Branding in the American Evangelical Church

American culture is constantly being told to develop the perfect image, selling ourselves to culture for the sake of popularity and likes. As media increases, so does the desire to become acknowledged, sought after, and promoted. Organizations do the same, creating the best brand image to be the most well-known and, in turn, have the highest profit. This is true even for the church, and because of it, many American Evangelical Churches, specifically non-denominational churches have chosen to adhere to market culture. We even see extreme examples like what is found in “The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill”, a podcast in which a church leader fed into narcissism and used media to build a buisness-based brand for himself and his church. Some churches fall intro similar practices, promoting an identity that fits the culture rather than one that remains rooted in biblical truth. This is extremely detrimental to the church body and its identity. It is essential to know how to communicate the church in a theologically correct way as the church affects every believer, as branding is becoming more and more prevalent in our culture. American Evangelical Church branding should be theologically based, promoting Christian unity and avoiding church market culture. First, I will explain what branding is, specifically about the church. Next, I will describe the harmful effects of treating your church as a product. I will discuss the pastor’s place in church branding and then draw out conclusions to help build a framework for how church branding should be done biblically and effectively. I will explain how church branding should be done biblically and effectively. This is not a set model to fit every church; rather, it is a basis for how churches should look at their branding and identity communication.

Branding and Marketing Defined

Many sources talk about the do’s and don’ts of branding while never asking the question of whether it is even biblical to brand, market, or promote your church. There are millions of different Christian churches with about a million different core messages in our world right now. Everyone is promoting something different. They are all trying to get people to attend their church. Often, churches use terms like marketing and branding as an attempt to differentiate themselves from other churches, yet they don’t have a clear or concise definition of what these terms mean. They misinterpret the concepts of branding and marketing, looking to other businesses to help. They assume that what other organizations are doing is the right direction for the church and adopt these practices. Rather, marketing needs to be omitted fully from the church and branding needs to be redefined in relation to the church. To begin, let’s first define these terms in relation to what they mean culturally.According to Integrated Marketing Communications, written by Robyn Blakeman, the term brand refers to a “name, term, sign, symbol, or design or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of the competition” (Blakeman, 305). While Merriam-Webster states that a brand is “a public image, reputation, or identity conceived of as something to be marketed or promoted.” In the book Branding Faith written by Phil Cooke, Cooke argues that branding is all about others’ perception of you as it is the story surrounding your organization  (Cooke, 88). He states that when it comes to your church and branding, you need to tell your story, but rather it is not our story to tell; it is God’s (Cooke, 88). Even from these two definitions, the word brand can have many different meanings. The same is true with the term marketing. The book Marketing the Church by George Barna describes the definition of marketing as “the performance of business activities that direct the flow of goods and services from the producer to the consumer, to satisfy the needs and desires of the consumer and the goals and objectives of the product” (Barna, 41). While Merriam-Webster states it as “the process or technique of promoting, selling, and distributing a product or service.”These terms have been misused, portraying a range of definitions, leaving it confusing to both the audience and those using these terms. The American Evangelical Church should start to stray away from these terms, specifically those relating to marketing. These terms imply the promotion of the church as a product, an item “consumers” buy. The church is not a business, rather it should be seen as the unified body of Christ. There is no product, rather it is participation in one of the most sacred things, union with Christ in community with others. The American Evangelical Church has blurred the lines between business and religion, causing overlap in practices and terms. Branding a church has become the everyday inevitable. Because even if you have no media, no website, no logo, you are still communicating something to your audience or the world, and people will say something about your church. The more control you have over your identity and what you are communicating, the more influence you have on your brand. To do this well, there must be a clear definition of what the brand means to the church. Forms of media might look different from church to church, as some churches will choose to use other social media platforms, have unique photography, or have different resources. But the core foundational ideas of what a brand is concerning the church should all remain the same.A brand is what others say about you, and to take from Merriam-Webster’s definition, it is the promotion of your identity. It is a story, but it is not our story; it is God’s. Stripping the definition of church branding down to these terms removes most implications of working as a business. On the other hand, marketing, both the term and practices, should be removed entirely from the church. The business cliché terms used in an American Evangelical Church context do not represent the church as the body of Christ. The practices promote the church as a business, with a consumer/seller model that contradicts scripture and the nature of God. It goes against his intention for believers and the church.This take on branding supports the common model of communication, as the work that Christ-followers do should flow from one shared core, Christ. This definition, branding, and media become less about technique and more about the meaning, in this case, the meaning of the church. Technique shouldn’t be ignored, but it shouldn’t be the focus.When the focal point of the church is technique, we get production-based services, stock photos in the media, and concert-like worship. It becomes more about the look rather than the core identity and reason for doing things. Often bigger churches (but not all) struggle the most with this such as Willow Creek Community Church. Flashy lights, baptism weekends, and a focus on online church drowns out the meaning and intentionality of the church and body of Christ. Holy practices in the church become like a show and the media becomes all about selling the events, resources, and services.Smaller churches (but not all) struggle with the opposite problem. There is little to no technique, but they hold on to the meaning of the church. One example is NorthBrook Church. Their services hold deep meaning and focus on community and care, but their website reflects none of that. There is not a lot of thought to technique, causing their media to look unprofessional.Technique is valuable but when it becomes the focus of the church’s identity instead of the consumer/seller model, the church can reflect this common center and structure their wording, aesthetics, photography, and logo around this. Branding will then reflect Christ, not humans or the church as a whole.

