What is a Verbal Identity? And Why it Matters for Churches (Pt. 1 Vocabulary)

Most churches try to stay away from politics: We don’t want to offend anyone. If we offend them, it should be with the gospel, right? Yes, and amen. But… In a post-Christian culture, One that is hostile to biblical family values One that is proud of their depravity One that calls good evil and evil good … any effective outreach requires that our speech be as salty as it is sweet. Does it take wisdom? Yes. Should we seek a clear conscience? Yes. But these guardrails do not exclude bold, unapologetic, and sometimes even provocative messaging in our church communications. Reasons like “We don’t want to give people more reasons to avoid church” and “We want to cast a wide net” have lead to many churches dialing back their true convictions in outward facing marketing. This feels safe, but here’s what it really does: Dilutes the message Waters down your unique congregational identity Speaks to no one in particular Gets lost in the sea of noise The solution to this isn’t to be inflammatory for its own sake. There are enough provocateurs out there already. Rather, the solution is to build a crystal clear message and brand around your church’s unique history, theological convictions, and context.

When a church skips the brand strategy and message clarity step and runs straight to design, the result can feel hollow. Visitors may walk away asking, “What do you actually stand for?” But when a church begins by clarifying its message rooted in God’s redemptive story, everything else clicks into place. The logo, the website, the campaigns, and the Sunday morning announcements all point back to the same simple truth: we are part of God’s mission to redeem people and renew the world. That kind of clarity resonates. It helps longtime believers stay focused, and it gives newcomers an easy on-ramp to understand what you’re about. A Better Starting Point So before you pour energy into design, start with this simple question: How does our message reflect our part in God’s redemption story? When you can answer that clearly, the rest becomes much easier. Your branding won’t feel forced or hollow, because it will be anchored in something bigger than trends or preferences. It will be anchored in the greatest story ever told. Here’s the key takeaway: Being clear is being a good steward of the attention people are entrusting you with. Ultimately, the message you bring in your church brand should be the same as what you preach from the pulpit: the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If it’s not, then we are squandering chances to preach the good news through branding before someone ever sits down in the pew. And when your church communicates its role in God’s redemption story with simplicity and conviction, people don’t just remember your brand. They remember the good news you’re sharing.

It’s tempting to jump straight into designing a logo, refreshing the church website, or launching a new social media campaign. Those things matter, but if the message behind them isn’t clear, all the creativity in the world won’t connect with people. That’s why one of the key principles from StoryBrand is so important: “If you confuse, you lose.” Before you design, you need clarity. For a church, clarity doesn’t come from brainstorming catchy taglines or trendy mission statements. It comes from remembering the story we’re a part of: God’s story of redemption. From Genesis to Revelation, Scripture tells a unified story of a God who rescues, restores, and redeems. Your church is not creating its own isolated narrative. Instead, your identity, mission, and message flow from being a small but meaningful part of God’s larger story. That’s what gives your message both clarity and power. People don’t just need another community group or service organization. They need to know that your church exists because God is writing a story of redemption, and you’re inviting them into it.

There’s a dirty word in the church communications world: “Marketing”. We’ve all seen the clips of megachurch pastors dressing up like Disney characters or posting the latest memes on their Facebook page. Some people call it “outreach” or “creative evangelism,” but we all know what’s really going on. How do you cut through the noise, rather than blending in to the sea of generic marketing people are flooded with today? While you may not be recording TikTok dances for Jesus, you’ve probably been tempted to copy the latest church marketing fad at one point or another. After all, isn’t anything worth getting visitors in the doors to hear the gospel? This is how many churches get caught up copying one another’s marketing and advertising, hoping that people in their community will see it and be compelled to visit. My issue with these approaches is simple: What resonates with one church’s community probably won’t resonate with your own. A travel agency based in Hawaii would be foolish to copy the marketing of a travel agency in Minnesota. If your communications and brand strategy aren’t based on your local community where God has uniquely placed your congregation, you’ll be stuck in the cycle of trend-chasing and throwing outreach spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. The alternative? Focus on the real stories of people in your community who have experienced hope and belonging in your midst. These stories are local. These stories are genuine. These stories are powerful because we serve a God who is powerful. With this approach, your community won’t be able to ignore or forget the powerful transformation God has worked in local people, to the praise of his glory. That’s why I emphasize community at the 3rd C of a kingdom-first brand.

If you’re one of many (or even a few) churches in your area, branding that stands out should be at the top of your mind. A lot of pastors feel guilty upping their branding game because of their kingdom mindset. “We don’t want to just attract people from other churches because of our aesthetic.” That’s a logical concern, but it’s wrong. People from the harvest (the lost, those who aren’t attending church) are looking at your aesthetics too. When they see a church that looks and sounds the same as every other church in the community, what do you think they’re going to do? They're going to dismiss you. But what happens if you have a logo breaks the mold of the “average” church logo? What if you choose your colors and a tone of voice don’t play it safe like everyone else? You short circuit that pattern recognition many people have for churches. In the sales world they call this a “pattern interrupt.” Violate people’s expectations in a positive way (positive is key here), and you’ll disarm them, making them open to hearing the life changing news of the gospel. I want to be very clear, I’m talking about your church branding and core communications. Here’s what I’m NOT advocating your church look like on a Sunday morning. This church looked different by removing everything that would make them look Christian and simultaneously infringed on a dozen trademarks. Don’t do that! But, here’s my final thought: You’re not being inauthentic by branding yourself as different from others. You ARE different from others. God is doing a unique thing in and through your congregation. So capitalize on that!

