The proclamation of the Gospel and narrative marketing

Ryszard Hajduk

Katedra Teologii Praktycznej, Uniwersytet Warmińsko-Mazurski w Olsztynie, ul. Hozjusza 15, 11-041 Olsztyn


Abstract

The Church is called to proclaim the Gospel. She should do it with all the means and methods that guarantee to transmit to all people the message of salvation in Jesus Christ. In this purpose, she can use today's marketing communications, which not only emphasizes the role of the contents of the message but also highlights the style of its transfer. In order to preach the Gospel to people on the contemporary "Areopagus", the Church can put into practice the rules of narrative marketing. It refers to the human ability to redefine itself through the narrative and to establish relationships with others using stories. In the theory of the narrative marketing, stories teach the listeners to see the reality and stimulate the human imagination. They are able to suggest a particular solution in an indirective mode and they reduce the resistance against any change in the life of the communication recipients. Stories help people to anchor something in the memory for a long term. They influence the listeners when they move their emotions and allow them to make ethical decisions according to the Gospel. The narrative preaching of the good news isn’t one of the many options for the Church, but a task that grows out of the historic character of the revelation of God in Jesus Christ, his Son.


Keywords:

evangelism, marketing, preaching, homily, narrative


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Published
2012-12-31

Cited by

Hajduk, R. (2012). The proclamation of the Gospel and narrative marketing. Studia Warmińskie, 49, 151–164. https://doi.org/10.31648/sw.260

Ryszard Hajduk 
Katedra Teologii Praktycznej, Uniwersytet Warmińsko-Mazurski w Olsztynie, ul. Hozjusza 15, 11-041 Olsztyn