Praise or Performance

Every university needs a marketing strategy. Redeemer is no exception. 

To spread awareness about our small Christian university, a team of staff and students mediate Redeemer’s online presence, navigating algorithms while ensuring Redeemer’s reputation is fairly represented. To that end, the social media team has become a familiar sight. Student videographers and photographers trot the halls documenting authentic moments of campus life at Redeemer. From student testimonies to snapshots of worshipping students in chapel, the Redeemer experience is proudly showcased. 

But not all students perceive Redeemer’s valiant promotional efforts the same way. Some love being featured; others—myself included—shield their faces when the lens swings their way. Many wonder how this constant documentation affects the very spaces Redeemer is trying to promote.

Shannon McBride, director of communications at Redeemer, oversees both digital and print strategies aimed at boosting awareness and achieving marketing goals. Redeemer has seen record enrollment in recent years, and with a vast majority of Gen Z scrolling online, social media has become a critical influence in postsecondary decisions. 

McBride explains a balanced “three-pillared approach” to Redeemer’s marketing, where all posts, videos, and ads are showcased through the lens of faith, community, and academics. 

“Getting the word out at a larger scale” is a top priority, she said. Redeemer is not as widely known as we might think, but by using various marketing tactics, life at Redeemer can become more visible to the general public. 

Inevitably, with increased advertising comes increased awareness on campus. When cameras appear in spaces such as chapel, Redeemer’s mid-week worship service, not everyone can turn a blind eye. 

McBride acknowledges that students have been vocal about their distaste for such advertising in Chapel services. “There have been concerns,” McBride said. “So, just to be transparent, we want to listen to those concerns and reiterate that it is never our intent to invade someone’s privacy in a personal moment. We have to find a balance between sharing the sacred moments… but we also have a responsibility to show the experience here.”

For some students, that balance still feels precarious. 

“I get that we sign a waiver,” said one third-year media student. “But I just don’t think I will grow to like the cameras. I feel like it can act as a way to encourage people to perform. I feel pressured to worship differently when a lens is pointed in my direction…. Chapel is one of those places that should be off limits to photographers.”

Another student was more ambivalent: “Although it doesn’t bother me too much, I can see where some students may be concerned or perhaps uncomfortable. Maybe [we shouldn’t be recording] during a prayer or a song. Some of those moments are sensitive, and I can see where a student would want to keep that private.” 

Marshall McLuhan’s famous mantra, “the medium is the message,” reminds us how the medium itself shapes how we understand the message. A simple photograph can convey a mission statement, a community, or an experience to buy into. But what happens when the medium begins to encroach on a moment of vulnerability?

Professor Doug Sikkema shared his perspective on the pervasive presence of cameras in worship spaces. “When I am singing or praying or listening to the word in a chapel, I’m doing it before the face of God and the other members physically present in the service who are worshipping together. But the camera invites a host of anonymous people online and in the future who are also “present”, but not usually in a context of worship, but as spectators. Even something like a silent prayer becomes a marketing piece for Redeemer,” he said. “That awareness creeps into how I worship, and can distract or disrupt.”

While he acknowledges the necessity of marketing, he suggests that sometimes – and in some places – it might be inappropriate. “I’m not trying to criticize anyone. I think students and staff are doing a wonderful job facilitating chapel, and for students and faculty who [attend], it is a beautiful time and space for corporate worship and edification in God’s word. But we shouldn’t hesitate to ask questions about what limits we put on our marketing. When is it appropriate? When is it not? Just because we can give people a look into something unique about Redeemer, should we?”

He continues: “Video is an amplification technology. And amplifying anything outside of the particular here and now, outside of its proper context, can change its purpose.” For him, worship should never be confused or conflated with performance, even if there are well-intentioned marketing desires behind it.

Third-year student Erika Wildervanck suggests a compromise—perhaps one or two chapels a year can be designated for photo-taking. “Of course, it’s nice to see photos of students on the website and on social media, but every single Wednesday?”

As a distinctly Christian institution, Redeemer should consider how it can apply the Christian worldview to its marketing approach. The point seems less about rejecting marketing practices altogether, but more about rethinking the ethics behind them.

After all, a camera during active class time would be inappropriate and would turn into a distraction. Students would no longer focus on the material at hand, but rather awkwardly smile into thin air for that perfect candid shot. Because if we strip away all the lights, cameras, and curated experiences, what remains is Redeemer’s core identity, a Christian institution tasked with passing on knowledge to the next generation of Christian leaders. It may not look flashy in an ad, but it is the foundation of Redeemer’s mission. 

It’s worth asking whether the most countercultural thing Redeemer could do is to leave certain moments unmediated. In a world where everything is becoming content, perhaps the greatest witness is knowing when to put the cameras away.