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What’s in it for me?

This blog is a reprint of a story I wrote for our church newsletter. I thought it might be a nice quiz for everyone.

Any good business leader knows that marketing is essential to success. Customers must know that a product is going to meet a need or desire in their life. One of the ways companies attempt to convince people that their product is essential is through slogans. Let’s take a look at some slogans and see if you can guess the product. The answers are at the end of this article.

1921 – A car for every purse and purpose
1969 – It's the real thing
1971 – You deserve a break today
1984 – Where’s the beef
1988 – It’s everywhere you want to be
2001 – 1,000 songs in your pocket
2009 – Trust me – I’m a doctor

We all want to know what’s in it for us. We are driven by our consumer mindset, and we can be easily offended when our church does not meet our felt needs. So, why do we want you to be part of this church family? I hope you aren’t looking for a slick marketing approach because we aren’t hiding our strategy.

First, we want to reach people. Our explicit purpose is to identify people who are seeking God, and help them find Him.

Second, we want people to grow in their knowledge of God. We want to help each other sort out our confusing lives with solid biblical teaching and contemporary application.

Third, we want people to grow in their service with God. As we learn more about our incredible God, we grow in our desire to serve Him. We want to help everyone find their place and purpose in the church family and in our community.

Lastly, we want to send people out. We are a Kingdom minded church. We want everyone to know the amazing love of God. And, we are willing to go wherever our God sends us.

Reach. Teach. Serve. Send.

I know it’s not a very catchy slogan. Perhaps some of our creative minds in our church can craft a catchy slogan for us. I’ve heard that some of our kids are great at making songs that go with the free credit report song. Here is your chance to be a star. In the meantime, we are going to focus on being clear about our purposes and intentional about ministry.

1921 – GM
1969 – Coca-Cola
1971 – McDonald’s
1984 – Wendy’s
1988 – Visa
2001 – Apple Ipod
2009 – Dr. Pepper

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