Church Brand Guide Podcast | Logo, Website, Video, And Design

Many churches struggle to retain guests from month to month. Dick Hardy joins us to discuss some keys growing churches use to retain visitors. This is a practical conversation revealing methods any church can use to help them grow. Show Notes: As a church grows, it must realize what got them there initially will not get them to the next level. This takes us to our first point in how you can help your church grow while retaining guests. Establish a Clear Vision The structure must be developed to support the growth.  A church must get clarity on who they are and where they are going so they can focus on the right things. Have a clear vision to present so other leaders can help the church grow. Get Frequent Feedback A growing church is a church that is constantly evaluating and adjusting. Pay attention to what you are doing on Sundays from the perspective of a new guest. Churches need to survey their guests to learn what the experience was like and surveys and how it can be better. See what people like and

A good church website is the center of church communication and marketing. You should have a strategy in place for your site so you can build a site that serves your church well. Chase Replogle joins us on this episode to discuss tips for building a great website that serves what God is doing through your church. Show Notes: Before you build your church website, there are a number of things to consider and implement once the process begins. Set goals for the website. Make sure you have a sense of what you want to accomplish. Choose a website platform based on who is on your team and what they are comfortable with to keep up to date. A church website platform should help you achieve your immediate goals, then scale up to meet your growing needs. Determine tasks to be done. Treat the website like an employee that needs to carry out specific tasks. Develop user personas to determine what people need to do on the site. The personas give you objectives to accomplish. Provide information clearly and easily. Be sure

In this episode, we discuss insights about drawing people to involvement in the church with our guest Dick Hardy. All churches face the challenge of moving people from attenders into becoming participators on a serve team or in a small group. We will unpack ideas some churches are seeing work to get people involved. Show Notes: The culture is different now than it was 15 years ago to where you have to engage people differently. There is a business to today’s culture. Below, we list some ways that will help you create a healthy culture of volunteers. Equip your volunteers. The church needs to intentionally equip people to get involved in a service team. Make it easy and equip them well when they serve, so they feel valued. Value their time. Time is important to people, so help them add value to others. Ask them to be part of a high-value activity. Don’t load the calendar and expect people to show up throughout the week or they will be reluctant to serve. Churches used to have more ministries to grow, but the

A good church brand must have the integrity to be faithful in the small things. Integrity develops trust with people and results in the growth of the ministry as people give of their resources. Mark Jones is a businessman who owns several businesses and is actively involved in a local church. He shares insights about how churches can build a brand that is trustworthy. Show Notes: Communicate well. You must be careful to communicate at the level of your audience so people will relate to your message. Pastors have to be intentional about communicating properly to their congregation so things are perceived properly. The church leadership must also be intentional about presenting objectives to the congregation so they can help. Church leadership must also be careful with small details to earn the trust of the community. Be trustworthy. When a church can be trusted, it can be effective in reaching people. Assume people see what is going on. Always act with integrity. If a church does not have integrity, people can

Show Notes: Host a large special event. A core value of James River Church is to reach young families. A digital marketing team, on all campuses of James River, help promote a large event to help reach young families in Springfield, Missouri. The October 31st event specifically targets this audience. The main goal of the event is to help the community meet people who attend the church. Be sure to keep your event branding consistent with your church brand. Use automated email sequences. A good call to action for large event promotion is to capture their basic information. Try to get them to give this information so you can follow up with an automated email sequence. An automated email sequence is created once, then is triggered by the action a user takes. Automated email sequences, and emails in general, are a great way to keep engaged with people after the event is over. Build relationships with people. Be intentional about using an event to connect with people and build a relationship. Communicating with peo

Show Notes: Your church. There are times to use stock photos, but actual photos are more genuine. Intentional photography is desired so you show the right atmosphere. Use images that make people feel welcome. Photography tells stories, and people connect with stories. Reach people in the community. Photography can be the first part of your hospitality system. Churches have what people need and they must get better at telling stories to draw people in. Church photos are a great bait to use to reach people because they allow a story to be told through all forms of communication. It is especially a powerful tool to reach the younger generations. Photos are also great for use on social media to spread the word about your church. Use photos to invite people on an adventure with your church. Take your marketing to another level. Photography takes your marketing up to a higher level to connect with people. Great photos allow for awesome marketing materials. Strong church brands can be built around good photography.

