Jesus’ Ministry Marketing (2 of 4) :: WWJD Today?
How would Jesus market His ministry today?
Had Jesus’ ministry taken place 2,000 years later, I do not think much would have changed. His ministry (His product) would still be perfect and would garner significant amounts of word of mouth and press coverage. It would still be of no charge financially. The biggest change would be His use of technology. Without question, Jesus would use technology to its fullest potential to distribute His message to as many people as possible.
But what would Jesus do for promotion? Would He use advertising, direct marketing, interactive marketing, personal selling, public relations, or sales promotions? I think He would use interactive marketing and personal selling. He would have a website to bring His message to a greater number of people globally, and He would still have a personal face-to-face ministry. The other areas are debatable. With large levels of word of mouth and press coverage, why spend money on advertising, direct marketing, or public relations. I definitely cannot imagine Jesus using the gimmicks of sales promotions to attract people.
>> Read part 1 of the series.
>> Read part three of the series as I take a look at why church marketing does not look like Jesus’ ministry marketing.
Jason Said,
February 5, 2008 @ 6:52 am
I’m not so sure about this. If you want to provide us with practical tips for spreading the Gospel, that’s great. I always welcome more tips for this sort of thing. But I would caution you from claiming that Jesus would do things the same way we would today. Jesus repeatedly told his disciples and those he healed NOT to tell anyone about him until later. It wasn’t until after his resurrection that he commissioned - on a large scale - his followers to go out and preach the Gospel. A few moments later, He ascended to heaven. Jesus would have utilized very little of our modern technology is he had been born 2,000 years later. The disciples/apostles would have heavily use the resources we have available. I wish you would think a little more biblically through your posts and make a distinction between what is good advice for today, and what would Jesus have actually done.
Matt Farina Said,
February 5, 2008 @ 8:30 am
This reminded me of when I was learning some of the marketing lessons learned at a company I used to work for. The most effective form of marketing was word of mouth. And, not only was it effective at getting the product out there it was the most convincing method to get people to get the product or turn away.
As an engineer always looking for problems to solve, I wonder how our packaging of the perfect product helps and hurts promotion?
Kent Shaffer Said,
February 5, 2008 @ 9:57 am
Jason,
Thanks for the input. I’m certainly not a theologian, and I don’t try to be one. I do think that Jesus would use technology more than just a little bit had His ministry been 2,000 years later.
One thing I could have written much better was specifying that Jesus’ ministry was to the Jews - “the lost sheep of Israel.” And yes, going out into all the world did not happen until after after the resurrection.
The Jews are currently scattered all over the globe, and I think Jesus would use technology to reach them. At the same time, it is ridiculous to try to reasonably imagine what it would be like today because so many vital factors involved 2,000 years ago are not the same today. It was God’s perfect timing.
My main point is that because of the remarkability of Jesus’ ministry (His product), He did not need to promote it. It created word of mouth. It is the principle of keeping marketability first. He also put a lot of effort into reaching as many people as He could of those He was called to reach. Technology allows one to reach more people, and I think He would utilize it.
Gene Mason Said,
February 14, 2008 @ 12:52 pm
Kent,
I’m troubled by this post as it really tries to put a marketing spin on Christ’s actions on earth. Jesus told us to make disciples. He was not into “mass marketing” at all–if so, why did He invest 3 years into just 12 men when He could have “reached” so many more? Keep in mind, too, that marketing as a concept is less than 200 years old, only a result of the post-agrucultural age, and that the church, both locally and globally, grew without marketing at all for over 1700 years. What, too, do we make of the church in places like China, where our marketing concepts simply do not work? Does Jesus have separate methodologies for His church in one region of the world versus another? I would truly recommend stepping away from a “marketing” mindset to re-examine Jesus’ ministry apart from what you might like it to look like.
Kent Shaffer Said,
February 14, 2008 @ 1:26 pm
Gene,
Sorry to hear that you are troubled by this. The principles of marketing have been around forever, but only in recent centuries have they been extensively identified and studied. Yes, there differences from culture to culture for what works, but for the most part, marketing is largely about how to best reach people.
If I took out the marketing terminology, I am sure that it would be much less troubling to you. These posts recognize the principles behind the success of Jesus’ ministry and use modern marketing terms to describe these principles.
As for why Jesus invested 3 years into 12 men, that is a matter of leadership and management principles. In order for the church to grow well, it was essential that Jesus mentor His 12 disciples. But even then He spent more time with certain disciples than He did with others. It is a matter of leadership training.
Thanks for the thoughts and questions.