Back in July, The Wall Street Journal published an article about the selling power of friendship☩. The article outlines how Facebook is planning to take advantage of the selling power of friendships to boost their ad revenue. In it Facebook’s chief operating officer is says, “Marketers have always known that the best way to sell something is to get your friends to sell it.”
The church does not have a product to sell, but we do have good news to share – the gospel. And like the marketers selling a product, the church has always known that the best way to share the gospel is through relationships.
While some people come into contact with the church through our web site, signs, or various events, most come because of us. They come because they have been invited. This invitation is not usually a one-time invitation tossed randomly into a conversation. As one word of mouth expert puts it, “Word of mouth takes on a whole different meaning when a person goes out of their way to share their appreciation for a brand by talking about it over happy hour drinks with co-workers, during a dinner get-together with neighbors, and on the phone with a good friend. That’s the true selling power of friendship!”☨
Am I the only one who finds it easier to talk with friends about the mess in my garage than saying anything about the church, God, or faith? I can recommend restaurants for them to eat at, stores for them to shop at, and things they should buy to make their lives better. But I struggle to do more than hint at the one thing that I believe really makes any difference in life – God and his people, the church.
And yet, it is precisely at these times: dinner with friends, talking on the phone, and while watching the game that we have our greatest opportunity to truly engage them. It is here that they have the opportunity to not just hear about God, but to see him in our lives.
An invitation to church is not some isolated statement you need to make to move on and enjoy a friend. Rather it is the heartfelt endorsement of the one who gives you life. It is the spoken culmination of the way you live your life. It is us being willing to tie our reputation and our identity to the God of the universe and his Son, Jesus Christ.
And even more than that, it is God using us to call others to himself. We are not responsible for making people come to church. The Spirit does that. We are called to be faithful. We are called to invite and to create a place where people can be confronted by Jesus Christ.
This is part of what we seek to do as a church – create a place where people can be confronted by Christ not us. For some this is the worship service. For others this will be in home group or one of the Bible studies. Still others may come initially through video games or bowling. Are there other ways that we, the church, can help remove the barriers keeping you from making use of the true selling power of friendship? If you have ideas for the church, let Per know.
☩ “Facebook touts selling power of Friendship”, Emily Steele and Geoffrey Fowler, The Wall Street Journal, July 7, 2010.
☨ posted on the All Things WOM blog, http://allthings.womma.org/2010/07/09/the-selling-power-of-friendship/