Do You Really Need A Website?

Especially in the ministry world, we tend to think of a brand as a logo, color, or font... something flashy and new to get people's attention. But this is completely backwards. Brand is the gut feeling people have about your organization. Branding is how we shape and cultivate that gut feeling. By being intentional with your look, feel, and tone, you're associating those things with your church: everything it does and stands for. Hopefully, that association is one of trust and goodwill. Your logo, colors, and tagline are just a few of the ways that association can be made, but these things are not inherently a “brand.” They're tools for the purpose of making a repeatable association. That's why its so important to regularly tend your brand. With patience and intentionality, eventually you will see progress. Your church will start to identify with your brand because it signifies their shared history, values, and purpose. That’s when you can start to reap the benefits of your people’s trust, unity, and zeal.

Have you heard the term "visitor journey?" A good rule of thumb for churches is that a visitor should have no less than 5 brand “touchpoints," or places where they can interact with your brand. The best way I've found to identify those touchpoints is to think about your visitor journey. What do they see? Who do they talk to? How long do they spend in each place? This is critical to get right for larger churches, but it also applies to a church plant reaching their community for the first time. Here’s a starter outline of a visitor journey: Visitor finds you online (do they see photos of your people, building, or logo?) They drive up to your parking lot (do they see the same people, building, and logo?) They walk inside (do they see wayfinding? A welcome banner? A greeter with a name tag?) They sit down in the sanctuary (do they see at least one announcement slide that is relevant to them? What about in the bulletin?) I’ll let you continue your list from there, but here's the thing: If you can’t remember what your visitor journey looks like, your visitors probably aren’t remembering your church either.

Energetic logo = energetic church? Not necessarily. Strong stable logo = strong stable church? Maybe sometimes. This is an easy, one-dimensional way to think about church branding. Here’s the problem: Logos aren’t supposed to speak for themselves. The purpose of a logo is to identify; not explain. If your logo is recognizable and memorable, it’s done its job. The explaining part is up to you. Thankfully, you can use other elements of your visual brand to help you do that explanation. The purpose of having colors, fonts, photography, and everything else in your branding toolkit is to flesh out the ideas that don’t fit inside your logo.

It’s easy to overwork the logo and pack as much symbolism and meaning as possible into the design. But here’s my hot take: Your logo should be the clean symbol that identifies your church (that positive gut feeling): not an infographic. Cultivating a healthy brand means putting in the work to connect the dots between what you look like and who you are. You might be saying, “But Braden, people will never connect the dots between the logo and our purpose/vision/mission on their own.” You’re right! The logo is just one tool in a branding toolkit, with a specific purpose (instant identification). Just because you have a hammer doesn’t mean everything is a nail ;)