PR for Christ?

 “You’re Public Relations Director? I thought you said you’re a missionary?”

Everyone has their own image of what PR is and rarely do they think of ministry in conjunction.  It was much easier to raise support as a missionary when my title was Youth Ministry Director. =)

Yet I love the relations part of my title.  I love to create relationships and community by breaking down fears and anger with awareness and collaboration.

Yes, getting the word out about our ministry & what we’re doing by website, newspaper, radio or whatever is part of what I do.  Yet, the real fun is in creating relationships that match God’s model & not the world’s.

Ministering to poverty and the marginalized looks very different in America than any where else in the world.  

The world is about the biggest bang for the buck.  Funding is about numbers and in dealing with this, I’m afraid a lot of churches and organizations are so protective of their “numbers of people served (saved)” that they are fearful or reluctant to partner with other groups or services.

This is very human but not very  biblical.  

The father of lies doesn’t want us to remember the loaves and fish, etc.

I show up at city meetings every month because the city & county programs are desperate to meet faith-based groups.  Now is the time God gave to connect.

I meet with anyone that serves our same community to generate partnerships that reach beyond numbers to real community development through relationships.

I use Twitter to promote other ministries even more than my own, to serve them.

I seek to understand the fears and share biblical solutions.  I teach by being willing to lose numbers, that people may find new life, new churches, new family resources, new avenues to self-sufficiency.

I desire to have a public faith and be relational for Christ. That's PR to me.  =)