Like many of the terms that come from the secular marketing arena, the term brand can leave a bad taste in the mouth of a ministry professional. And with good reason. In the secular world, after all, brand activity is often used as makeup, covering up real flaws in a product or company. However, like we’ve seen in previous articles, there are many times when crossovers from the secular marketing world have some application in ministry. This article outlines the concept of branding and what merit it may have within the context of a church-if any at all.
The goal of church marketing is never to shoehorn the church into worldly marketing practices, but to redeem biblical principles that have been used in the mainstream marketing world. Our fundamental goal is to increase the effectiveness of church communication. Before we head down this road of branding let’s start with a reminder as to how we define church marketing:
Church marketing is intentional, Spirit-led action influencing people toward becoming mature disciples of Christ.
A brand is defined as “an identity that expresses the underlying values and personality of a particular organization, product or service.” Every local church is a unique expression of the Kingdom of God, and each has a personality that needs to be apparent to both our congregation and community. To put it another way, each church has a unique God print that attracts certain people through their doors. This is seen in the New Testament, for example, as John the Revelator writes to each of the seven churches. It is obvious that each church has its particular strengths and weaknesses, and God gives both encouragement and admonition related to each church’s personality.
Part of the vision of every church should be a clear articulation of why God has called you to a particular geographic location, economic region, or cultural area. To give two extreme examples, a church in a farming community is going to have a different personality than an inner city church.
The other aspect of your church brand points to the values of your church. The values refer to both the moral values of Christian discipleship, as well as what unique priorities that we value. For some churches youth is a priority, for others it is serving the less fortunate. We know that all of these aspects need to be considered by every church, but each church is going to give certain areas, at certain times, a closer focus. Your core values need to be integrated into every aspect of your communication, so that church members and newcomers alike know where they are and what you are called to accomplish for God’s Kingdom.
So if your church brand is really nothing more than communicating your vision, personality, and values then it stands to reason that this idea has merit. Yet there is a subtle distinction between the Church and the secular marketing world. In secular marketing, a very small group of people make branding decisions in an attempt to reach some target demographic. In a sense, secular marketers are outsiders trying to infiltrate some market for economic gain. A local church, on the other hand, that feels led to reach a target group-and succeeds-is soon filled with members of that very target group. So for a church, it’s less about brand per se, and more about culture. It’s about the DNA of the church.
With that in mind, here are a few tips and thoughts to make sure you are building a consistent church culture through communication.
1. Let your ministries do the talking: Churches have individual ministries that each need to have a personality and focus. At the same time it is good to find a way to tie all of the ministries under the umbrella of your church. Think of it like the Fox Network. They have many different shows all with individual brands, but they all speak to the type of channel that Fox wants to be. You may not know anything about Fox, but through the programs they offer you can get a good idea of who they want to be. The same is true of your church. The culture of the church should permeate into the way each ministry is represented, without making each ministry lose its personality. Even if it is subtle, your congregation and newcomers alike will find that they easily understand what your church is about, and moreover with that understanding they will be more likely to integrate deeper into your church family.
2. Quality over quantity: You’ve heard it from us before, and you’ll keep hearing, because too many churches assume it just isn’t that important. Your church does not need to do everything, but what it does it should do well. Don’t try to be a megachurch, offering something for everybody. Instead, focus on what you’re really good at. This helps people in your congregation be proud of how their resources are being used, and helps your outreach into the community communicate that you truly care.
3. Visual identity should match your culture: Your church’s logo and other elements of your visual identity need to match your culture. In many ways visual identity is subjective, but the members of your church who are members of the population you’re reaching should feel like it represents who you are.
4. Be consistent: As servants of Christ we are to not hold tight to anything and let the Spirit guide our way. Making changes to your communication style to better match your culture is appropriate. But once you’ve done that, stay with it. Maintaining consistency in your appearance and style will help maintain the integrity of your message no matter where you are led. For example if you have a church newsletter that is focused on the people of your church, then maintain that theme regardless of the content. If you are focused on service one month, then show people in acts of service. If your focus is on an upcoming series show people preparing for the series, or ask people in your congregation to answer a question that gets people thinking about the topic. By staying focused on the core value of your church you can communicate what you need to, while building the culture of the church.
Church is about more than brand, it is about culture. Allowing that culture to infuse your communication efforts will enhance their effectiveness and allow God to place the right people at your doorstep.
