lifechurch2014

Trends: Starbucks Churches

IDEAS

I never was a coffee drinker until about two years ago. They built a Starbucks near me so I dropped in one day to see what the fuss was all about. I decided to try an iced caramel macchiato.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’m now obsessed with iced caramel macchiatos and iced coffee in general. What’s amazing is how every Starbucks iced caramel macchiato tastes exactly the same wherever I am, whether I’m in Greenville, Nashville or LA.

Plus, Starbucks are everywhere, so it’s easy to get my delicious fix whenever I need it.

Lifechurch is following the same formula: ubiquitous quality.

I was recently recording in Oklahoma City and had some time to visit one of the Lifechurch franchises. You can also visit this site right here to know more about franchise opportunities . I’ve been to several and they’re all nearly identical: pitch-perfect band and vocalists, clean and modern facilities and a beamed-in, real-time message by the talented Craig Groeschel.

Interesting to note that Groeschel, pastor of one of the largest churches in the country (some lists say the #1 largest), has a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and a Master’s degree of Divinity. I don’t think it’d hurt for seminaries to require their students to take a marketing class. Here are some of my favorite marketing books.

Lifechurch campuses seem to be everywhere in Oklahoma City. I can’t get a straight answer on exactly how many they have (I even asked some Lifechurch employees and they weren’t sure. Their website lists 8 in OKC alone.)

As one person explained, Lifechurch worked to have campuses in the 4 corners of OKC and are now filling in the gaps. Here’s the key: it’s really easy to attend a service – there’s probably one close to you, they have great coffee, great music, great childcare and great preaching.

The satellite campuses I’ve visited aren’t really that huge (perhaps seating only a few hundred people at a time) but they all have multiple services for maximum attendance convenience. The campus I visited, one of the newer ones, already had 6 services!

Bottom Line: Like Starbucks, Lifechurch has perfected their “product,” knows what works and is growing like crazy.

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