Awka District Sunday school seminar material Delivered by Rev Alegu Jr Innocent on Saturday 25th August 2020 @ Assemblies of God court Road.
Topic : Repositioning and marketing church and Sunday school programme for maximum impact
Text: Genesis 41, Psalm 71:21
Introduction
God made Everything for a purpose. Every church or Sunday school need to be located in a particular place, to enable him fulfill god given destiny. Many churches and Sunday school program are not properly positioned and the direction they are going is against the current trend for maximum impact.
To reposition is to change position . Repositioning requires God changing your position or direction to enable you fulfill maximum impact
Definition of reposition - place in a different position; adjust or alter the position of;
Repositioning is necessary when:The church and Sunday school programmes
are poorly positioned
Improvement is needed
There is no clarity of purpose
There is no alignment between action and purpose
There is a gap between where you are and where God want you to be
His overall agenda or plan is threatened
He desires quality service from His people
the re-positioning will bring honor and glory to Him
the divine destiny of His chosen children as designed by Him is threatened.
Those who are under afflictions that defy solution even after serious and genuine spiritual effort
Those who are living in fear of their environment as did Jacob in the land of Shechem
Those who are not serving God because of their positioning
Those who see destruction in their environment instead of deliverance
Those who see death in their environment instead of life
Those who encounter constant failure in their environment instead of success and progress
Those who are not happy where they are, even after serious and genuine spiritual effort.
Types of Positioning
Geographic positioning:
A position by location, will either put you at advantage or disadvantage, will give you either a clearer vision or narrower vision or blurred one. You are tied to such position and such position is tied to your life. This position can be by location, status, inheritance profession, position by acceptance or forced on you, by volition or circumstances. The question is what or where are you positioned? Will this position locate or dislocate you? Is this position advancing the kingdom or destroying it.
Spiritual positioning:
Cooperating with the people God has designed for us
Position by inheritance/birth: Acts 3:2
And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple.
Position by status: 2 King 5:1
Naaman was a great man with his master (employer) and honorable, because by him the Lord has given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man of Valor, but he was a LEPER.
Naaman was great and honorable, a deliverer but couldn’t deliver himself. A mighty man of valor. What a credential? But his life was punctuated by leprosy. A play of honor and dishonor. Now his problem may not be by his status or position. Is your status attached to a thorn in your flesh? Your position or elevation in your profession, does it run concurrently with a compatible problem. You attain this level, your encounter this problem. At another elevation another bigger problem of a different magnitude. It is just like it comes in through this way and goes out through the other. You gain here and lose unequal measure there. Rise and fall, gain and loss running parallel and concurrently in your life. Your position or status should not be a curse to you in Jesus Name. Have you seen someone resign a lucrative job for one genuine reason or the other when conflicts arise. I don’t know how many ‘commas’ are tied to your position but for Naaman thank God he repositioned himself to experience divine breakthrough which his wealth could not give him. Don’t cover up your sore with your wealth. Your wealth has limitations. At the Limit the sore will embarrassing by surface.
Position by race, tribe, or complexion: Acts 21:39
The race and tribe you want to meet determines your programme
I am a man which am a Jew of Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city. Suffer me to speak unto the People.
Your race, tribe, complexion or even language can place you into a position. White or black, low class or high class etc. Your being heard in society can be tied to your tribe or race or complexion. Looking into the world as a whole you’ll see these features play a part in shaping people’s destinies.
Paul was denied audience and telling them where he came from, that is his race or tribe opened the way.
Some people are born to rule and they call them royal family. That is to say others are born to be ruled. Some people can enter some places not because they earned it but because of their color or race or name or language. A lot of imbalance created in the system. From beginning God did not make them so.
Position by circumstance or environment
In some environment or community you discover everybody have developed a particular character or behavior or life style -. an-everybody-behavior-traits syndrome kind of. They are positioned into a pattern of living by dint of their living there. Also circumstance can give someone a permanent seat or controlling position. Have you seen some people in a particular environment being branded a general kind of name though from different background, status, profession but they seem to flow along together?
