M4 Marketing · Lesson 1 of 4

Lesson 1 — Marketing as Mission Communication

Reframe marketing as truthful, service-oriented communication rather than promotion, and produce a Message Framework free of insider language.

Not started

M3 Lesson 4 Back to M4 Marketing M4 Lesson 2

Nine M curriculum version 1.0 · Nine M methodology, content, exercises and deliverables by Pastor Lee Jenkins.

Where this lesson sits

Curriculum version 1.0 · Pastor Lee Review

Module purpose: Align the church's public identity, message, digital presence, communications, and community awareness with its mission.

Official outcome: Church Marketing and Communications Plan

This lesson produces: Message Framework document with accompanying insider-language audit

Anything you type is kept in this browser session only. This prototype does not save to a server.

Learn

Participant study reading — approximately 60 minutes of learning and shared work.

Learning objective: Reframe marketing as truthful, service-oriented communication rather than promotion, and produce a Message Framework free of insider language.

Recommended participants: Senior leadership, communications volunteer or staff lead, one or two recent first-time guests if available

Estimated teaching time: 60 minutes

Success indicators

• Leadership can state the church's core message in one sentence a newcomer would understand
• Existing public copy has been audited and insider phrases have been flagged with plain-language alternatives
• A written Message Framework exists with a core message and supporting messages for at least three audiences
• Staff and volunteers agree the framework reflects the church's actual mission, not aspirational branding

Materials and evidence you will use

• Current website homepage copy
• A recent Sunday bulletin or program
• Three recent social media captions
• Any existing mission or vision statement
• At least six flagged phrases with plain-language alternatives
• A tested core message and three audience-specific supporting messages

What you should be able to produce

• Leadership can state the church's core message in one sentence a newcomer would understand
• Existing public copy has been audited and insider phrases have been flagged with plain-language alternatives
• A written Message Framework exists with a core message and supporting messages for at least three audiences
• Staff and volunteers agree the framework reflects the church's actual mission, not aspirational branding

Foundational ministry principle

1 Corinthians 9:19-23

19 For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. 20 And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; 21 To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. 22 To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. 23 And this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you.

King James Version (KJV) · Public domain

Paul describes becoming 'all things to all people' in how he communicated the gospel, adapting his language to his listener without changing the message itself.

As a draft connection for review, this passage frames marketing not as compromise but as adaptive, listener-aware communication: the church's core truth stays fixed while the language used to carry it is deliberately shaped for the person receiving it.

Understand the concept

Your work in this lesson focuses on this outcome: Reframe marketing as truthful, service-oriented communication rather than promotion, and produce a Message Framework free of insider language.

Clarity is an act of hospitality: a church that speaks plainly is a church that has already begun welcoming the stranger.

Why it matters for your church

Ministries may need to rename programs that currently communicate nothing to outsiders.

Sermon series titles and bulletin copy may require a plain-language review step before publishing.

Staff and volunteers need a shared reference so they describe the church consistently in casual conversation, not just in official materials.

Examine the evidence

Use Current website homepage copy, A recent Sunday bulletin or program, Three recent social media captions, and Any existing mission or vision statement to compare your church's present practice with its stated intentions. Look for documented patterns, missing information, and differences between what people assume and what the evidence supports.

Your completed work should be supported by At least six flagged phrases with plain-language alternatives, and A tested core message and three audience-specific supporting messages. Record uncertainty honestly so your team knows what still needs to be verified.

Prepare for the shared exercise

Produce a plain-language Message Framework and identify specific insider phrases in current public copy that need revision. The Message Framework and Insider-Language Audit produces the Message Framework document with accompanying insider-language audit, which contributes to the module's principal deliverable.

Before working with your team, consider this reflection: Where in our current communication have we prioritized sounding polished over being understood?

Key terms

Message Framework: A one-page document stating the church's core message in plain language plus supporting messages tailored to specific audiences.
Insider language: Phrases, ministry names or theological shorthand that only make sense to people already familiar with the church or with Christian culture.
Core message: The single sentence that most accurately and honestly describes what the church is and what it offers, stated so a newcomer understands it immediately.

What this means for a church

• Ministries may need to rename programs that currently communicate nothing to outsiders
• Sermon series titles and bulletin copy may require a plain-language review step before publishing
• Staff and volunteers need a shared reference so they describe the church consistently in casual conversation, not just in official materials

Common failure patterns

• Writing a Message Framework once and never checking new content against it
• Letting the most theologically fluent person on staff write all public copy without a plain-language check
• Confusing a clever tagline for genuine clarity about what the church actually offers

Ministry case

The Bulletin No One Outside Could Read

A mid-sized church prided itself on a beautifully designed weekly bulletin. When leadership finally asked a first-time guest to read it aloud and explain each line, the guest could not explain what three of the five ministry names meant, and assumed one ongoing Bible study was actually a closed group for existing members only.

The church had not changed its programs; it had only ever written about them for people already inside the building. After building a Message Framework and rewriting the bulletin in plain language, attendance at the previously misunderstood Bible study more than doubled within two months, driven entirely by people who had simply never understood it was open to them.

Lesson takeaway

Clarity is an act of hospitality: a church that speaks plainly is a church that has already begun welcoming the stranger.

Discuss

Guided discussion for the leadership table.

Now that we've named the gap between what we intend to say and what a newcomer actually hears, let's put that observation to work by auditing our own materials and drafting the framework that will guide everything else in this module.

What is one phrase we use regularly that a newcomer would not understand?
Whose voice is missing when we write our public communications?
If a visitor read only our website, what would they assume about us that isn't true?
What would it cost us, relationally or spiritually, to simplify our language?

Discussion notes

Practice

Applied exercise — produces the Message Framework document with accompanying insider-language audit.