In the last post, I looked at how vocabulary contributes to a cohesive verbal identity, and can be useful for a church trying to elevate their communications. Today, we’re on to the second part of a verbal identity: tone of voice. Now with AI tools, tone of voice guidelines are even more incredibly useful. Just ask this pastor I worked with on a recent rebrand. He was writing content for a connect card they could use to gather information from visitors, and he was blown away by how helpful it was to have a brand tone of voice. “Bro, ChatGPT is crazy cool… I put in the tone description from our brand guidelines, and it gave me all kinds of good options!” Here’s the tone description he was talking about: “Our tone is bold yet humble—serious about truth, passionate about people, and always inviting others into something real. We speak with clarity, conviction, and warmth, aiming to reflect both the reverence of our faith and the relational heart of our church.” If you saw a social media post with exclamation points, emoji’s and emotional word choice, you would probably expect a passionate, informal, and loud worship service on Sunday morning. Now, what if you showed up to that church and found a conservative Presbyterian church with organ-led hymns and a serious vibe. Would you be confused? Inconsistent writing style can even leave visitors with a subtle feeling of being confused or tricked, rather than edified. In the end, looking the part is critically important, but your visuals are ultimately just the vehicle for what can only be communicated through written (or spoken) words.

Most churches try to stay away from politics: We don’t want to offend anyone. If we offend them, it should be with the gospel, right? Yes, and amen. But… In a post-Christian culture, One that is hostile to biblical family values One that is proud of their depravity One that calls good evil and evil good … any effective outreach requires that our speech be as salty as it is sweet. Does it take wisdom? Yes. Should we seek a clear conscience? Yes. But these guardrails do not exclude bold, unapologetic, and sometimes even provocative messaging in our church communications. Reasons like “We don’t want to give people more reasons to avoid church” and “We want to cast a wide net” have lead to many churches dialing back their true convictions in outward facing marketing. This feels safe, but here’s what it really does: Dilutes the message Waters down your unique congregational identity Speaks to no one in particular Gets lost in the sea of noise The solution to this isn’t to be inflammatory for its own sake. There are enough provocateurs out there already. Rather, the solution is to build a crystal clear message and brand around your church’s unique history, theological convictions, and context.

In the last post, I looked at how vocabulary contributes to a cohesive verbal identity, and can be useful for a church trying to elevate their communications. Today, we’re on to the second part of a verbal identity: tone of voice. Now with AI tools, tone of voice guidelines are even more incredibly useful. Just ask this pastor I worked with on a recent rebrand. He was writing content for a connect card they could use to gather information from visitors, and he was blown away by how helpful it was to have a brand tone of voice. “Bro, ChatGPT is crazy cool… I put in the tone description from our brand guidelines, and it gave me all kinds of good options!” Here’s the tone description he was talking about: “Our tone is bold yet humble—serious about truth, passionate about people, and always inviting others into something real. We speak with clarity, conviction, and warmth, aiming to reflect both the reverence of our faith and the relational heart of our church.” If you saw a social media post with exclamation points, emoji’s and emotional word choice, you would probably expect a passionate, informal, and loud worship service on Sunday morning. Now, what if you showed up to that church and found a conservative Presbyterian church with organ-led hymns and a serious vibe. Would you be confused? Inconsistent writing style can even leave visitors with a subtle feeling of being confused or tricked, rather than edified. In the end, looking the part is critically important, but your visuals are ultimately just the vehicle for what can only be communicated through written (or spoken) words.

Marshall McLuhan was a Canadian communication theorist who coined the phrase, “The medium is the message.” In other words: how you choose to say something changes what your audience walks away with. McLuhan’s point was that each medium doesn’t just deliver your message - it shapes it and sends unspoken signals like: The value you place on the relationship How urgent or serious something is How you want to be perceived Let’s look at an example. Sending a text message says, “I want to be quick and efficient.” A phone call says, “This is personal.” The words exchanged can be the same, but the vibe of that medium changes what message actually gets received. Effective branding is effective communication, so it’s important to understand this idea! Here are a few church-specific examples: Animated sermon graphics say, “We care about looking fresh and young.” A church-wide email newsletter says, “We expect our members to stay informed.” Hand-written note cards from a pastor or staff member say, “You are known and cared for.” You have core ideas and feelings about your church that you want your congregation and community to “get.” The medium can either supercharge or neutralize the power of those ideas. If they’re not getting it, you might want to find a different way of presenting it.

Does your church ever put on conferences, take the youth to summer camp, or organize community gatherings? Churches who do this at a high level use communication strategies to make these events well-attended, memorable, and impactful. One of those strategies is to give the event its own visuals, but when is this the right call? I could give you a decision-making tree and a process to decide, but I figured a list of pros and cons would do just fine. This way you can go through the list and decide for yourself if each item applies to your situation. With that, here are the pros and cons of creating unique branding for your church event: Pros: Gives the event a distinct identity – Makes it feel special rather than just another church activity. Can boost engagement and attendance – A fresh look can generate curiosity and excitement. Helps with marketing and promotions – Unique branding makes it easier to design flyers, social media posts, and announcements that grab attention. Allows creative storytelling – You can tailor the visuals to match the event’s theme, making it more immersive and impactful. Can attract new people – A well-branded event may appeal to those outside your congregation who wouldn’t normally attend. Cons: Takes extra time and effort – Creating custom visuals means more planning and design work. Can dilute your main church brand – If done too often, people might associate more with the event than with the church itself. Inconsistent quality risks – If branding isn’t done well, it could look unprofessional or weaken the event’s perceived value. Might not always be necessary – Some events function just fine under the church’s existing branding, and adding unique visuals could be overkill. Pro tip Using your main church logo in a subtle, tasteful way on event graphics associates the event with your church. Making a connection to your parent brand is a way to remind attendees of the mission driving you to put the event on in the first place.