Marketing Betrays Meaning

Marketing language has no place in media ministry that matters as it betrays the message’s meaning (Kammerzelt, 185). The American Evangelical Church already struggles to conform to mainstream practices, and marketing amplifies this. It does not allow Christ to remain as the center; rather, it causes the church to work backward, giving up theology for the sake of the culture’s desires (Kammerzelt, 185). The media and even the church can lose their meaning, especially when choosing their focal point to be what others want. If the brand reflects the church’s identity but instead reflects mainstream social practices, then this communicates that the church only cares about mainstream social practices.Using marketing practices causes the church to lack the depth that the Lord has commanded. It is nothing more than an item that requires merchandising. It takes away meaning from both the message and the people in attendance. It causes the church to be cheap and flashy, stripping it of its core meaning in Christ and replacing it with self-focused and self-promotional messaging. Meaning diminishes through marketing practices chosen over-communicating the biblical identity of the church. Music, photos, graphics all become catered to the market rather than communicating biblical truth and beauty.

The Identity of the Church 

The entirety of the church must promote a singular identity that is found in Christ alone. Every believer is a part of one body of Christ and should hold to one goal. This should remain at the center of a church’s brand. Sadly, this probably won’t happen, considering people have various views about how the church, Jesus, God, and Christianity look. Continuing, churches should strive to communicate one core identity. The church’s goal and identity are not in the resources or ministries they offer but in what Christ intended for the church. Church marketing and branding center around church growth, but this should not be the church’s priority (Barna, 21). Church branding should format around the purpose of the church – to figure out what the core message of this is. There must be a clear understanding of the purpose and intention of the church.The church’s core identity can be found in Paul’s description of the details of the church. Christ has equipped his people for service through the church so that Christ may be built up until Christians reach unity in faith and become mature in Christ (Eph. 4:11-16). Paul continues describing how believers will be from one body joined together as Christians build each other up in love. This passage gives a clear description of the importance and purpose of the church. Church identity is expanded upon in The Great Commission commanding followers of Christ to go and make disciples of all the nations; this can be used as a core message for the church (Matt. 28:16-20).Jesus declares that the purpose of his church and the creation of it is so the gates of hell will not prevail (Matt. 16:18). Christ intended the church to build up His body. The body of Christ consists of many members with all different purposes that are unique and important to the church, but all believers are unified in Christ (1 Cor. 12:12-27). The Church needs to remain a sacred place of worship. It is not a cheapened business centered around consumer culture. Jesus witnessed individuals ruining his sacred house of prayer with business practices and responded with anger, knowing this was taking away from its intended purpose (Matt. 21:12-13).In conclusion, the church’s core identity is to equip believers for service to go and make disciples. It provides a place for believers to grow closer to Christ and worship him as part of a community. It is where everyone has a place This should be the basis of each church and how they brand themselves. This is what churches should be promoting. This truth should be reflected in everything that the church is communicating, even their media. 

