTrjw9I]

Brent Thomas:

It’s more than likely that we’ve all heard of churches taking marketing cues from Starbucks. But have you ever wondered what might happen if it went the other way around? This little “parable” is from the people at beyondrelevance.com. Why is it that so many churches seem so out of touch?

What’s your reaction to this video?  I’m curious to know your thoughts.

Written by Doug Wolter - Visit Website
This entry was posted on Monday, November 10th, 2008 at 9:29 pmand is filed under Community, culture, evangelism, the church. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

7 Responses to “What if Starbucks Marketed Like a Church?”

  • Josh Says:
    November 11th, 2008 at 2:37 am

    While its certainly over the top, there is also a lot of truth in that video. While the gospel is attractive and “marketable” to all cultures and generations our traditions are not. Many of today’s churches still operate on a “business” model from the 80s and 90s which seems old-fashioned and “boring” to today’s culture. People are looking for more connection and less lecture and not necessarily on Sunday. I’ve been to several different churches over the years and have seen very little significant change while the culture has changed dramatically. The gospel is still relevant but we unintentionally shame it when we pass it out to today’s culture in a Michael W. Smith or 5-part gospel track.

  • Josh Says:
    November 11th, 2008 at 2:40 am

    Also, that might have been a little harsh but its time for the church as a whole to start being creative. God has gifted us as business men, artists, teachers, musicians, etc. but we fail to recognize that our creativity and innovative minds that serve us well at work can also bring glory to God in reaching today’s culture.

  • Mark Says:
    November 11th, 2008 at 3:07 am

    Am I strange or does it seem that there is more to what we are doing at church than just selling a product? Hopefully people become Christians and grow as Christians in different ways than one would become a faithful Starbucks patron. If not, I think we have some major problems.

  • john mark inman Says:
    November 11th, 2008 at 4:14 am

    Very funny video. But when you look at the rest of the website, it seems his criticism isn’t the combination of church/marketing, but that the church markets poorly.

    To me that is just as ironic/odd as Starbucks trying to market like the church.

  • Doug Says:
    November 11th, 2008 at 6:57 pm

    Josh, good point about the church’s need to use their creative gifts to reach today’s culture. We are missionaries wherever we are in the sense that we must contextualize the gospel – not changing the content, but perhaps the creative methods and ministries to reach people where they’re at.

    Mark, I fully agree with you as well. The church is not a business; it’s the people of God living their lives differently in this world as salt and light. Ultimately, we should never “market” the gospel but share it and live it. But wouldn’t you agree that in the Japanese culture you think about the people and their context and how to best reach them using biblical, yet creative methods like the “Crossroads Cafe” idea?

  • Mark Says:
    November 13th, 2008 at 12:51 am

    We use various venues as platforms to share the Gospel in understandable and relevant ways, but we do not depend on the venues (especially the coolness of the venues) to save or win people. Does that make sense? Recently, I have been feeling a great need to pray more. Often times God likes to skip our venues or platforms altogether to show His glory.

  • Doug Says:
    November 13th, 2008 at 1:24 am

    Well said, Mark. I agree.

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