What are
Examples from the Bible:
Abram: Gen 11: 26-31; Gen 12
Before the call, Abram was:
A total failure
Barren
Unproductive-tied to the apron success father
After the call (Gen 12)
From barren to fruitful man
From failure to success
“Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country and from thy kindred, and from thy Father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee”:
Genesis 12:1 (KJV)
Jacob: Genesis 35:1-7
Anytime there is a re-positioning plan by God in the bible, there will be clear evidence or evidences of wrong positioning. And also for God to plan re-positioning, He would have a goal and a place in His mind.
How do I know this? It is because our God is a God of purpose. Whatever He does He does with a purpose. And that purpose will be connected to the overall purpose that He set from the beginning
The re-positioning of Jacob and his household from Shechem to Bethel was a divine one.
3. Mephibosheth 2 Sam 9:1- 12
Before David showed kindness to him
Lame in both feet (2 Sam 4: 4)
A dead god ( 2 Sam 9: 8)
After repositioning:
All land that belonged to his grandfather restored to him (2 Sam 9:7)
Servants to farm for him
Eat at the king’s table like one of king’s sons
Virgin Mary: Luke 1: 28
And the angel came in unto her, and said, hail, thou that are highly favored, the Lord is with thee BLESSED ART THOU AMONG WOMEN
Your position (here & now)
Every individual whether consciously or unconsciously, by design or accident occupy a peculiar, strategic and vantage position in life and on earth.
What happens when God plans to re-position you or when He re-positions you?
He would have prepared a place for you
He will assign an angel to guide you to the place He prepared for you
Your protection is guaranteed on your way to the place He prepared for you
The Holy Spirit will speak to you to direct you
He will make a way for you where there is no way
He will make people you do not know to serve you. Ps. 18:43
He will glorify you Is. 55:5
He will deliver you from the strivings of the people. Ps. 18:43
He will make you the head over the unbelievers. Ps. 18:43 It is the boss that has the authority. When God makes you the boss, nobody can lift a finger against you
The strangers there will submit themselves to you.
But God will certainly do all that I have enumerated, if only you will take note of the following:
You must pay steady attention to the direction of the Holy Spirit.
You must obey the direction of the Holy Spirit
You must not grieve the Holy Spirit. Eph. 4:30
You must guard against sin
You must guard against anything that will take the number place of God in your life.
You must serve the Lord in your re-positioned place
You must pray without ceasing in your re-positioned place.
Repositioning The church and school programme
Return to the drawing board with God- Josh 7: 1-23
Obedience Deut 28: 1-2
Fear of God and desire for Kingdom project Ps 25: 12-14
Ability to trust God enough Ps 21: 1-7
Conclusion
God is ready to reposition Our church and SS programme You need to prepare yourself for repositioning. Go back to God. He is the one who can repositions our programs Be obedient. Fear God and have a burning desire for the kingdom project. Trust Him and you will be repositioned to fulfill destiny.
Ways to Help Reposition Our Church and SS programme
1 - Increase your prayer time - rather we need to reposition ourselves to see it God's way.
2 - Increase your bible reading time.
3 - Write down your goals - once you accomplish each goal, acknowledge your achievement and identify a new goal in its place.
4 - Identify anything or anyone that attempts to take away your happiness, attempts take God’s place in your life - 1 John 5:21 NLT - Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God's place in your lives.
5 - Focus on your positive attributes.
6 - Alter your schedule so that you're not coming into contact with the same Programs people and places that are not positive forces within your Church
7- Stop complaining about where you are and bloom there until God sees fit to promote you. In fact, think of the repositioning process as a form of promotion.
8 - Forgive yourself for allowing people to hurt you.
9 - Forgive those who have hurt You
10 - Remember to be thankful for the gift of repositioning. The flip side is, had you not acknowledged the fact that it was time to move on, you'd still be stuck in misery. That in and of itself should make you a little bit happier every day.
Marketing the church
Marketing is often associated with business greed and money, what the King James calls “filthy lucre” (1 Timothy 3:3). Pop-ups, spam, junk mail, commercials; we hate them all. If what you mean when you use the term “marketing” is slimy tactics or manipulation, the church should have nothing to do with it. If a “marketer” tries to tell you that you need to avoid mentioning sin, water down the message of the Gospel or promise unequaled prosperity, they don’t belong in church.
