Emerging Spirit @ The United Church of Canada Emerging Spirit @ The United Church of Canada

This originally appeared on Faith & Leadership, an offering of Leadership Education at Duke Divinity. To go to the original article, click here.

As the Christian landscape changes, Faith & Leadership says leaders must ask and answer a new question: What's the future of denominations? This is part of an occasional series that offers the thoughts of people across Christianity on this vital issue. To see the entire series, including the video interviews, click here.

Denominations are important because they embody an ethos, provide connection and are able "to see and solve problems," said Brian D. McLaren,  an author, pastor and public speaker.

But denominations must turn from a "problem focus to a goal focus" if they are to remain relevant, especially to young people, he said.

Part of Emerging Spirit's work is to help churches communicate effectively with their communities. Emerging Spirit is not the only church-run program helping congregations market themselves, however. The United Methodist Church in the U.S. has a program of its own that it is running to help its congregations communicate and reach out to their communities.

The United Methodist program takes the form of a thorough, five-step online tutorial -  including PDF downloads, action steps, worksheets, and, yes, homework - to help you formulate a marketing plan for your church. The five steps outlined in the tutorial look at the values and vision of a church, perception and needs, strategy, implementation, and finally evaluation of the plan and how to make adjustments if it isn't working.

Commenting on the tutorial, Kevin Hendricks (a blogger for Church Marketing Sucks) said, “This is a meaty resource, ideal for any church that wants to get serious about marketing (and no, you don't have to be Methodist). The biggest downside is that it's entirely online, so you're on your own.” If you're looking for ideas, or just curious, have a look at the program for yourself by clicking here:

http://www.umcom.org/site/c.mrLZJ9PFKmG/b.5160951/k.54F3/Church_Marketing_Plan.htm

Here's a new, Olympic-themed congregational ad in the "We're Just Glad You Could Make It" series. Click here to check out all the ads and download customizable copies in a variety of formats.

Emerging Spirit congregational ads have been developed as pomotional tools for helping United Church congregations let people in their communities know more about their congregations and ministries -- and perhaps come by for a visit.

Click here for more information and suggestions on how to customize these ads for your use.