What’s Your Brand

Here are case studies of three very different churches — each with its own unique calling and culture — developing their own distinct “brand” to reflect those realities.

Three WCA Member Churches re-evaluate their brand strategies … and thrive as a result

Overhauling the Image

Pinellas Community Church, St. Petersburg, FL www.pinellaschurch.org

Positioned on the racial and socioeconomic divide of St. Petersburg, Fla., Senior Pastor David Melendez had visions of a truly integrated church where people of multiple races and social status could come together to learn about God.

Shortly before Easter 2002, Pinellas Community Church reintroduced itself to the area with an image that intentionally positioned the church where it wanted to be in the future.

“ In the past we had been a predominantly white church and wanted that to change,” explains Executive Pastor Mark Canfield. Pinellas church is positioned right on a cultural border. To the north, there is a predominantly white neighborhood. To the south, mostly black. “We want this church to be a place where everyone feels welcome, regardless of the color of his or her skin.”

The church also wanted to have an image that reflected their casual, laid back beach atmosphere. “This is not a place where you need to have it all together before you can come,” states Canfield, “but where you can dress the way you want and hear a message that addresses issues you face everyday.”

From The Ground Up

The logo was redesigned to reflect this casual Floridian image, and the Web site was re-architected to support the needs of both new and existing attendees. New signage, the bulletin, invitational cards, brochures, banners, and even bumper stickers were included in

the overhaul, all championed under the campaign, “Together We Can.” “Together we can … promote racial unity, strengthen family relationships, restore broken lives, and experience God’s love,” are the rallying cries woven throughout the campaign, supported by photos that were intentionally selected to have a multicultural feel. And it’s working.

“ People aren’t coming just because of our new logo,” says Canfield. “We are diverse, contemporary, and reaching out to the community. The new image is just an expression of that.”

The process began by clarifying the purpose of the church, who it intended to reach, and the attributes that are unique to the church. Pinellas is passionate about outreach, and its culture resonates with singles and young families in their 20s and 30s.

“ The rebranding process pushed us to think about who we are and asked the tough questions like, ‘How are we currently represented? What do we want to be?’” says Canfield. “People in our culture are visually stimulated and icon-oriented. Sometimes all we have is the glance of an eye. In that moment, what is it that we’re communicating?”

In the past year, Pinellas Community Church has grown from an average of 850 per weekend to levels reaching over 1,600, and a capital campaign had been initiated to meet expansion needs.

Previous logo

New Logo

Old vs. new Pinellas logos: "The new logo more accurately reflects the culture of Pinellas."

Reaching Out to Seekers

Northwest Assembly of God, Mt. Prospect, IL www.nwaog.com

“ Fifty years of history can sometimes be viewed as a negative,” says Rich Weller, pastor of this Pentecostal church in the Chicago suburbs. “Who said church is supposed to be boring? We want seekers to say ‘Wow!’”

When he assumed leadership of the church two years ago, Weller wanted to update its image. “To truly be outreach-oriented we needed be more relevant, less traditional, and look like a place our members would feel proud to invite their friends.”

But transitioning the church from previously being more inwardly focused to being more intentional about outreach takes a lot of work. The key was to first cast a vision that was focused on reaching new people, while still serving the needs of current members. “Reach Up, Reach In, Reach Out” reflected the vision and strategy for Northwest Assembly of God.

The church is also very focused about who they target. Bringing down the average age of the congregation was a primary goal, so the church began to focus heavily on reaching young families in their late 20s and early 30s.

Given the congregation’s strong sense of tradition, the leadership was selective about the transition process. Two of the first things to change were the logo and Web site. “I wanted to change the impression that we were behind the times,” says Weller, “and these were great opportunities to make a visible change.”

The site was developed to be a strategic communication vehicle, not only for existing members, but also for potential visitors. The home page was designed to address at a glance the top three questions seekers are often asking:

• Is this a place I’d feel comfortable and fit in?