Church marketing is NOT telling people what they want to hear, it’s reaching people where they are, connecting with them, understanding their pain and offering the only solution to whatever they’re suffering – Jesus himself.
According to the American Marketing Association,
Marketing is “the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.”
What is it churches offer of value? Eternal life with Jesus. Now that’s worth communicating and communicating well! When a church marketer is marketing Jesus and how one can be saved by him, they are biblically communicating – marketing – the very message we’re all commanded to send.
Your Church is Already Marketing-Whether You Know It or Not
Does your church have a phone listing, a sign out front, a Facebook page, a website, or a logo? If you answered yes to any of those questions, guess what? You’re already marketing. You’re probably just not very good at it because you’re not doing it intentionally.
Here’s the deal: As long as you’re communicating a message, you’re marketing- whether you want to or not! You might as well learn how to do it well.
If there’s a tool that can be used to share the gospel, then let’s use it. Before COVID-19 hit in 2020, many churches wanted nothing to do with digital marketing – social media, text messaging, and even websites were seen as either something to fear or evil itself. But, when we had no other options, we suddenly figured out how to use those tools for God’s glory! Guess what happened? Digital church attendance went through the roof!
Whatever the tool, you can look at it one of two ways. You can either fear it, or view it as a way to start new relationships and reach people with the Gospel. What others may have meant for evil, God can and does turn around for good for His glory!
The fact of the matter is, you CAN be a biblical church and use marketing tools. This doesn’t have to be an either/or mentality; this can be a both/and. We can hold fast to the bible, center our thoughts on Jesus AND we can use marketing tools to start new relationships. It doesn’t have to be either/or.
Go Into All the World
You can have a passionate, Jesus-centered approach that also uses marketing tools. When you say “go into all the world and tell them about Jesus,” marketing helps a church go into all the world:
Go into YouTube 2 billion users
Go into Facebook 3.4 billions monthly
Go into the Internet 96.05 million users are on line in Nigeria ever day
Go into the world where there are billions of people and preach the Word there
Marketing is your strongest tool for furthering the gospel, and it is most definitely biblical.
churchMarketing: A Calling
“Why are you so passionate about church marketing? Jesus doesn’t need your marketing plan.”
“The church is not a business and it shouldn’t be run like one. Marketing is for business.”
“We don’t need your marketing/communications gift; all we need to do is preach the gospel.”
“Somehow ‘church’ and ‘marketing’ don’t sound right together.”
Ever hear those words? Ever say those words? This may be a revelation to you, but church marketers want to do exactly the same thing that you do– preach the gospel. We just want to do it well with all the tools available to us – video, and art and branding. In other words, we want to do it with “marketing.”
Your congregation is full of people with spiritually significant fittings just waiting to be utilized. Yes, we’re talking about the storytellers, the designers, the video editors and photographers, directors, copywriters, and yes, even marketers! These people have God-given gifts, and God has chosen to put them in your church to bless you! He wants to use them for His kingdom. Maybe it’s time to empower these people, by allowing them to use their gifts! You will be amazed at what God does through them for your church and His kingdom.
Biblical Examples of Church Marketing
Paul in 1 Corinthians
The Apostle Paul adjusted his presentation of the gospel, in some degree, to fit the audience, and talks about it in one of his epistles:
19 Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. – 1 Cor 9:21-23
Paul in Acts
In Acts 17:22-34, Paul shows an understanding of the local culture and the felt needs of his audience. When he went before an Athenian audience, he didn’t preach Scripture as he typically did with his Jewish audiences. His main appeal was a general revelation, to the god the Athenians knew because God had given them “life, and breath, and everything” (verse 25).
Everything Paul said was true to the written word of God, but he alluded to their religion and their poets in order to effectively lead them to the truth of Jesus. In other words, he used marketing, went to their gathering, and used the communications tools they used to be a part of the public discussion. His message never changed, but he allowed his knowledge of his audience to influence how he communicated it. Paul doubtless adjusted his language (Aramaic or Greek, for example), his clothing, his diet, his conformity to Jewish ceremonial laws, local customs, etc. according to what would most enhance communication. Marketing allows us to do this, too.
