What the Church Could Learn from Comic Con Part 2

"I look upon the whole world as my parish." - John Wesley

I learned a lot in just a few days at Comic Con 2019.  My eyes are always open to the different opportunities to glean a little something in the realm of marketing and promotions as well as customer engagement and overall experience.  In a nutshell, Comic Con offers all of that.

Build a Buzz

Comic Con does a great job of building a buzz.  They hype up panels with the Q&A sessions and the sneak peaks.  Plus, the fans keep the buzz going with trending streams of social media content, sharing selfies and quoting the panels with inside information.

Mayans MC panel in Hall H on Sunday offered an exclusive sneak peak of the season opener.

You got to love the way that it all plays out to fit into a media campaign that keeps buzzing before, during and well after the event itself has packed up and moved on to the next city.  People enter the event with an expectation, and their expectation turns into an experience that they feel compelled to share via social media.  

Imagine if the church generated that type of buzz about its special events.  Picture how much of a difference it would make to have streaming video of more than pulpit preaching for seekers.  It could truly turn out to help us in engaging the public.  If people have an idea of what type of experience to expect when interacting with our church, then they could make an informed decision about checking out the local church.  That opens the door for the gospel to be preached or taught.

We have to build a buzz to build up expectations of the experience.

Use Events as a Means for Recruiting Others

The event itself does not need to recruit many people.  However, the exhibit hall and streets are filled with opportunities to download or sign up for this or that in order to get a discount or an opportunity for a special experience.  There are numerous ways to play it, but playing it safe is definitely not the mantra here.

"Jesus turned everyone into recruiters." - Laurie Beth Jones

As the local church, we need to see our mission as recruiters as well as ambassadors.  We want people to feel a certain level of connection that they cannot get simply streaming church worship services on the Internet.  We want to tap into the inner yearning that drives people to seek to do so much more with their lives than simply sit through church.  We need to serve as a conduit for people to give more of themselves in order to make a difference in the world around them.

We need to see that every event and service is an open opportunity to get people involved in what we are doing within the community.  If it is a golf tournament, what is the charity that benefits from having foursomes fill the golf course? If it is a food giveaway, how are we adding value to the lives of those receiving food beyond just the food itself? Yes, Jesus met the need but He also professed to be the Bread of Life that would make it to where they hungered no more.  We need to recruit people by helping them attach to more than just doing something.  We need to recruit people to make a difference where they fit in and offer their best.

Face the Feedback

Like any organized event, sometimes people drop out and do not show up.  The showrunners of "Game Of Thrones" did not make it, leaving some of the cast to defend the final season that did not go over with much fanfare.  Cast members took the negative feedback from fans in Hall H, but the truth is that we all need to face the feedback.

The truth is perfect, but the people who are followers of the truth are nothing but imperfect.  Therefore, we need the Savior.  If that's the case, the same people who run the local church are just as imperfect as the people who make decisions about episodes and camera shots to bring those story boards to life on the screen.

Facing the feedback is not easy.  It reveals our imperfections.  It stings a little bit, even a lot at times.  Yet, if we take it in, we can begin to make some necessary changes and provide some quality that matches with expectations.  Plus, it boils down to something super simple: people are able to vent and feel that they have been heard.  I learned early on in ministry that we cannot truly help them if we have not truly heard them.  Accept the feedback and act on it accordingly.

After 50 years, Comic Con appears to still be going strong.  It initially started with 300 people.  Nowadays it just takes over the entire downtown of San Diego with swarms of cosplayers and gamers as ell as geeks and super fans.  Add to that the people watchers and the onlookers as well as the freebie chasers.  That's an entire melting pot of folks.

If that is the five-day frenzy over comic books and related media, we should accomplish so much more with the truth of the gospel.  

What the Church Could Learn from Comic Con Part 1

For a few years, I have attended Comic Con San Diego. #sdcc  

2019 is no different. #sdcc2019

There are certain aspects of Comic Con that could teach the church a thing or two.  I am not saying that the church needs to change its principles.  On the contrary, I believe that the church could learn some lessons on how to engage both the public and its own flock.  With an open mind, some church leaders might be able to see beyond all of the cosplay and Dungeons & Dragons mixed in with the Avengers, anime and Stranger Things exclusive sneak peeks to discover some real marketing and engagement gems.

So, the master praised the dishonest manager for being clever. 

Yes, worldly people are more clever with their own kind than spiritual people are.

- Luke 16:8 (NCV)

Offer an Experience

Part of the lure of Comic Con is the overall experience that it offers fans of all kinds of interests.  The long lines to enter Hall H and the fan frenzy for the network and studio experiences throughout the Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego are all part of the wave of fans and freaks seeking the ultimate fan experience during Comic Con.  There is a heightened sense of anticipation buzzing in the air.  There is an atmosphere of being in the present moment as well as being on your toes for any sudden surprises.

AT&T's Game Of Thrones Experience in Chicago, another example of an engaging experience for fans.

The church can learn something here.  How much build up and hype do we create with our outreach and promotions, even our advertising and marketing? 

Create a Sense of Community

Comic Con allows folks to interact on a wide variety of levels.  It lets the fans feel like they are part of a broader community than just being loyal and dedicated X-Men or Avengers fans.  Those attending Comic Con get caught up in this groundswell of being part of a larger community.  

• They share an experience.
• They sense total acceptance, whether costumed or not.
• They openly share where the freebies and worthwhile experiences are throughout the area.
• They feel like this experience could go on forever if possible.

When was the last time someone felt all of that in church?

I have been going to church for years, and I have been preaching for a while, too.  Yes, I get the typical "That was an on-fire sermon, Rev" and "You really touched my soul with that one, brother." But I have never heard or viewed church folks filled with the type of elation and jubilation that entry into the San Diego Convention Center provides Comic Con attendees.

Where We Need to Focus and Pray

When we learn to generate that type of experience and sense of community, we might be catching up with the cleverness of the "worldly people" Jesus mentioned in Luke 16:8.  

We need to gather as spiritual leaders of local denominations and houses of worship, and then pray over how much of an experience we provide through Sunday worship services and special events.  Included in that same prayer, we need to consider how much of an inclusive experience we offer visitors, guests and seekers.  We also need to check out what type of community we have created in our local churches.

Do people feel accepted and connected?

Once we purge the type of thinking that everyone outside of the church is demonized and needs to be exorcised by a priest with a crucifix, we might be able to stomach that Comic Con presents an opportunity for outreach.  It does not mean that the people who are a captive audience in line are beaten down with Bible verses until they cannot fathom any more.  It means that we might offer hotel concierge church marketing and outreach materials just in case some attendees ask about local worship services.  We might even talk with local wait staff at downtown eateries in case someone asks about worship services or Bible study. 

In Part 2, we will dive deeper into what else the church could glean from Comic Con 2019.