Let Your Light ShineSample

Jesus didn’t hide away or limit His exposure in ministry. Rather, He followed the primary principles used in effective growth strategies. He used principles such as visuals (the coin from the fish’s mouth, etc.) and stories (innumerable parables). He met needs and invested in His followers so much so that they literally became "message evangelists" themselves. Jesus adhered to integrity, approachability, and authenticity. He demonstrated and modeled real service. 

Take for example when Jesus went away to be by Himself because He was weary from constant interaction and the threat of the Pharisees (Matthew 14:13). But the crowds followed Him (His audience/His tribe). And He felt compassion on them because He knew they would be hungry. So He put those He served ahead of Himself and He took the time to feed them, despite a lack of funds to do so or a board of directors who would approve of His methods. 

Jesus also practiced the principle found in the “Thank-You Economy.” He practiced gratitude regularly. It proved to be profitable. Particularly when He fed those 5,000 (and their friends, family, and neighbors). 

Also consider the woman at the well. Jesus used the art of identifying common ground, attracting a new relationship, cultivating that relationship, meeting a need, and more. As a result, the woman "marketed" Jesus’s message as a "message evangelist" herself and "member of His tribe" and an entire town of unbelievers was reached. 

Far too many nonprofits and churches self-restrict what they are able to do in the area of ministry simply because they do not (or will not) recognize the value marketing holds in identifying common ground between a brand and an audience, in attracting relationships, in cultivating relationships, in meeting needs, and then in replicating that process with someone else. 

Marketing is not the twelfth advertisement for a brand of chips you see while watching a show. That’s advertising. Marketing is not the person at your door with a folder full of magazines you can choose to buy. That’s sales. Marketing is not the envelope in your mailbox threatening that if you don’t give today, a child somewhere somehow will die tomorrow. That’s manipulation. 

Rather:

Marketing is ministering.  

Marketing is messaging. 

Marketing is developing community. 

Marketing is empowering believers.

Marketing is letting your light shine so that others may see, glorify God and want to join in to glorify Him themselves too! 

Marketing is serving, and serving well—with the hope that because you did, you’ll have the opportunity and resources to serve even more tomorrow. 

When you view marketing as your tool for not only investing in your supporters, church goers, readers, and partners but also for expanding your ability to invest in more lives, you will have come to view marketing as one of the most spiritual things you could ever do. 

Can reading something about marketing be considered a devotional? Only when marketing is seen for what it truly is: Obedience to Christ's call to let your light shine publicly. Obeying Christ is what our spiritual life is all about. When we don't know all the areas and ways we are to obey Him, we fail not because of rebellion but for "lack of knowledge," (Hosea 4:6). 

Without a vision, people perish (Proverbs 29:18).. Ministries dwindle. Impact lessons. The glory God is due does not fully manifest. Will you join in with the chorus of those who are embracing growth as a spiritual mindset? Pray that God will give you His wisdom on your ministry and how to make it grow.