Message Framework and Insider-Language Audit

Produce a plain-language Message Framework and identify specific insider phrases in current public copy that need revision.

Estimated time: 30 minutes

Participants: Full leadership team plus communications lead

Artifact produced: Message Framework document with accompanying insider-language audit

Required inputs

• Current website homepage copy
• A recent bulletin or program
• Three recent social media captions

Instructions

Read each source material aloud and mark any phrase a first-time guest might not understand
For each flagged phrase, write why it is unclear and a plain-language alternative
Draft one core message sentence describing the church in specific, honest terms
Write a supporting message for first-time guests, one for returning attenders, and one for the surrounding community
Test the core message by reading it to someone unfamiliar with the church, if available, and note their reaction
Finalize the Message Framework document and assign an owner to check future public copy against it

Complete it online

Message Framework and Insider-Language Audit Worksheet

Church name: ______________________
Date of audit: ______________________
Reviewed by: ______________________

Source material	Flagged phrase	Why it is unclear	Plain-language alternative	Audience it affects

Your response — Message Framework document with accompanying insider-language audit

Worked example

A fully completed sample using a fictional church. This is illustrative teaching material, not any church's actual data.

Northgate Community Church (illustrative example — not actual church data)

Northgate's leadership team reviewed their homepage, a recent bulletin and three social posts, then drafted a Message Framework in a single working session.

Source material	Flagged phrase	Why it is unclear	Plain-language alternative	Audience it affects
Homepage	"Join us for Connect Groups"	No indication of what a Connect Group is or does	"Join a small weekly group where you'll get to know a few people by name"	First-time guests
Bulletin	"Sign up for the Deacon Fund"	Assumes knowledge of church office and its purpose	"Request confidential help with a bill or urgent need"	Community members
Social post	"Consecration Sunday is back!"	Term is unfamiliar outside long-time church culture	"This Sunday we're dedicating the year ahead to God together"	Returning attenders and guests
Bulletin	"Nursery workers needed for the 9am hour"	Fine as-is, but buried without a clear next step	"Serve babies and toddlers one Sunday a month — text Maria to start"	Members

How this leadership team reasoned

• The team noticed every flagged phrase assumed prior church experience, even in materials meant to invite new people
• They chose plain-language replacements that described the actual experience rather than the internal program name
• They tested the core message on a neighbor who had never attended and revised it once for length

Decisions recorded

• Adopted the core message: 'Northgate is a church where you can ask real questions, be known by name, and find practical help when life is hard'
• Assigned the communications volunteer to check all new bulletin and social copy against the Message Framework before publishing
• Agreed to rename 'Connect Groups' to 'Weekly Groups' in all public materials going forward

Completed artifact extract — Message Framework document with accompanying insider-language audit

Message Framework — Northgate Community Church Core message: Northgate is a church where you can ask real questions, be known by name, and find practical help when life is hard. For first-time guests: You can come as you are; nothing is required of you on your first visit. For returning attenders: There is a next step for you this month in a weekly group. For the surrounding community: If you need help with a bill, food or a hard week, you can ask us directly, no strings attached.

Illustrative exercise score: 18 of 20. The audit named specific phrases with concrete plain-language alternatives, the core message was tested against a real outsider, and ownership for future review was assigned, though the community-facing message could be even more specific about how to make contact.

Score

Transparent 20-point exercise rubric: four criteria rated 0 to 5 with observable anchors.

Criterion	0 — not evident	3 — acceptable	5 — exemplary	Sample
Completeness (0–5)	No audit rows completed and no Message Framework drafted	Audit covers only one source material and the framework has a core message but no audience-specific messages	Audit covers all three source materials with multiple flagged phrases and a complete framework with all audience messages	5
Use of evidence (0–5)	Flagged phrases are vague opinions with no reference to actual church materials	Flagged phrases are drawn from real materials but explanations of why they are unclear are generic	Flagged phrases are drawn from real materials with specific reasoning tied to a first-time guest's likely confusion, and the core message was tested on an actual outsider	5
Alignment to the module purpose (0–5)	The framework reads as a slogan or tagline disconnected from actual church practice	The framework is plain language but does not clearly connect to what the church actually offers	The framework accurately and specifically reflects what the church offers and centers truthful, service-oriented communication	4
Actionability and ownership (0–5)	No one is assigned to apply the framework going forward	An owner is named but no process for checking future copy is described	An owner is named with a clear process for checking all future public copy against the framework	4
Worked sample total				18 / 20

Completeness: Northgate audited all three sources and completed every section of the framework.
Use of evidence: Each row cites a real phrase with specific reasoning, and the core message was tested on a real neighbor.
Alignment to the module purpose: The framework is specific and honest, though the community-facing supporting message could name the request process more concretely.
Actionability and ownership: An owner was assigned with a review responsibility, though the review process itself was not fully documented in writing.

Lesson-exercise scores (20 points each) demonstrate learning and artifact quality. They do not automatically overwrite the official Nine M module assessment, which remains a separate 100-point rating of five module dimensions.

Submit evidence

What must be submitted for this lesson to count as complete.

Submit

• Completed insider-language audit worksheet
• Finalized Message Framework document

Attach this evidence

At least six flagged phrases with plain-language alternatives
A tested core message and three audience-specific supporting messages

File upload is not implemented in this prototype. Ticking a box records that the church can produce the document; it does not store a file.

Contribute to official outcome

How this lesson builds the Church Marketing and Communications Plan.

Artifact produced: Message Framework document with accompanying insider-language audit

Forms the message-clarity foundation section of the Church Marketing and Communications Plan.

Open the module deliverable assembly

Participant reflection and notes

Where in our current communication have we prioritized sounding polished over being understood?

M3 Lesson 4 Back to M4 Marketing M4 Lesson 2