Adam McLaughlin joins us to talk about how churches can implement branding, marketing, and advertising to grow the number of people they are able to reach. Adam tells us what specific tactics can look like in your church as you communicate your vision to the community. We discuss methods of reaching people that happen before the service even starts. Show Notes: • Churches must find their target audience • Jesus identified his target as the Jews while he was on Earth to build a team to then reach the rest of the world • Evaluate who you are as a church as the starting point to reaching more people • 2 ways to determine your demographic 1. pick your audience 2. choose who you want to be • You must evaluate who God wants your church to be • Branding is your core values • Marketing is how people experience your core values • Advertising is the messaging that communicates your core values • Consistency builds trust when your branding, marketing and advertising line up • Trust is the glue that gives people con

In this episode, we discuss how a church can build a culture that retains people by cultivating relationships and creating great experiences. Jonathan Hardy shares ideas about what a church can do to retain people based on his experience on church staff and as a church consultant with the Hardy Group. Churches should focus on cultivating relationships and on creating great experiences in order to retain guests. Show Notes: Large churches and small churches have a “back door” problem to retain people • Pastors all over the country have a “back door” issue happening • Churches must focus on retaining guests while being mindful of taking care of those who are there • The goal for your church should be to shrink the back door as much as possible • 2 big ideas: allow relationships to build and create a great experience for new guests • The number one reason why people leave a church is that they have not connected • Survey guests and ask them why they like the church and why they are choosing to come back • Most p

In this episode, we talk with Randy Greene who is with Church of the Resurrection a 20,000 plus member church. We discuss the brand of this Methodist Church and what has caused them to grow to such a large size. The main reason for the growth of the church has been their sincerity in serving the community, which resulted in building a positive perception in their city. Show Notes: • Church of the Resurrection is a large church with a brand that is very hands-on in the community • Facilities are meant to engage the community around the church • People are encouraged to go out and do ministry in the city • This church has over 20,000 members with 4 campuses • Randy breaks down the vision of the church so we can understand how the church has grown • Randy is one year into his job of running digital marketing for the church • The new website is being designed with the main goal of drawing in non-religious people as the main goal • Events on the new site will be easy to share so members can push informa

Show Notes: • Jarod shares the journey that resulted in him starting a church plant in the Nashville area • New Tribe Church is a church plant called to reach young families • Jarod and Jennifer are going to Nashville, Tennessee because it is one of the fastest-growing areas in the country • The biggest challenge Jarod is facing early on with the church plant is making the vision plain for people to see • The passion must be communicated clearly so people are able to support the vision • The logo was the starting point that helped explain the vision in a tangible way so others can see it • A video answering the question “why us, why now” has been effective to share the vision over and over again • The printed brochure has been effective to signify something significant • We created 4 pieces to get New Tribe started with promotions: logo, video, brochure, website • The preparation to communicate the vision is an act of worship • The Bible talks about Moses getting help from an artisan to help him establish a g

In this episode, we talk about how a church can produce helpful content beyond sermons to serve those they are trying to reach. Michelle Gines is a book publisher and she unpacks the publishing process. Churches can produce helpful content in various ways including ebooks, videos, and emails which can grow their audience beyond the walls of the church. Show Notes: • Book publishing is a great way to build a strong brand for a church • When pastors go out to speak they are able to provide much more information about a topic by having a book • Michelle talks about how pastors can turn their sermons into books • There are several ways to provide books: print, digital and audio • Michelle shares about audible.com and how she uses it to consume a great number of books • Books allow people to have a more indent connection with the message • Promoting a book is something that the author has to take personally and work on themselves • You can record your book on an audio recorder then have the manuscript typed out •

​A healthy church brand can be created in a time frame that builds momentum. In this episode, Michael talks about his 6-month church branding process and breaks it down into 3 executable rounds. He talks about the items that need to be accomplished in each round in order to have a successful internal and external launch. Whether a church has been around or is just started, a good branding process is a powerful tool a church can leverage to create a strong culture. Show Notes: • 3 typical reasons for a church rebrand: new pastor, new building, change in vision • There are 3 rounds in a healthy church rebrand process: internal, external, and evaluate • The church logo is designed in the first steps so the vision can be defined visually • The logo and new brand should be designed to appeal to the people you are trying to reach • A brand guide document should accompany the logo to define design elements for the church • The church should be introduced to the new brand in month 2 after the logo has been designed •

Bishop Jack Vaughn talks of the importance of churches having a good understanding of who they are trying to reach and how to reach them. He talks about the need for church leaders to focus on reaching the next generation so there is a legacy in place long after them. Bishop Vaughn shares his perspective on a rebranding process he led his church through several years ago to shift from what they had been doing to being more outward-focused. Show Notes: • Transition is never easy even when you want to make it. • Methods change but principles stay the same. • Millennial generation has outgrown the baby boomers, and if we are going to keep them we have to keep it attractive to them. • Your branding clarifies your purpose. • 3 questions for church leaders: What do we stand for? What are we all about? What makes us different? • Signage is a simple way to help visitors feel comfortable in your house. • We want to attract the community first and then bring them in. • You can be a pastor with vision, but without peopl

