The Gospel’s Impact on My Business

update thinking
Braden East

Building, creating, and doing business is how many of us are called to glorify our Creator.

By building businesses and influence in every sphere, we’re carrying out the dominion mandate and bringing more of creation under submission to Christ’s lordship and rule.

This is true whether our work is in law, construction, medicine, or design.

I love serving churches because it’s a chance for me to reflect God’s creativity and what he is already doing in each local church body to advance his kingdom.

All this while pointing back to the timeless truth of the gospel.

Sometimes that looks like symbolism in the logo itself, and other times it’s the overall feeling of reverence, optimism, or hospitality that you can bring out through other visual elements.

My work has gained attention from secular designers from time to time, and I don’t think they quite understand what it is that I do.

They don’t see how working with churches can be profitable.

The truth is: it’s not the most lucrative market.

I price projects at below what I believe the value is, but even then many churches aren’t willing to spend ministry dollars on branding. That’s okay with me because I’m able to pour myself even more into other projects that ARE a perfect fit.

Because of this approach, I’ve gotten to have those conversations with my peers about why I continue to work with churches.

I’m driven by more than just money.

If this were all taken away tomorrow, I would still praise God for it.

I feel invigorated and fulfilled by the work he has called me to in this season of life, but I know it is a gift and that the next thing he leads me into will result even more in my ultimate good and his ultimate glory.


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Introducing Tend Your Brand
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Hi, my name is Braden East. I've worked on creative teams doing brand and web design at both local and international ministries for nearly a decade. For a long time, I've wanted to start an email list for pastors and ministry leaders: the type of people I help in my work every day. In 2025, I'm finally doing it. I'm calling this email Tend Your Brand. The meaning behind it is simple: Your brand is like a vine (any biblical analogy enjoyers?). Without attention and care, it can grow out of control, interfere with other goals, or just die out completely. Too often, ministry leaders get one of those outcomes and give up. "It's just gimmicky marketing." "It's too much work." "It's not helping us." But your brand is not an invasive species. It’s also not a burden - at least it shouldn’t be. When you start seeing your brand as something to tend and cultivate, it starts bearing fruit. If something (your brand) could multiply your outreach efforts and give people a sense of belonging, why wouldn’t you focus on it? I believe the answer is that most ministry leaders just don’t have the right tools and strategy. This email is where I'll share those tools and strategies that can help you get your brand under control and turn it into something that bears much fruit. If that sounds interesting to you, click the subscribe button and I'll see you there! P.S. Because we’re all busy and have short attention spans, I’ll keep them under 1 minute read.
Update: Switching to Weekly
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Get ready for a more streamlined experience! Starting today, Tend Your Brand is becoming a concise weekly digest of 6 valuable branding insights. That means no more daily emails. 😅 Each Monday morning, you’ll get a list of that week’s posts from TendYourBrand.com (still published daily, but only sent out once per week). We all have busy schedules and one inbox item is easier to manage than six. Plus, a weekly digest format allows you to quickly pick topics from the week that are actually relevant to you. Things that haven’t changed: Posts will still be very short and focused (<1 minute read) Content is still packed full of useful branding tools and strategies Intermittent GIFs and Office references I hope you enjoy the new format, and don’t forget to tend your brand!
I’m Giving Away My Church Rebrand Process
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Last year I realized something… Designing comprehensive church rebrands is one of my favorite things to do, but I’m just one guy! The most work I can ever take on is a couple of new clients per month. The only way to help more churches… is to give my process away for free. So that’s what I’m doing. I’m writing down everything I do in a typical church rebrand project, adding templates and worksheets, and breaking it into simple steps anyone can follow (even if they have no design experience)! This is the first time I’ve ever mentioned this to anyone (outside of my wife), so I can truly say “you heard it here first.” Over the next several months, I’ll share behind the scenes sneak peaks of this thing. And the best part is… you will have an opportunity to shape the final product. I’ll be dropping more details in future updates, so keep your eyes peeled for the next one. 👀
“You’re Just Marketing Jesus”
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I recently heard a pastor make the statement, “the Gospel doesn’t need marketing and branding.” It’s a legitimate criticism. Are churches who spend time, money, and effort on their branding just trying to “market Jesus?” Here’s my response: Some are to be sure… but most are not. Christ-centered branding is about reflecting God’s character, creativity, and what he is already doing in your local church body. It’s easy to see how this is different from just trying to be winsome, seeker-sensitive, and trendy. In fact, I’m staunchly against “winsomeness” as it’s been defined by evangelical leaders in the last 10 years. Their idea of winsomeness smuggles in self-censorship and compromise. I’m also against churches trying to make Christianity seem cool and trendy by mimicking our rebellious secular culture. Christ-centered church branding doesn’t reduce or dilute the gospel message, it makes visible the unique identity of each local church. It doesn’t copy from the world, it argues that beautiful visuals and communication strategies actually belong to Christ. God is a designer, after all!
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