Just like private organizations, churches have specific missions, particular atmospheres, and diverse but often unique congregations. Churches must promote their brands to the rest of the world, and do so via websites, fliers handed out on street corners by volunteers, church-sponsored coffee houses, movie nights, and Bible study groups. But unlike other organizations, branding efforts go beyond advocating the church's name and reputation—they are a part of the holy mission itself.
"Churches have the greatest story ever told, but they don't know how to tell it," said Brad Abare, the founder of the Center for Church Communication, which features the blog ChurchMarketingSucks.com. "We [at the CFCC] think there's a communication problem. That remarkable story is lost thanks in part to poor research, little or no planning, bad clip art, cheesy photos and ignorable ads. We believe there's a better way. It's not simply flashy designs or catchy slogans, but effective and authentic communication."
However, marketing and branding a church hasn't always been a popular thing to do. In fact, just the term branding can cause some debate. Rather than calling it branding, Scott Thumma, researcher at the Hartford Institute for Religion Research and professor of sociology of religion at Hartford Seminary, explained, "I prefer to think of it more as an awareness and intentional demonstration of what God wants each church to be and to whom God is distinctively calling the church to reach."
"If a congregation knows and displays its clear sense of God's mission playing out in the church's programs, ministries and self-presentation," he continued, "prospective members can make more informed decisions about whether they fit with that mission and direction...This is not a diminishing of the message of Christianity, but it is a market segmentation by cultural and style subgroups, much as the economic market has defined itself."
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