Journal: Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal
Volume: DBSJ 01:2 (Fall 1996)
Article: Market-Driven Ministry: Blessing Or Curse? Part Two
Author: David M. Doran

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DBSJ 1 (Spring 1996) p. 187

Market-Driven Ministry: Blessing Or Curse?
Part Two

David M. Doran*

* Dr. Doran is Chancellor and Associate Professor of Practical Theology at Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary, and Pastor of the Inter-City Baptist Church in Allen Park, MI.

The intent of the initial article in this two-part series1 was to acquaint the reader with the philosophy and practices of the marketing movement and to evaluate the practical and biblical arguments it makes in order to justify its existence. The purpose of this article is to expose the errors of the foundational premises of the movement and the pragmatic methodology which flows out of them. Whatever benefits may have resulted from the marketing philosophy, its detriments far outweigh them. The central philosophical tenet, making the church and/or gospel attractive to the lost (euphemistically labeled “seekers” or “unchurched”), combined with a highly pragmatic, utilitarian approach to ministry, yields tragic results.

The Foundational Premises Of Ministry Marketing Are Man-Centered

Marketing has been defined within the business community as “a management orientation that holds that the key to achieving organizational goals consists of the organization’s determining the needs and wants of target markets and adapting itself to delivering the desired satisfactions more effectively and efficiently than its competitors.”2 Those who advocate utilizing marketing principles for ministry purposes have suggested the following definitions:

DBSJ 1 (Spring 1996) p. 188

Marketing is the performance of business activities that direct the flow of goods and services from the producer to the consumer, to satisfy the needs and desires of the consumer and the goals and objectives of the producer.3

For now, think of marketing as the activities that allow you, as a church, to identify and understand people’s needs, identify your resources and capabilities, and to engage in a course of action that will enable you to use your resources and capabilities to satisfy the needs of the people to whom you wish to minister. Marketing is the process by which you seek to apply your product to the desires of the target population.4

Marketing is the analysis, planning, staffing, implementation and control of programs composed of various controllable activities to bring about exchanges with target markets in order to satisfy these target markets and accomplish the objectives of the ministry.

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