Marketing Strategy of Jesus

In a day when so much focus is placed on how we market our local church, how should we best do that?  Mailers, radio, TV, door hangers, billboards, etc.  have become the norm for getting the word out.  They work to reach a some and are effective for name recognition, but can also be expensive and not the best use of funds.  There is a strategy that Jesus has for the church and it does not require money, but authenticity and an incarnational life.  

In John 13:34-35 Jesus says these words, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another".  

Jesus issues a command, not something that is optional in regard to our relationship with one another.  First we need to see how he loved: 1.  Life investment in them  2.  Loved them in spite of their issues 3. Ultimately he laid his life down in death. --- That is how we should love one another.

If we love and live like him, "all people will know that you are my disciples".  It will be clear to our communities that we belong to Christ when we love one another like he loved.  On the flip side:

When we don't love like he did, people will be confused about who we are and who God is.

This is where we are today - the culture don't get who we are and it is not because we don't have nice buildings, programs, or marketing strategies, but because we have not loved one another the way we have been commanded.

The clearest evidence we are his has nothing to do with buildings, denominations, location, music style, age or race makeup, economics.  This is where much of our focus goes and it is not the answer to effectively making it clear who we are as believers and who  God is.

The local church should be the most loving place in town, not the local bar or other secular organizations.  

The greatest challenge for the local church right now is to become the most loving place in town. 

Are we up to this?