Competing with Netflix

I recently heard a report that Netflix plans to spend $8 billion for new content this year. Wow! I know that the global entertainment business is huge, but I had no idea. It caused me to wonder, “How can a church compete with this?” That’s when I realized that I was asking the wrong question. There is no way that a church, even a well-resourced megachurch, can compete with Netflix on the quality and quantity of content (as measured by entertainment value). Instead, it is better to ask, “What are the unique strengths of your church? How can those be leveraged to achieve the greatest impact for God’s Kingdom?” In reality, I don’t hear many church leaders worrying about how to compete with Netflix. But I often hear church leaders talking about other kinds of “competition” – Sunday morning children’s sports leagues, over-scheduled calendars, the church down the street. I recognize that these factors are real and that they pull people away from your church. But I believe that the competition mindset is the wrong way to think about the issue. Competing against something (or someone) in their area of strength is a losing battle. You can’t out-entertain Netflix, but you can offer an environment where genuine relationships thrive. The church down the street may have world-class musicians leading their contemporary worship. You can try to match them (probably unsuccessfully), or you can lean into your strength in local missions. You’re probably not the only person who needs to adopt a different mindset. Other leaders in your church may easily slip into thinking about the competition. Too much time and energy may be spent bemoaning the negative impact of these competitors or figuring out how to “beat” them. So demonstrate your leadership by asking the right questions and shifting the conversation to the unique strengths of your church. It’s easy to receive my blogs by email. Just sign-up on Feedburner by clicking here.]]>