• When and where are the services?

• How can I get connected at this church?

To help potential visitors understand the personality of the church, there’s a section of the site that profiles the key leaders of the church, listing their passion areas, life goals, and personal fun facts. Another section of the Web site describes the atmosphere of a church service, and features a movable panoramic view that reflects the energy of a service in progress. These are just two examples of how seekers can get a feel for the church before even setting foot on the property.

Rich Weller: " I wanted to change the impression that we were behind the times."

In addition to revamping the logo and Web site, the new look was applied to the bulletin and promotional materials. Momentum for change built within the church as the redesigned communications tools were rolled out.

The church also made a number of physical changes to be more outreach oriented. Services were restructured to incorporate more video use, the stage was reconstructed so it felt more like an auditorium, and carpeting and a fresh coat of paint were added. Fellowship and a sense of community improved after the church built a coffee bar in the lobby and hung pictures to create a more welcoming feel.

Any advice to other churches contemplating similar changes? Weller says, “Anything important is going to deserve your best, so create a budget. Go into it with a spirit of excellence — first impressions are so important.”

Becoming a Difference-Making Church

Asbury United Methodist Church, Little Rock, AR www.asbury-lr.org

Facing a trend of declining attendance and a somewhat insular culture, Pastor Jon Mac Taylor was called to this suburban Little Rock church just over a year ago. “As a 115-year old church, we wanted to retain our tradition without succumbing to traditionalism.”

Giving the Asbury congregation a unifying purpose was his starting point. “We went through a visioning process that helped us understand our DNA. We listened very carefully to God’s whisper for what we’re supposed to be doing,” says Taylor. Out of the visioning meetings, leaders identified that one of the church’s distinctive features is the fact that it’s an extremely friendly and caring church body. The only problem was that all of that caring was focused inward not outward.

Despite a century-long tradition and a prominent building on the hillside, very few people in the community ever heard much about Asbury Church — unless it was time for their annual garage sale. This isn’t just any garage sale, but the biggest of its kind in the community. One elder highlighted the problem with this picture: “I’d have to guess that the most likely perception the community has about Asbury is that we’re the ‘garage sale church.’”

The outcome of this visioning process? A new strategy that heavily emphasizes evangelism and missions, and Dr. Taylor preaches passionately on the church’s call to serve in the community and abroad. “We are fulfilling the vision of a church where each member is a minister — making disciples who are making disciples.”

Branding is playing a major role in achieving the church’s vision. A new logo and tagline seeks to empower and mobilize the congregation: “Asbury — Where You Make a Difference.” And the church reintroduced itself to the community by conveying their core message as a difference-making church.

The strategy is working. Many of the new attendees who have responding are younger families eager to find God and community in a serving-oriented church. To better serve this group, Asbury continues to enhance the contemporary worship service that heavily integrates use of the arts, initiated small groups for singles and career-age people, and beefed up its children’s ministry program. With the new vision and addition of a brand-new pipe organ, Asbury has seen renewed energy to those members who prefer traditional worship, as well as the contemporary service. Asbury has fully embraced the dual worship service format, and continues to differentiate the two services to better meet the needs of different audiences.

Central to Asbury’s communication strategy has been the development of a quality Web site. “If you invest nickels and dimes in outreach, you’ll get nickel and dime results,” warns Taylor. The Internet has been a powerful tool for outreach. Taylor estimates that 80 percent of the communication for Asbury’s outreach events is now online through e-mails and e-vites.

Asbury’s Web site was redesigned to reinforce the new vision. Taylor also wanted to make sure that it reflected the unique identity of the church. “A lot of church Web sites look exactly the same — its like thumbing through the Yellow Pages.” The new site highlights the church’s two types of worship services — traditional and contemporary — and presents information to meet the needs of both audiences.It also features opportunities for members to “make a difference.”

“ Marketing and strategy has helped us get clear on what we’re trying to do and intentional about doing it.” says Taylor.