Church service: service marketing

XCITE Church is having difficulties in managing its operations due to financial constraints. Although attendance is growing, the church could not afford to employ a full-time staff, and an over-reliance on volunteers has had adverse effects on the quality of its services and its ability to attract new members. The pastor is contemplating idea of re-positioning the church to attract more resources and improve the overall quality of the church services.

The role of brand orientation in church participation: an empirical examination

Although a large amount of research has been undertaken into the application of marketing techniques in church organizations, few studies have provided empirical evidence on the effects of brand orientation on church participation. This empirical study sought to contribute to the body of literature via a survey of 344 church attendees of a particular church denomination in Australia. The conceptual model hypothesizes brand orientation as performing direct and indirect effects on church participation through perceived benefits as the mediating variables. A person's perception of the extent to which a church engages in brand-oriented activities and behavior is significantly related with his or her perception of the benefits associated with church activities, which then leads to a higher level of church participation. The results reveal that brand orientation is significantly related with perceived benefits and church participation.

Perceived market orientation and church participation

Over the recent years, the concept of market orientation has become an attractive avenue for research in marketing. However, despite an array of theories, a systematic framework investigating the role of market orientation in non-profit organizations remains limited. Through the integration of concepts from church participation and marketing literature, the study put forth a comprehensive model that describes the role of market orientation in church participation phenomenon. The study found support for the positive association between ‘perceived market orientation’ and respondents’ extent of participation in church-related activities.

The rise of the Anglican orthodox church in Solomon Islands

 This research examines an Anglican schism in Melanesia which led to the rise of a new church and argues that the new church was a response to the fundamental importance of territory. The result is a new social formation called the segmentary church society.