As to how companies or brands can tap into the faith-based market, Stielstra recommends becoming a trusted name in churches, first and foremost. That may mean sitting down with local pastors and presenting your product and explaining how it can be beneficial to his or her congregation.

While big companies such as Forever21 and In-N-Out Burger quietly stamp Bible verse John 3:16 on the bottom of their bags and cups, other companies are more outward in their devotion. But when it comes to integrating faith into your branding or business, it often can be a tricky line to toe.

Regardless of the size of the company, faith-based marketing can help reach an expansive Christian demographic with an estimated purchasing power of around $5.1 trillion a year.

“One of the things that makes the faith-based market unique is they gather weekly as a group to share and fellowship with each other,” said Greg Stielstra, founder of PyroMarketing, a social media marketing agency in Franklin, Tenn.

That means the opportunity for information to spread, including product endorsements, is huge, particularly since people trust recommendations of peers with similar interests. “For Christians in America, their faith in Jesus Christ is a defining characteristic, which makes word of mouth in that community more powerful than it would be for other communities,” Stielstra added.

Paul Jankowski, CEO of Access Brand Strategies and author of How to Speak American: Building Brands in the New Heartland, agreed that faith as a core value in many Americans’ lives cannot be understated.

“Be cognizant of the role of faith, specifically, may play in the lives of this massive consumer group,” he said.

Stielstra marketed for Christian publications for 17 years, including the wildly-successful promotion of The Purpose Driven Life. He is also the co-author of Faith-Based Marketing: The Guide to Reaching 140 Million Christian Customers.

Stielstra attributed the success of The Purpose Driven Life, which is the fastest-selling hardcover book in American history, to the tightness of the faith-based community.
“By lighting that fuse in a number of key places, it was possible to reach almost everyone because that community is so tight.”

A 40-day marketing campaign for the book included having ministers preach six consecutive sermons about the book, with worshippers reading a chapter a day for 40 days. Readers were given the entire book, instead of just a sampling, and they would meet once a week to discuss it. Word of the book spread like wildfire through faith-based communities.

“It created an army of 400,000 customer evangelists who had a deep familiarity and a positive experience with the book, and that turned into irrepressible word of mouth,” Stielstra said. “It wasn’t valuing them for their purchase potential. What it unleashed was their promotional potential.”