A strong church brand is reflective of a long-term vision to create the right perception of the church. A church can start to create a great brand by asking the right questions about who they are called to reach. The logo is a good starting point to help a church define who they are good at reaching and what they can do to leverage their strengths. Barbara Carneiro of Word Revolution joins us this week. Subscribe to get instant access to Barbara's Discovery Questions resource. Show Notes: • Barbara became a Christian 5 years ago and that shifted her design company to serve churches • Now she helps churches with their communication with design elements • There is a lot of first impressions that happen before someone even comes to your church • God is creative and we are made in His image; we are supposed to be creative • Jesus is a storyteller; He relied on imagery to explain his teachings • As church leaders, we must spend time thinking about the people we are trying to reach • People look at the outside so w

We take a look at the rebranding process of Evangelistic Center, a church in Kansas City, Kansas, which was a well-established church that found itself in decline. They are now experiencing a great deal of momentum and growth as a result of the rebranding process they have gone through in the past 3 years. Justin Vaughn talks about the journey to create a new brand for the church in order to reach new people in the community. He also shares the results they have seen from their efforts. Show Notes: • Justin started in a small roll but then felt a call to meet the needs of the church which was in decline • The first barrier Justin had to overcome in making rebranding was with his father, Bishop Vaughn • One of the first things to change was to get off the radio and put that budget toward other forms of media to build a brand • Justin focused on reaching people who needed the message the most • Bishop Vaughn got on board with Justin’s desire for change and helped lead the church through the change • Justin was

We talked with moviemakers Isaac Alongi and Sandra Martin about their recent project called Trust Fund. Their approach is to create stories people are drawn to that have Bible principles in them. Isaac and Sandra are everyday people who live in Kansas City but who feel a calling to reach people with the gospel in a big way. Their movies are not intentionally not classified as “Christian” so that people who need to experience the gospel can bump into it. They are passionate about their Christian faith and about telling great stories. Show Notes: Sandra and Isaac share their story of becoming filmmakers Started working for other moviemakers then sought after their own movie script• Sandra did the work to learn how to write her own script The first script was rejected so Sandra had to start over Isaac is a successful photographer who is getting back to his original dream of making movies Isaac has worked on other films, but the Trust Fund is their first project What makes a movie Christ

Branding is a powerful tool your church can use to reach more people and in this episode, we unpack how you can establish a strong brand for your church in the community you serve. Adam DeVizia and Chase Replogle of Beyond Creative are our guests. They have created an application called Brand Cards to help organizations establish their brand. A logo is the starting point of any good brand and we discuss with Adam and Chase what a good process is for designing a great logo to help your church reach more people. Show Notes: Adam talks of the handoff process of turning the logo he created over to the client Adam talks of the frustration of a client frantically calling to find out information about their logo and brand specifics years later There was not a streamlined solution for Adam’s agency to store branding information for their clients Adam and David with Beyond Creative worked with Chase to develop a streamlined tool for storing brands Brand Cards allows for all kinds of file types to be stored fo

Show Notes: Causely is a marketing company in Kentucky that developed the Reach program for churches Jeff worked with Southland Church in Lexington, Kentucky We talk about the unique challenge of churches in getting approvals Marketing is a ministry to grow the Kingdom Social media for churches is great when it is used for the right reasons to reach people for the Kingdom When a church focuses on marketing they are focusing on reaching beyond the walls of the church Marketing allows churches to preach the gospel to people who need to hear it most There is nothing wrong with telling other people about your church Jesus wants us to be fishers of men Fishing is a strategic sport where you have to use various methods to be successful We must find different ways to reach people We are called to be a light in the world so people can see the good works of your church Churches should celebrate the good works they are doing so others can be drawn to the church What is compelling about your c

Help Your Church Grow: We know you and your church are passionate about reaching people and impacting your city. That’s why we’ve partnered with Church Marketing University to develop the first-ever Church Marketing Strength Assessment. It’s a 20-question survey that only takes about 4-5 minutes. When you submit it you’ll immediately receive a score and a comprehensive analysis video of the results from the first 400 churches that have already taken the survey nationally. Fascinating results. You’ll get some real and concrete ideas on how you can better communicate – market – to your community that which God is doing at your church. Show Notes: Notes: You need to know what is happening in the church as a marketing manager Steven works with creative people to use their designs to feed the social marketing Steven’s team does not request promotions typically but they will create content that is consistent with the voice and the brand of the church Departments can contact the digital marketing team about p

We dive deep into some strategies James River Church is using to grow to over 12,000 people in attendance every week. Steven Records developed a digital marketing department at the church and is actively marketing the church online using various inbound marketing techniques. Steven breaks down what he is doing and the strategies he is using to better serve the community and build the church. Show Notes: Steven’s Journey Steven is the marketing director of James River Church, which averages over 12,000 people in attendance every week He was a student at the James River Leadership College before going to Australia to work at Hillsong James River Marketing The vision of James River shifts from season to season and the church rallies around the vision The core values are to reach the lost, expository preaching, discipleship, children and youth, developing people The digital marketing department uses any platform which helps them accomplish the goal of the core values Website Steven started wit