In Donald Miller’s book, Searching for God Knows What, he talks about the lifeboat dilemma. You know the story… a ship is sinking and there are too many people for the lifeboat to carry. A decision has to be made about who gets to stay in the lifeboat, and who has to go overboard. Essentially, people are both deciding who is most important and at the same time vying for their own position in the boat. Miller points out that the whole story changes when you include Jesus in the lifeboat (and not just because he walked on water). To Jesus the status of the people in the lifeboat is not significant. In His eyes we are all the same, each with different gifts and talents, each with our own weaknesses and frailties. To Jesus sending the murderer overboard is just as tragic as sending the Nobel Peace Prize winner.

When churches spend time and money on marketing and communications, they often put themselves in the lifeboat. Different ministry areas in the church push their agenda, trying to prove why they are most important to the congregation. They vie for their position on the lifeboat and in the process often push less vocal ministries overboard. Sometimes the church as a whole uses their marketing to prove to their congregation, local community and larger church body why they are important and need to be noticed. In the process, they forget about Jesus being in the boat with them and misrepresent who they really are.

When it comes to marketing and communications, first and foremost, churches need to understand who they are as a congregation – not who they want to be, or who they want the world to think they are. They need to remember that in Jesus’ eyes, every congregation is important and each has their own special place and gifts to offer. At times, this can be difficult for smaller and mid-size congregations when a mega-church down the road seems to be attracting people and growing larger every day. It is especially crucial in these situations that the churches know who they really are and realistically represent that in their marketing. By misrepresenting themselves, they may initially attract more people to the congregation, but in the end, they are really hurting themselves, as those people will most likely eventually move on. For example, a church shouldn’t say they have a large, active youth group (hoping that will attract families who will make that statement a reality) and ignore the group who visits the homebound (where their strength really is). They may make themselves look good on the outside, but it won’t take long for people to see the truth, and in reality, they also won’t attract the people with the right gifts to make their congregation grow stronger. If a church wants to grow in a new direction, they can include that in their materials as a vision for the future, but must not confuse that with who they are in the present.

No matter where your strengths are as a congregation, good marketing materials can capitalize on that. Churches need to remember that Jesus doesn’t care about their position in the lifeboat. As a church they should embrace who they really are, who Jesus called them to be, and represent that with confidence in knowing that their position in the lifeboat (community, national church, etc.) is just as important as everyone else’s.

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