More on Lifeway

There are 44,000 SBC (Southern Baptist Convention) churches in the US.  The vast majority of them do business annually with Lifeway.  And many more non-SBC churches also do business annually with Lifeway.  

So imagine getting in front of this church audience with your film as a church movie night and having the follow up material (like the small group study based on themes from your film) available for them as well.  As I mentioned in my last post, this can be accomplished with Lifeway through Lifeway Films and B & H Publishing.  

Churches are able to screen films at their locations through what are called "site licenses."  For a small fee, churches secure the right to screen the film at their location (for usually up to a year).  The way these are sold is typically based on church attendance; the larger the attendance, the larger the fee.  Lifeway Films is not the only outlet that offers site licenses; there are several.  And really, a site license is only a legal document that spells out the number of times/where the film can be shown, etc… It's a public performance permit.  And remember… you'll need to secure the rights from cast, crew and MUSICAL ARTISTS/MUSIC LABELS/MUSIC PUBLISHERS to allow their contributions to be offered as a public performance (more on that in later posts…).  

The effectiveness of the site license concept is directly proportional to the size and  engagement of your church database.  It helps to have a strong relationship with a lot of churches, specifically with people at those churches that can make the decision to carry your film as a movie night.  That's why you see church database companies like InService America getting into this space.

But alas, many churches don't really buy in to the old "site license concept."  Their feeling is, "Hey, I bought the DVD…  I can play this in my church."  So over time, the number of churches that buy a site license has decreased.  

So, what's the answer?  How can you tap into large, engaged church databases with your film if the site license concept is no longer what it once was?  Tune in next time for an answer...