Has anyone else noticed an increase in church advertising? I’m not opposed to getting the word out, but sometimes churches take it too far. They seem to believe that there really is no such thing as bad publicity. But at what point does the medium contradict, or even demean, the message?

Although some churches are developing much more sophisticated ways to market themselves–we’re working on an article for Leadership about churches using Google Adwords–I want to take a brief look at a much older, but still potent form of advertising…the billboard.

A reader recently sent in this photo. It comes from a church near Kansas City. It’s not unlike a church billboard in my areas that says “Kids love our church. It’s FUN!”, but it takes a much darker tone. Although the word suck is becoming increasingly acceptable in polite company, I know plenty of families that prefer to not hear their five-year-old using it (mine included). So what message does it send when a church employs the word on a billboard? Maybe I’m just a stick-in-the-mud. After all, both Jesus and Paul used some fairly colorful language in their communication. Sometimes it was even downright offensive. But I have to believe their agenda was larger than just PR.

Negative advertising is also at work in a series of billboards by Satan. They mimic the stark messages from God that have been seen around the country’s highways, but these churches seem to think the Prince of Darkness is a better spokesperson for their cause.

Granger Community Church in Indiana rolled out a series of steamy billboards to promote their sex sermons back in 2006. The idea has since been picked up by countless other churches including Ed Young Jr.’s Fellowship Church in Dallas. Young was all over the national news networks a few weeks ago talking about his sex sermons. Along with challenging every married couple to…well, you know…for seven days, Young drove the message home by preaching the message while sitting on a bed on the platform. Creepy.

Finally, when crude language, sex, and Satan fail to do the job, some church appeal to dear old mom.