Unity in the Church and its Media

The Bible strongly commands unity and promoting the same core purpose helps churches have one unified message. The church is catholic, inclusive of every tribe, language, people, and nation (Rev. 5:9). The church’s media should reflect this, communicating that they know they are part of one body. Many passages encourage unity, Paul even commands the church in Corinth to abstain from divisions and be united (1 Cor. 1:10,12-13). There is one unified body (Eph. 4:4-5). The desire for unity is expressed by many biblical authors, including both John and Paul (John 17:20-23). Unity is an integral part of the church and an essential part of both effective ministry and building up the body of believers.The church’s media should reflect the command for unity that is mentioned throughout the Bible. Media and branding should not pin churches against one another, winning people to their church over Christ the Savior. Instead, branding is to direct people to the church as a whole. Websites, social media pages, and other tools help communicate resources and events and the church’s core identity, which essentially for all Bible following churches should be the same.Even the media can help pull people into unity or disunity. Disunity is closely associated with isolation, a prime area for Satan to attack and for sin to breed. It can cause churches to become individualistic, or it can connect and bond the body of Christ. Sin has affected everything that we do, including branding, but churches can, with intention, work to restore their branding and media. Media and branding wield more power than most people realize. At the same time, media has been a powerful tool and a deadly weapon. If correct theology influences branding, the media produced from this will glorify God and unite others rather than glorify the individual church.

The Harmful Effects of Market Culture

There are many harmful effects of treating the church like a product. Products are to be sold. Contrary to what some resources say, the church is not a business and should not use business-like techniques. The book Marketing the Church argues that marketing is not a worldly activity and instead is an exercise of God’s gifts to use in the ministry of communicating and persuading people (Barna, 18-19). Barna continues stating that the church is in the ministry business while describing that anything from evangelism to sharing information about a church service is marketing (Barna 16,26). There is no scripture to back these points up; instead, it proves that the persuasion tactics are not for the church.According to the book, Selling out the Church, churches must not adopt a consumer orientation as forcing the church into a marketing model can seriously harm it (Barna 44-48). Jesus nor the early church had a consumer orientation. They were aware of the needs of others while holding firmly to the message that they were communicating. Churches should not change their identity to fit the preferences of individuals (Barna, 23). They should be aware of the needs of their community and create programs to fit churches while not losing their identity. When churches become centered around the individuals, Christianity becomes more like a market where people get to ‘church shop’ and look for a place that best fits them. The focus becomes less about evangelism, fellowship, and Jesus and more about music, resources, and what the church can give to the person. The latter is amplified above the former, causing people to care more about the earthly things offered to them than the core message of the gospel, the only genuinely fulfilling gift. Individuals in the church may find specific views and preferences to divide themselves rather than finding unification in Christ.The American Evangelical Church is already falling into this pattern. In the book The Little Church Went to the Market, Gary Gilley argues that the church has lost sight of the gospel, promoting me-centered thinking rather than Christ-centered (Gilley 69-71). Churches promote a Gospel that needs tinkering to become interesting and engaging to individuals. Often church marketing feeds into this, treating the church as entertainment and cultivating it as a product that needs selling. A church needs to have the best events, best sermons, best logo, best name, and all of their media need to communicate this. It is about being what people want, not communicating God’s truth that people need.Some argue that a market-driven church is people-centered, while instead, it is product-centered. Marketing tells you that your church has a product, and you are applying your product to your target audience. You must sell your product and sell a lot of it to achieve greatness. The product is relationships, people’s need for a saving relationship with Christ (Barna, 23,50-52). Yet, nowhere in the Bible does it imply that the gospel is a product we must give to consumers. It is not our job, nor can we save people. Christ gives salvation as a gift through his sacrifice alone (John 3:16, Luke 19:10, Romans 6:23). Treating this sacred gift as a product not only gives the illusion that it is in our control, it degrades the most precious thing ever given to humans. It completely takes the meaning out of it, making it nothing more than something that requires selling.Marketing your church can also pit your church against others. Churches will tie their name to everything in hopes of drawing attention to themselves over another church. An example of this is the Harvest Bible Chapel webpage.Their name links to every ministry and group affiliated with them, so you know that this belongs to Harvest. Marketing affiliated brands encourage disunity and individual promotion above others. As mentioned above, unity is a command found countless times in scripture. If churches are supposed to reflect Christ and God, they should remember his commands and not blatantly ignore them for their gain. They are focused on promoting themselves over the catholic church. Churches are supposed to encourage one unifying body, not divide it.

