Do You Care?

While I'm a Web developer by trade and a Youth Minister by volunteer I am also finding out that I like to learn about a ton of different things. I like to move my energies around to wherever they best fit (or sometimes don't fit). Right now those energies have really been driven to marketing. I've been reading a couple different blogs and just trying to get ideas on how to spread God's message around the church.

One thing I read recently was about this college student who is an Atheist. He set-up an auction on E-Bay stating that for every $10 bit he will go to church for a week. The person who puts in the bid can determine what church he attends.

Well, the highest bid was for $500 and he’s now touring churches in the Chicago area. He’s blogging about each church with a TON of detail. I tell you, if you’re a church in Chicago get him to come, you’ll find out what you are doing well and what you’re doing wrong. Though I see him as a bit bitter and see some deep issues in there, you’ll at least get an idea on how some unchurched people see your church.

If your curious his blog at Hemants Blog Entries.

What strikes me about this is the Off The Map organization that is paying him. For a measly $500 they are getting a ton of publicity, both for their own purpose and a lot of publicity about God. I still don’t really know the purpose for Off The Map, but I am impressed that they’ll make the commitment that one life brought to Christ is worth at least $500.

And now they’re out there. This guy is telling others, even other atheists that he knows, about the “experiment” and his experiences. He’s spreading the message all over the place in a way that just grabs attention.

I also just came across Jeff Clark’s (can you believe I remembered his name without looking) “Resume” linked from another site. This is a new college grad that’s looking for a marketing position. I have to tell you, he’s taken one weekend of his time to make something completely different. Every resume should be like this.

It stands out, it’s memorable, and it’s high energy and is interesting to read. I got to thinking about church, but it’s also true in life. When we go looking for volunteers to help out, why do we write one paragraph and post it in a bulletin? Why is it a small ad in the newspaper?

When we do something and really care about it, why can’t we take one weekend (or even a couple of hours) to show that we care? If I’m looking for a volunteer to help lead youth group I should sure be willing to spend 4 hours making a captivating site which explains what we need and why someone would want to do it!

Why don’t we make time and put forth the energy to really “market” what we’re looking for? I just loved reading through Jeff’s site, even though I’m on no need or hiring a marketer. But there are some incredible ideas there which I think we can learn from.

Ok, this will certainly not impact many of the people who read my blog. So, if you’ve gotten this far and you’re looking for something deep, here you go.

If you care about it, give it your time. If you think you gave it just the right amount of time, you’re wrong. Rachel could take 100% of my time and she’d still want more (and I’d still want to give her more). If you are looking for a job and you think your Resume is good, you’re wrong, give it the time to make it different. If you think dinner once a week with your spouse is good and you’re comfortable, get uncomfortable and go out to the salon or hunting, or gaming with them.

If you happen to be at our church and in need of a volunteer I can guarantee you haven’t given the search enough of your time. I know, I live there too. Right now we need to begin making purposeful “ads” for our volunteers. Let them know they are loved and appreciated.

Peace,
+Tom/Bob

posted by Tom at 12:51 PM