Don't let your church building be your brand
Churches often ask me to assess their website design. Most assessments begin with the same advice, don’t let your church building be your brand. It is never a good idea to rely “solely” on the image of your church as a brand marker. While there are exceptions, which I’ll discuss in a moment, in most cases, you should never use your church building as the means by which to promote your church. Specifically, don’t let the image of your church building be principal to the visual design of your website.
Years ago, Robert Fulghum reminded us that that all we really need to know, we learned in kindergarten. Let me illustrate. Interlace your fingers and repeat after me …
Here’s the church, and here’s the steeple.
Open the door, and see all the people.
The church is about relationships with a community of people and God, not a relationship with your building. And when seekers are church shopping online, which they do, they aren’t looking for the church with the best architecture. They are looking to be part of something bigger, a relationship with Christ, and an opportunity to make a difference in this world.
So here are the exceptions. If your church building is so central to your community, meaning you have tens of thousands of cars driving by it each day, or it is considered a historical marker, not by you, but by your state historical society, then you ought to consider including the building in your brand strategy. And one other exception; if your sanctuary is in high demand because of its beauty, meaning you are able to schedule at least 3-4 weddings per week, then use it to your advantage.
Let the stories of how the people of your congregation are making a difference in the world be your brand.
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