The Church is not a Business

A church is not a business and should not be looking for ‘profit’ contrary to sources such as the book Marketing the Church. Here Barna believes heartily that the church is a business and focuses on profit margins (Barna, 26). He continues stating that effective church marketing is the only way for the church to succeed, while the failure to embrace a marketing orientation will lead to collapse (Barna, 27). Barna goes as far as to compare the church to organizations like Sears, encouraging the American Church to follow suit in their marketing practices.Secular organizations are thriving with their marketing techniques because they are a business, not a church. The Bible called believers to be set apart from the world, not of it (1 John 4:4-5). If the church is the body of believers, then as a whole, they should be set apart from the world in what they preach and believe, clinging to God’s truth rather than conforming to cultural norms. Secular organizations do not commit to the word of Christ and are in no way seeking to honor and glorify the Lord. They all have different goals with different means to achieve these goals. They are seeking profit, something in return. The church should not be like this. The church should hold to one identity, and there is no effective measurement of profit. Being aware of church membership, resources, tithing, etc., is important, but when it becomes the church’s focus and media, the core message is lost.When the church focuses on profit over its identity, it falls into the cult of technique.“The cult of technique is obsessed with metrics and the measurable. This creates blinders as it convinces us there is nothing beyond the veil of the observable metrics… If we are not careful, we become baited into endless discussions about exploiting the narrow band of the measurable—looking to and loyal only to those numbers and techniques for our solutions; leaving us ignorant of all the richness of meanings and media that lies beyond our measurable field of view (Kammerzelt, 177).”When churches become transactional, they lose sight of their purpose, taking the focus from Christ and turning it onto products and numbers. It is not our job to save souls for Christ. It is God’s. Marketing implies an exchange between God and us, but rather God does not lack and does not need anything from us (Kenneson and Street, 49-62). Support for this can be found in Acts 17:24-25 that states“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything since he gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.”The church will only grow through Christ. People will only become saved through Christ. Marketing implies that it is on us, not Christ.

Analysis of the Role of the Pastor and Church Identity 

Many incredible and God-gifted pastors reside in our world today. These people have immensely influenced both the Christian community as a whole and churches individually. They are influential individuals, but how much weight should they have in the branding and identity of their church? Tobi Adegboyego, former lead pastor of Salvation Proclaimers Anointed Church moved from Nigeria to offer hope to young people. Quickly becoming popular, the church turned cultish and now has been exposed to an array of controversies. Adegboyego lives more of a celebrity lifestyle, with a fancy house and dressing in expensive designer clothing.Without a careful analysis of the role of the pastor, celebrity pastors take over our churches. Creating the head for a market-based church. Some churches are known by their pastors, and people attend just to hear them speak. Some churches have even taken their pastor and made it their ‘face,’ distorting the intended identity of the church. When a pastor falls, so does that church. People become tied to the pastor, and churches become more like a conference rather than the gathering of Christ’s body. So much of a church’s identity encompasses the pastor’s identity, and often the branding reflects that. When you check in on the “About Us” or “Who Are We” section of a church’s website, you see the pastor or a list of the leadership. Pastors become elevated above the congregation – this is not how the church should be structured. Their focal point should not be on one individual.In 1 Timothy 3:1-13, Paul describes the characteristics of a biblical pastor. He explains how they must be gentle, self-controlled, able to teach, an overseer, hospitable, and respectable, but nowhere does Paul mention that a pastor or leader of the church must hold the sole identity or even any part of the identity of a church. Paul continues in Titus 1:5-9, talking about the appointed elders and how they are God’s steward. Pastors are essential and valuable to every church. Pastors are a biblical role with clear instructions from God on acting and leading, but there is no reference in the Bible that pastors should be the church’s identity.Pastors should reflect the ministry of Jesus. They should work to build a relationship with God, preach the gospel, meet the needs of people, make disciples, and dedicate his life to service. Jesus was people-centered rather than self-centered. His relationship with the church and the world was one of servanthood. Pastors should adopt this way of life, which should reflect in their role in the church and essentially the church’s brand.Pastors are an agent of God. But they are still human and will sin. They will fall, and if that happens, a church should not crumble with it. Christ is the foundation of the church, not a pastor (Eph. 1:22-23). Christ should be the guiding force for the pastor, where the congregation finds its identity. The identity of the church should instead reflect its sole purpose; to be a place of fellowship to grow believers and, in turn, evangelize and grow the body of Christ. Supporting verses for this can be found in Matthew 28:19-20, Luke 4:18, and Matthew 16:18. The church’s media and branding should reflect this as well. When pastors don’t do this, people get hurt.

