The Advertising Focus Group and Preaching
The Advertising Focus Group and Preaching
If you are just joining us, we have been considering what we can learn from the world of advertising that may help to make our preaching more effective. The first post in the series is here. In this post we are going to consider the advertising focus group and preaching impact.
The Focus Group Ladder
The image below shows how the leader of a focus group seeks to find out what makes a produce more likely to be successful in the marketplace.
An effective ad makes a connection not just on the bottom part of the ladder, but on the higher. So, in order to make impactful ads, companies conduct focus groups about the products they are seeking to sell. In those groups they ask a series of questions that will allow insight on how consumers view the product. The first question is simple: “Why is (this or that) of the product good or bad?” The next question or series of questions move up the ladder. An appropriate question might be: “Why is this (or that) benefit important to you?” The next question will move up the ladder, focusing on rewards–what does this product do for you? And then finally, “How does this product make you feel?”
A Congregational Focus Group and Preaching
So how do the advertising group and preaching connect? Good question. You aren’t likely going to create such a group for each sermon that you preach. But there are ways to get this kind of information. Consider the following possibilities:
The Sermon Evaluation Focus Group
Consider having a sermon evaluation group that gathers occasionally to get honest feedback to your sermons. This is challenging, to say the least. I found that when I did this, it was better if I wasn’t there. When I was in the room people were concerned about hurting my feelings, and as a result, didn’t give honest responses. So, I equipped one of the elders in the church to lead this discussion, using the different kinds of questions mentioned above. It was helpful. One trick is to truly get a cross-section of the congregation.
The Sermon Evaluation Form
- I’ve also used the sermon evaluation form with good results. Create a form that is randomly handed out to 10 people on Sunday. It’s anonymous, so the writer can be honest, and you can get a variety of ages and life experience included. The various kinds of questions can be included.
The “Church Father” Input
- Another way of getting this kind of feedback is to connect with one or more of the “church fathers”. A church father is someone who holds the respect of the people in the congregation. Such people usually have their ear to the ground, and if you assure them that you are interested in keeping your preaching fresh and impactful, such people, I have found, can be pretty honest.
The Representative Approach
- A third way of accomplishing this would be the way suggested in the book, Preaching and the Thirty-Second Commercial. Let me quote from the book here:
One pastor goes into the worship space every week in the middle of sermon preparation. At this point he has done exegesis on his biblical text, shaped a draft of his central message, and started thinking about imagery he will use to fill out the sermon. He wanders around the nave and sits in different pews where specific parishioners sit. Then he asks himself, “What word from God does Bonnie need to hear this week? and “How will Michael hear the message I am intending? He carried his ponderings about various parishioners back to the study with him as he sharpens his message, determines the flow of the sermon, and picks imagery to touch the lives of those hearers.” - They suggest identifying six to nine parishioners who represent the various segments of the congregation, and use them to hone the message.
Conclusion
I know. this sounds overwhelming in your busy schedule. Yet know that if you understand the principles that connect the advertising focus group and preaching and implement them, you’re preaching will grow in impact.
