Who’s the Hero in Your Church’s Story?
What is your church’s story? In the July 2021 edition of the Georgia Baptist Journal, Research & Development Lead Strategist John Courtney wrote about the book “Marketing Made Simple” by Donald Miller. He shared five steps for creating a marketing funnel.
Now you have the steps, but what’s next?
You need a story to connect with your community and draw people and visitors to your church.
In Donald Miller’s book “Building a Story Brand,” he explains that every story (book or movie) follows a similar structure. That same structure can be used in any business or product, including your church, to better connect with your customers.
Those components are:
- A Character
- Has a Problem
- And Meets a Guide
- Who Gives Them a Plan
- And Calls Them to Action
- That Helps Them Avoid Failure
- And Ends in Success
Think about “Star Wars: A New Hope” or “Hunger Games,” or any other story with an exciting plot – every one of them has those seven components. Often in our own business, we confuse who is the guide and who is the hero. In Star Wars, neither Obi-Wan Kenobi (the Guide) nor the Force (the Plan) is the hero. In our business or church, we’re not the hero. Our guest or member is!
Keep in mind that people want two main things when communicating about a product. People want help to survive and thrive, and people want clarity and simplicity in the messaging. By applying the simple StoryBrand Framework to your church, you can achieve this.
1. A Character
Your guests are the heroes, not yourself, your church or your programs. Your guests and community are characters in your story, and they are searching for something that will help them “survive and thrive,” in essence making them a hero to their family and in their life.
2. Has a Problem
Organizations tend to sell products or solutions to external problems, but customers buy solutions to internal problems. What is the problem for members of your community? Most people struggle with the meaning of life – be that struggle with their marriage, raising their kids, their job, health, purpose and even if there is an eternity.
3. Who Meets a Guide
Your guests aren’t looking for a hero. They’re looking for a guide. YOUR CHURCH is their guide. Heroes in stories start out unprepared and filled with self-doubt. As their guide, you’ve “been there, done that” and have conquered their same challenges. Your church must communicate two things to be their guide – empathy and authority.
4. Who Gives Them a Plan
Guests trust a guide, but only if your church has a plan. Guides in every good story offers the character a plan. The plan is to eventually connect them with the creator of life, Jesus Christ! What’s the path to get there? The Bible! As believers, we know there is Scripture to handle every situation we can run into, and ultimately the Bible leads individuals to a personal relationship with their Savior, Jesus Christ!
5. And Calls Them to Action
Guests do not act unless they are challenged to take action, initiate a next step or click the “Buy” button. On your website, do you have a call to action? Examples of this would be “Join us,” “New here?” or “Plan a visit.” Those are only the first steps. As the relationship grows, other calls to action could be to join a discipleship class or group.
6. That Helps Them Avoid Failure
Every human being is trying to avoid a tragic ending. What is the tragic ending we are aware of? The unsaved will spend eternity separated from God and in perpetual torment.
7. And Ends in Success
Never assume people understand how your brand can change their lives; tell them. You must tell people how great life is, the rewards and the results, of accepting Jesus as their Savior, and that their sins can all be forgiven.
Conclusion
After reading “Building a Story Brand,” I recognize much of the StoryBrand model in the Bible. Look at Acts 19: 1-7. Who are the characters looking for a solution? Who is the guide who helped them reach what they were looking for? What is the plan or solution? Marketing really isn’t a bad word in our world. Strategy and tactics that help businesses communicate clearly in a noisy world can help us reach our communities and the lost!