Not One Individual is the Brand

Branding reflects an organization’s identity or what other people say about you, but the more work you do in your branding, the more influence you have in what others say. Even if the church does not think they are promoting the pastor too much, they need to be aware of what others think of them and the story and message they are portraying to their audience. Pictures and images should reflect the people who attend the service, not the pastor. The pride and praise from a church belong to God, not any specific person.No one individual should be the brand of the church (1 Cor. 12:12-27). Books like You Are the Brand by Steve Adubato present a contrary argument, listing how to create yourself to be the best brand, focusing your life around self-advertising. The values of self-branding and self-promotion contradict the values of the church. Self-promotion is focused inward, getting others to follow you as you build a name for yourself. As Christians, God calls us to be humble and selfless, putting others before ourselves (Phil. 2:3, Prov 22:4, Eph. 4:2).It is special that God has placed people with different backgrounds and gifts as pastors. There are former NFL players and big-name preachers who also preach all over the world. But when people attend the church, they should grow closer to who God is and become equipped to share the gospel. The pastor is an integral part of this, but they are not everything. When branding a church, the focus needs to be surrounding the gospel. Even when you are discussing church events and ministries, the focus should be on the congregation. A church is a body of believers. The branding of a church needs to reflect this as well. Churches can change things like the ‘About Us’ section to reflect their identity that should not be residing in the pastor alone, but rather what they are called to do as a church. People should know who the pastor is, but they should not be the sole focus of all the media, branding, and identity.

Example

One church that has done church branding poorly as they have closely related the identity of the church with the identity of the pastor is Rock Church. If you scroll to the middle of the Home Page, you will right away see a blurb about the pastor with a link to his personal page.This pastor is closely tied to the church and its congregation. He has become the brand. Not only should he not be a brand at all, but he also should not be the church’s brand. This implies that he plays a prominent role in the church’s identity; rather, no single person but Christ should have a role in the church’s identity. Sadly, this is one out of many churches that holds to a structure like this.

A Foundation for American Evangelical Church Branding 

First, branding is not a one size fits all approach. How a church of 10,000 members uses, media will look different from a church with 100 members. This is a foundation including key points that no church should miss when it comes to its brand. Instead of focusing on branding as a competition between churches or hyper-focusing on one individual, the church’s brand should promote the church’s identity to encourage believers to grow closer to Christ, along with other believers, and in turn, spread that truth to others.Media can be aesthetically pleasing without drawing individuals away from the core identity and purpose of the church. When people see a church’s media, it matters less that they know their name or logo; instead, they should know what the catholic church stands for. Churches should desire for individuals to attend a church, as long as it is scripturally sound. They should not be in extreme competition to get people to attend their church specifically. If people are attending a church, it is a great thing for any church because that means there is an added member to the universal body of Christ. Media should be cohesive, reflecting the common center.

