Marketing and Survey Techniques in the Church
by Stewart Pickle Vol. XVI, No. 5, May/June 2003
SBCV Northern Virginia Center for Church Planting
A number of respected Christian leaders are concerned about the existence of churches who are seeker-driven. A seeker-driven church is one which wants a person who has no understanding of the Bible or the Gospel to feel comfortable in both small group and worship events. I recall some eight years ago hearing a pastor comment with great satisfaction, “We have Jewish people who have been attending for two years, and they do not know we are a Christian church.” There are churches who use marketing surveys to determine their messages and priorities. They are more interested in “spin” than in sin and salvation. See for instance the article Devastating Effects of a Postmodern Church by Rev. William F. Harrell (The Baptist Banner, Vol. XVI, No. 3, March 2003, p. 13). See also John McArthur, Ashamed of the Gospel.
What is the evangelistic, conservative church to do in regard to marketing and survey techniques? Is there a legitimate use?
Thom Rainer reports that
51% of the builders [generation] (born before 1946) attend church
41% of boomers (1946-1964) attend church
34% of Busters (1965-1976) attend church
29% of Bridgers (1977-1994) attend church
[Thom Rainer: Surprising Insights from the Unchurched, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001, p. 34]
At the same time he shows that all for the age groups, religious faith (or spirituality) are very important. Around 80% said that was true of them. At the same time he observed that only 4% of churches in America are effective evangelistic churches.
All of this information was obtained by survey techniques. Correctly designed surveys can tell a church what is happening inside the church, in the community to be reached with the Gospel, and why the church is not reaching the lost. An internal survey in a church which claimed to be evangelical revealed that the reason the last three pastors had extremely difficult ministries was that the leadership was unsaved. The interim pastor concentrated on evangelizing these people. As a result the church now is reaching their community for Christ.
There are several reasons survey techniques are needed.
〈 Evangelical Christians have been recognized as a completely distinct culture from the rest of the population for over 30 years
↨ We are to take the initiative (“Go ye…”)
↨ Every believer is a cross-cultural missionary
↨ Believers must learn how “unchurched Harry and Mary” think
↨ Surveys can speed up this process by identifying beliefs and felt needs
↨ Churches examine the beliefs to identify the empty places Christ would fill in their lives
↨ Churches determine to what “felt needs” they can legitimately minister
↨ Churches can use their vocabulary to express the unchanging Truth
↨ Churches can design their media to connect to them at the point of felt needs
These are a few of the legitimate uses of survey techniques. All that is done by organizations such as Turner Research, Barna, and Gallup could be done by church members, but would require training and guidance. Churches which are effective in evangelizing the lost in their community may not benefit much by such surveys. Unfortunately, that is true for only 4% of churches. Even those who are reaching a segment of the community may find through such a survey that worship in a different language or using a different worship style (African-American, for instance) may allow them to evangelize a completely different segment. Calling VBS a day camp for giving children “value training” may attract unsaved families who feel unqualified to teach their children values and concerned because they do not like the values the children are being exposed to at school and on TV.
The whole purpose is to get the church which obeys the Great Commission connected to their Jerusalem. Survey techniques can be used to equip your church to reach the lost world where our Lord Jesus Christ has strategically placed you. Don Turner of Turner Research, Inc., has done such studies for SBCV to assist us in understanding communities we are to reach. He is an ordained Southern Baptist Pastor who is under contract with the Florida Baptist Convention but is available to do such studies for other churches.
See for instance (1) Dan Story, Engaging the Closed Minded, Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1999; (2) Lee Strobel, Inside the Mind of Unchurched Harry & Mary, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1993; (3) George Hunter, III, How to Reach Secular People, Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1992.