Jesus: Biblical Church Marketing in action
Jesus did much the same in his teaching and outreach. While on earth, Jesus spoke to people right where they were—geographically and emotionally. He touched and spoke to people individually about matters that were important to them. He went to where they were, using the things around them to get his message across.
15 While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” -Mark 2:15-17
In marketing terms, Jesus used an appropriate media and method and drew a targeted and receptive audience. He attracted people’s attention in a powerful way, recognized them as a receptive audience and then delivered a relevant, compelling message. This is church marketing at its best. Often, He upset the existing religious system and leaders to do what he was sent to do – to bring the lost back to Himself.
Follow Jesus’ example. Examine the communication channels or media available to you, and strategize effective ways to use them for the Kingdom in your own community. Whether online or through direct mail, advertising, radio, television, or just the traditional church marquee, God is using marketing strategies today in much the same way He used them in biblical times. And while the methods can and should be tailored to reach people in a changing cultural landscape, the life-changing message of salvation is still the same.
Back to the Great Commission
So, what is marketing’s place in the Great Commission? Marketing consists of 4 stages (some would say 5):
Awareness
Understanding, or “cultivation”
Let’s break down the great commission in marketing terms.
The Great Commission in Marketing Terms
First, awareness. Jesus said, “Go.” Create Awareness of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. In the ancient world, almost no one would travel. The only way to create awareness of Jesus was for His followers to go. We can’t sit around waiting for people to come to us to find out about Jesus, we have to seek them where they are and make them aware of their need for a savior. And there is no denying that the majority of people in the 21st century worldwide can be found online.
Second, understanding. Jesus said, “make disciples.” Show and convince them of the value of Jesus and ask them to follow, help them understand. That takes time, it requires communication and most especially it requires relationship. This is called Cultivation in marketing, and it’s where marketing tools can shine.
Third, conviction. Jesus said, “baptizing them.” Jesus explicitly commanded us to do a specific and distinct public behavior to clarify objectively that someone has indeed become a disciple – to prove they were convicted of the need to be disciples. In marketing, this is called Conversion.
Finally, action. Jesus said, “into all nations.” Spread the news everywhere. Nations are people groups, and traits distinguish people groups. What do you call the practices of distinguishing the traits of various groups in order to communicate something of value to them? Marketing. In fact, “persona” is a marketing term for a summary of traits that describe a “nation.” We define nations by traits, not geography. And through marketing you can spread the news to all tribes and nations in terms all tribes and nations can understand and embrace.
Marketing: Giving People a Chance to Know and Follow Jesus
There are many different types of marketing: events, movements, opportunities etc. But for those of us who are trying to build God’s kingdom, they all come down to one thing: giving people a chance to know and follow Jesus.
“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news” (Romans 10:15, ESV).
Our beautiful feet are no longer physical. We run with digital feet to non-physical marketplaces to bring the good news to those who don’t know or follow Jesus. We use keys on keyboards and wireless mice to preach the good news and fulfill Jesus’ marketing plan, the Great Commission.
The Choice is yours
Much like salvation, God will not force you to open the gift of marketing he is offering to your church. But make no mistake, that gift has been offered to you. Marketing may make you uncomfortable. You may not understand how it works or why you need to listen to the people who ask so many questions and want to do so many “crazy” things. Think of it this way: delivering a message onstage makes many people uncomfortable who aren’t called to preach. Others would rather die than stand up on a stage and belt out a song. Don’t let your discomfort with marketing rob your church of utilizing all its God-given gifts in your mission to reach the lost.
Think for a moment to the lessons learned in 2020 during the COVID pandemic. Who among your people were the first to respond when COVID hit and you couldn’t meet in person? Who was able to pivot and reclaim tools once thought evil or wicked for the Kingdom? And what tools served you best during that time of quarantine? If you’re like most of the churches that thrived and grew during that pandemic, it no doubt was marketing. And judging by the fruit of those initiatives, you can know that marketing, done right, is most definitely biblical (“By their fruit, you will know them,” Matt. 7:16).
Perhaps it is time to not just open that gift but embrace it, to put the people God has uniquely gifted your church into leadership, recognizing their place as a calling that completes your team’s ability to go out together to make disciples of all nations, telling them about Jesus.
