I am not all together opposed to flyer’s, and print media…I never have been. In fact, I have used print media to promote events, concerts, and various other types of gatherings, and even and I write this, I imagine I will again at some juncture(I am after all planting a Church). But I have a problem, and the problem is the senseless ways in which Christians go about distributing their print media. There is an insensitivity that pains me, and pisses off my neighbors.
Story…last night we had a few people over for dinner that live in my building. After dinner one of them initiated a conversation in which they began to share with me how much they hated coming home every Saturday to find invite cards and flyer’s not only in their mail boxes, but also jammed in their doors. They went on about this for a while,and one of my neighbors, who is an incredible artist, is even making a piece of art depicting her disdain for the churches who flood our building with these things. Keep in mind these folks know I am “the Pastor guy who is not that weird”( that’s a direct quote from another neighbor).
Then the most shocking and ridiculous of all methods of print media distributing was introduced. My neighbor told me that once a group of Christians took folded up flyer’s and put them inside the door of the gas cap cover of a parking lot full of cars, her friend and another neighbors car being one of them. He was furious, and could not believe the violation…and that’s the point, it is a violation, if you don’t at least know, or exist among the people being assaulted with your stuff.
The latest numbers I saw were that flyer’s, invite cards, etc, yielded a 1% return to attract first time visitors. 1%! So is it really worth making people who are already hostile toward Christianity more hostile? That is the rub. The people who blanket my building don’t know my community, they don’t know the people that live there. They can’t know, because if they did, then the flyer’s would cease. Grant Park is one of the most hostile environments towards Jesus(the biblical Jesus) that I have ever lived in, and my building is probably the most hostile in the neighborhood. They do not want to be wooed into the kingdom with pithy one liners, and fancy graphics, telling them how to establish life goals. I spend 10-15 min. picking these things up off the floor every time they come through, my neighbors don’t even bother to put them in the trash. That should be a LOUD and CLEAR message. I live in a community to atheist, agnostics, skeptics, doubters, and seekers…very few biblical Christians(some spiritualists who think they are), but you can only know that if you know them.
Lest you believe it to be, this is no personal affront to me. I could care less if 100,000,000 flyer’s an invite cards came through there a week, but it becomes my problem when my neighbors tell me, the pastor guy, to call off the dogs. It becomes my problem when they lump me in with the “you people” callousness that they class all other Christians in.
All I’m saying is this. The gospel will offend, trust me, it offended me for years. If the gospel is already an offense, why would we, as God’s ambassadors, go out of our way to be an offense…before the gospel even has a chance to. If you you don’t know the people of a community, or know someone who does know those people, maybe you should reconsider your “print campaign” for your “new series” until you do. Incarnation is always an option, then the gospel can offend, and not a 5×7 semi-gloss laminated card.
Perhaps getting somebody to fine the church responsible for distributing when the flyers turn out to be litter would make them consider more carefully where the flyers are placed?
Leonce,
Would you happen to remember where you found that 1% success rate number? The church I’m currently at is planning to do a 30k piece mailing in a town that is very, very hostile to the Gospel. Seems like the funds and effort could be directed much more directly in a way that we could connect with people first before bombarding them.
Chris
Chris,
There are several marketing resources online where you can find those numbers. I first heard them in a marketing class in college, and it has remained 1-2%.
Also, Stetzer talks about it in “Planting Missional Churches”, but says that all is not lost in regards to using them, if you know your community, and find that they will be effective there.
He said in Alpharetta, GA for instance they worked well,suburbs, but in other environment’s he has seen a .5% response rate.
If you know and love those people, and feel like it will be helpful, go for it. With 30k going out, you are still looking at 300 possible visitors, even with a 1% return rate.
At the heart of my rant is the fact that these particular churches are miles from where they are mailing, and have not taken the time to know this environment…if they had, they would have sent people instead of mailers to engage my community.
Apparently, I commented in the wrong place. The following comment was supposed to go with this post. lol
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I cannot stand get stuff on my door or car. We have a local Chinese restaurant that constantly puts stuff on our doors.
The worst issue we’ve had was going to our car after service one Sunday morning. There was some KJV only flyer on all the windshields. I saw what it was and thought WHAT? I mean…c’mon!