Lessons for Gospel Ministry from a Researcher at the Molson Coors Beverage Company

FROM THE EDITOR

Eric Ollila Communication/IT/Media Director Alberta Conference

A little over ten years ago, on a plane ride in the U.S., I sat next to a middle-aged woman who worked for a large multinational beer company. I love meeting new people when I fly. It's something I always look for, hoping for an engaging encounter. On this particular day, I got my wish. My seatmate was friendly and inviting. We conversed with each other almost the entire two-hour flight.

Considering the contrast in our occupations, it was surprising we had so much to say to each other. And in my history books, it was one of the most memorable conversations I've had on a plane ride. It went something like this:

“Wow! A beer company! What company do you work for, if you don’t mind me asking?” “Molson Coors,” she replied as she proudly straightened her posture in her seat. “What do you do for them?” I asked. She had already asked what I did for a living. Given I was pastoring at the time, it may have been why she responded with a massive grin on her face, “Well, you may find this funny, but I sit in bars all day and talk to people.” I laughed! “Well, that sounds interesting—a job that could either be depressing or fun,” I quipped. “Oh, I love my work, and I have a lot of fun,” she quickly clarified. “Tell me,” I said, “why on earth would anybody pay you to sit in a bar and talk to people?” She laughed. “I’m a researcher,” she replied.

After pressing her a bit further about specifics of her job, she confessed, “I study beer and people.” Both of us were laughing audibly now. This was going to make for an exciting conversation.

“What do you do with your research results or findings?” I inquired. “Oh, wow,” she said. “That's a huge question. My research, and that of the team I’m on, goes toward all kinds of things.” “Oh yeah, like what,” I replied?

She said, “Okay, well, here’s an exciting one that my team and I contributed toward. We discovered that there is a specific temperature the majority of our customers prefer to drink their beer.” I laughed, “Okay…go on.” “Yeah, right…” she said with a smile. “Most people think that all the customer needs is a cold beer. But what we discovered is that 'cold' isn’t always adequate. We learned that there is a specific level of coldness that is desirable and measurable.

“Do I take people and spreading the gospel as seriously as Molson Coors takes marketing and distributing beer to their customers? As I reflected on this question, I became convicted in my heart. The witness and testimony of this lady, and perhaps the Holy Spirit using her, convicted me that my ministry was barely scratching the surface of what God wanted from me.

Often, when a beer drinker opens the fridge or cooler to reach for a beer, they see all these bottles or cans. They touch one. It seems cold to the touch. They grab it, thinking it is going to be delicious. But when they open it, perhaps it's still room temperature. It hadn't been in the fridge long enough. Or maybe it's too cold. It sat near the back, where it's freezing, so it's starting to turn slushy. Either way, it's a bad experience for them. And what is worse is that negative experience is associated with our brand. And sometimes, it may even spell a wasted beer. Worst case, they might not drink our beer and instead reach for another beer that happens not to be our brand."

“So what did you do with this research,” I gently prodded. She went on. “The research data we collected was taken and used in marketing. In particular, marketing developed a label and a can with ink that changes colour when the beer reaches that ideal temperature. So, now on some of our bottles, like Coors Light, you have labels where the mountains change colour when the beer is ready to drink. And we've found that our customers like this feature. So, that was an exciting result we have seen come from our research,” she concluded.

As I listened to and watched her explain about the work in which she engaged, I was impressed with the enthusiasm, energy and passion she had. I was convicted. I couldn't help but reflect on my ministry in the Church. I couldn't help reflect on ministry in general within the Church. Wow! I thought. This lady is so excited about her research and a label that changes colour when a beer is cold!

Do I take people and spreading the gospel as seriously as Molson Coors takes marketing and distributing beer to their customers? As I reflected on this question, I became convicted in my heart. The witness and testimony of this lady, and perhaps the Holy Spirit using her, convicted me that my ministry was barely scratching the surface of what God wanted from me. With scientific accuracy, did I know as much about people and their susceptibility to receiving the gospel as this beer company did about its customers who drink beer? Did I see what subtle challenges or dilemmas they face? Did I know how to help people have a positive experience with the gospel instead of a frozen or lukewarm one?

I couldn't help but feel the weight of this thought. I knew that not one of the churches or ministries I worked with approached ministry with the same intensity and rigour as Molson Coors did with its customers and beer. For the last 10+ years, I have been on a quest to become that kind of minister. I want to be a scientific worker and a seasoned expert at communicating, marketing, researching and spreading the gospel. And to my encouragement, I have since met several individuals, professionals, businesses, institutions, and ministries with a similar conviction. They are pursuing gospel ministry in a more scientific, organized and systematic way.

The major challenge I have discovered is God's collective Church is decades (conservatively) behind the times in harnessing technological, scientific, and general leadership principles that would enable us to collectively understand the people we are trying to reach, at an advanced level, and be able to translate that data into actionable information for pastors and ministry leaders, in a short time.

Don't get me wrong. There are modern-day exceptions to this critique.

But, as a collective Church, we need a lot more than what is currently happening. We need businessmen and women, sociologists, psychologists, and marketing professionals studying people and how best to take the gospel to the millions of niche markets that exist in the world today.We need doctors and scientists who look into the effects of the gospel in their field and successfully convert those studies' findings into actionable data. Data that decision-makers and ministry leaders can use on a day-to-day and operational basis.

To apply this story to our context. When our customer or prospect (the believer or potential believer in Jesus) is standing at the cooler or fridge (i.e. facing the world) and is presented with multiple competing options (i.e. the various bottles of competing interests with Jesus), how do we help make the right choice easier (i.e. lower the obstacles to choosing Jesus) every time? What can we use as a Church to help them know which option is the right choice? What's our colour-changing ink and packaging? And what are we doing to research these people so that we can understand the kinds of options and obstacles they face on a day-to-day basis? What types of temperatures are they confronted within their lives?

These are just a few of the questions that flooded my mind while talking with that lady. And the lesson? Well, I'll leave that up for you to decide. For me, the takeaway was clear: I need to pursue ministry with a radically more advanced and scientific approach. I am thankful I met her–the lady who sat in bars all day and talked to people. I learned a lot from her and the company she worked for–the Molson Coors Beverage Company. I wish my Church would pursue Gospel Ministry as seriously as Molson Coors Beverage Company does the business of selling beer.