How to Practically Apply this to Your Church

First, solidify the identity of the church. That needs to be the mission statement on all of the church’s media, and everyone in the church should know what the purpose of the church is. When thinking about websites, logos, banners, photos, etc., it should constantly refer back to the common center of the church’s identity. When creating media or social media pages, churches should ask themselves, “why are we doing this and what are we trying to communicate?” They then can cross-check that with the biblical identity of the church. The position behind branding and media should be one of selflessness, love, humility, truth, and desire for union in the body of Christ.When a church is ready to start addressing individual media channels in their brand, they should start with their website; this is often the centrality in a church’s media. Format the website around the core identity of the church, not the pastor or the resources. It should include information around the church, such as events, sermons, etc., but when looking at the content, you should blatantly see the purpose of the church.Images both on the website and in other media should reflect unity. It should not be promotional of one individual, but rather images should be real and authentic, showing the true congregation of the church.The church should change its wording to focus on things like the salvation and redemption found in the personhood of Christ, rather than tying the church’s name to everything. It should directly reflect the catechisms and confessions of the church; directly revealing what the church believes. It should be centered on who Christ is, what is biblically called of the church, and what is called of us as Christians. An example of this done well is Park Community Church. Their wording is focused on the gospel stating things like “The Gospel of Jesus Christ Teaches Us to Pray.” They then exemplify how their church does this. Their messaging does not self-promote; rather, it promotes the word of God and shows how their church incorporates that into their ministry. When reading their website, it does not feel like they are trying to win you over or show you how much better they are than other churches. Instead, it encourages individuals to partake in ministry as a whole. They are not perfect, but their wording does a good job of communicating that church is about growing individuals towards Christ and other believers, not about the events, resources, and ‘name’ of a church.Church branding often has been done poorly in American Evangelical churches, promoting the church as a business, or elevating its pastor to become the identity of the brand. Marketing terms have been used in the church, creating the church to become consumer-based and diminishing the church's meaning. Instead, the church’s brand should be the core biblical identity of equipping its congregation to grow closer to the Lord, grow alongside other believers, and in turn, share God’s truth with others.Exemplification Project: Click HERE to access a guide for a basis for American Evangelical Church Branding. Its purpose is for a church to utilize the outline to analyze, reflect, and cultivate a theologically based brand.

References 

Adubato, Steve. You Are the Brand. Rutgers University Press, 2011.Barna, George. Marketing the Church. NavPress, 1993.Blakeman, Robyn. Integrated Marketing Communication: Creative Strategy from Idea to Implementation. Rowman & Littlefield, 2018.Chapel, Harvest Bible. “Harvest Bible Chapel.” Harvest Bible Chapel Homepage Comments, harvestbiblechapel.org/.Christianity Today. “The Brand”. The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill, 3 Aug 2021, https://open.spotify.com/episode/0fkNHuenkKJSaOyCxeROqw?si=bkYAbkuqRP-eVA1gP5RVEwCooke, Bruno. “Who Is Pastor Tobi Adegboyega? Meet the Founder of SPAC Nation Aka 'Church of Bling'.” The Focus, 20 Nov. 2020, https://www.thefocus.news/celebrity/who-is-pastor-tobi-adegboyega/.Cooke, Phil. Branding Faith: Why Some Ministries Impact Culture and Others Don't. Regal Books, 2008.“The 'Do Something Church'.” Rock Church - San Diego, CA, www.sdrock.com/.Gilley, Gary E. This Little Church Went to Market: The Church in the Age of Entertainment. Evangelical Press, 2006.Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Crossway Bibles, 2001.Kammerzelt, Brian “Ministry Media Matters,” Communications Theory, Theology, and Culture (class Notes, Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, IL, 2020).Kenneson, Philip D., and James L. Street. Selling out the Church: The Dangers of Church Marketing. Cascade Books, 2003.“NorthBrook Church.” WELCOME TO NORTHBROOK!, https://www.nbchurchmn.org/index.html.The Merriam Webster Dictionary. Zane Pub., 1995.Park Community Church, parkcommunity.church/.PreachersNSneakers [@preachersnsneakers]. Photo of Tobi Adegboyega. Instagram, 20 Nov. 2021 https://www.instagram.com/p/CW4Z9XAJQGO/Willow Creek Community Church, https://www.willowcreek.org/.