Why You Shouldn’t Disregard the Importance of Church Branding
The importance of church branding shouldn’t be overlooked, as it plays a major role in building trust and growing your member base. If you want your church to stand out and your members to become more invested in your faith-based organization, you need to invite them into your brand story.
As a church leader, you no doubt find it disheartening to see your church congregation dwindle week after week. Even before the global pandemic, you may have noticed a decrease in attendance and lack of engagement online. Though church success is not a numbers game, you can’t help but think to yourself, “Have I gone off track?”
A decline in church numbers isn’t an indication that you’ve failed at your call. It may just mean that you need to put greater effort into increasing engagement and connecting with the people in your community online. You have a lot on your plate, and we understand the inner conflict of trying to keep everything afloat while doing your best to shepherd the ones you serve.
That’s why we wanted to introduce you to a concept called branding and discuss the importance of church branding.
Here’s the thing… Creating an authentic church brand helps people connect with the heart of your church and your desire to change lives.
Your church brand has everything to do with how your community perceives you. Your brand defines your mission, your beliefs, whom you are called to reach—even the choices you make. It’s what you stand for and it defines how you wish to be represented to others.
When Should You Think About Church Branding?
A church brand isn’t something you start creating one day when you are ready. If you have a church, you already have a brand whether you realize it or not. It’s based on how your community perceives your mission and purpose. Further refining and developing this brand is what can help you define how you want to be perceived, which in turn makes people feel more connected to your cause, more willing to give, and better able to share it with others.
Still, when you bring your staff members together and discuss something such as branding, it can feel…well, a bit unsettling. And we understand that.
Let’s dig into this a little more…
What Is the Purpose and Importance of Church Branding?
The purpose of church branding is to make sure that what others perceive is in line with your heart and what you believe you have been called to do in your community and your sphere of influence. Ultimately, it’s about telling your church’s story in a way that resonates with those you want to serve. When you understand the importance of church branding, you’re able to take the proper steps to ensure your organization and mission stand out.
As a result, you’re able to…
- Build trust with congregants
- Improve brand recognition
- Create a shared vision
- Bring in new members
- Add value to your church
Here’s how…
Beyond creating your church name, logo, and color scheme, branding involves defining your identity as a body of believers and helping others see your church the way you want them to see it. This allows you to establish a deeper connection with those you seek to help, which can increase member retention and help you expand your reach so you can impact more people. Also, your community will be able to more clearly define your church mission and identity when sharing your house with others.
Your brand also solidifies your mission to your leadership and congregation and provides a reference point when making new decisions. When faced with difficult decisions, your brand is a constant to revisit as it reinforces why you do what you do and what your ultimate purpose is for existing in your community.
Branding will also help you connect with a younger audience. Those within the millennial generation, for example, are accustomed to researching a cause before they feel aligned with it. Your brand can ensure your mission and values are clear and visible to anyone who may be wanting to visit or join your church.
Nonprofits Use Branding to Increase Support and Further Their Cause
Think about it this way… Nonprofits also use branding to further their cause and raise more money to do good work.
When people support nonprofits, they want to know what kind of organization they are supporting and what they stand for. A solid brand gives supporters a way to recognize what it is they are aligning with, so they feel comfortable that it resonates with their core beliefs.
Nonprofits aren’t trying to take supporters away from other nonprofits; they are just trying to further their cause and contribute to the greater good in the world. And branding helps them do that by letting their supporters know what they stand for, which is easily made clear to the people who want to align with the mission.
How Do You Brand Your Church with the Goal of Advancing Your Message?
Once you understand the importance of church branding, you should move forward with the goal of advancing your church’s message. You want to weave your church’s story throughout everything you do, inviting others to join in. To ensure you’re on the right path, you need to do some brainstorming with your team.
The first question to ask is “Whom do you want to help?”
The next question to answer is “What is your mission?”
Or, “What is your vision for the next 5-10 years?”
It’s understood that your mission is to share your message of faith, but how will you do that and what exactly does that look like?
Building your church brand starts with a discovery process, getting answers to key questions such as the ones above.
Once you are clear on whom you want to help and how you will help them, the next step is to clearly define this in documentation so you remain consistent and can share your brand easily. This process may require several meetings and some lengthy discussions. As you’re taking this journey, there are some key elements to consider…
Discovery Phase
The first step in getting clear on your church brand is to take a look at your current brand, even if you never knew it existed. Here are some questions to answer:
- What is your church known for in your community?
- Why do people feel drawn to you?
- What is the story you want to tell people?
- Which values do you hold dear?
- What truly drives your staff?
And even more specifically…
- When someone visits your website, is your mission clear?
- Does your About page and social media profiles speak to your desire to connect with people and show them the love you so desperately want to share with them?
Survey
To build a successful brand, you need to position your church so it stands out to those you want to help. And that requires a fair amount of research into your target audience. You may also want to survey your members or a small subset of people closely connected with your church to get a better idea of how your members think of you now.
Additionally, conducting this type of research will give you insight into what kind of language and other components of your brand identity resonate with current and potential members.
Branding Guide
Once you get clear on your current brand and how you want to be perceived, create a branding guide that details your research, findings, and core topics you discussed. This church branding guide can be a living document that lists your brand’s mission, attributes, and characteristics. As mentioned before, this documentation will help you remain consistent.
Execution
Once you’ve gathered your research and created your documentation, distill your brand virtues in everything you do—from your online community to even verbal communication. The idea is for current and potential members to experience the same clear narrative no matter how they interact with your church. Encountering a consistent message over and over again allows them to grow familiar with your church brand, increasing the likelihood they’ll get further involved.
Won’t Branding My Church Cripple Unique Expression in Our Congregation?
Many church leaders ask this question, as there’s a fear that establishing a brand means alienating some current or potential members. The simple fact is your church will not appeal to everyone. And that’s okay! After all, you want to be sure your place of worship (both your physical location and online ministry) is the right fit for someone looking to grow in their faith.
By branding your church, you can actually develop deeper connections with those who understand and align with your mission. It’s all about your target audience—those you truly want to reach. When you make your brand about them, you’re able to grow.
Another thing to keep in mind is that your brand can (and should) evolve over time.
As you know, we are all growing, and this brings transitions, new seasons, and different outlooks. Further, as you add new people to your congregation, their stories get interwoven with yours and this may alter your practices over time as well.
It’s a common concern that branding keeps churches chained to a set of guidelines and protocols. But nothing could be further from the truth. Your mission and vision statements are concrete and likely will not change. But that doesn’t mean the way in which you express your brand won’t change over time.
Think of your brand as the foundation of a house. In 40-50 years, a house’s decor, cabinets, floors, and even structure may change, but the foundation will always remain intact.
What You Need to Know About the Importance of Church Branding
In this article, we talked about the importance of church branding in regard to retaining membership, furthering growth, and impacting the lives of those you want to help. We also discussed how to start the church branding process by taking a look at your current brand, creating a branding guide, and executing on your discoveries.
Church branding doesn’t have to be a sensitive subject. It’s simply another way to express your mission and vision and share that with others. Your brand is a living, breathing thing that helps people identify with what you stand for and align with your mission. It can help you spread your message to those who may not know you exist and build your community so you can grow and impact more people!
Download our Church Brand Guidelines Kit today to start creating a consistent look and feel for your church!
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