Developing a Tagline for Your Church, Step 2: Gospel Promise

Step two in this process is really quite fun. You now want to determine the best promise for your church to make to people outside of the church, in a way that will resonate with people inside of the church.

An import aspect of this promise is understanding that all products and services make a promise. And most of them over-promise. For example…

  • Coca Cola isn’t promising quality sugar water, it’s promising happiness
  • Southwest Airlines doesn’t provide a safe, on-time plane ride, it provides freedom
  • Mary Kay doesn’t sell cosmetics but offers life enrichment for women

 

The exciting thing for the church is that we don’t over-promise when we make bold statements about transcendent ideals like happiness, freedom and life enrichment. For the church stewards the Gospel of Jesus Christ which can really deliver on the promise!

Yet, I do recommend that you refine your promise based on two criteria that you use to filter all of the potential promises that the gospel can make:

  1. Your strengths as discerned and expressed through your Vision Frame (step one)
  2. The strength of your church culture as experienced by an outsider in the  first four weeks

 

Since we dealt with the first criteria in step one, let’s talk about the second criteria.

Usually a church reflects one of its strengths better than others as you experience the church for the first time. For example a small church might create an intimate environment where a large church may offer inspiring teaching. And then think about it a step further. Is the intimacy of a small church more about acceptance or about transformation? Is the inspiration of the large church environment geared toward challenging a next level of growth or getting started with a second chance on life?

In order to discern this first impression I look for:

  • An honest assessment of the “first-touch” environment, usually, but not always, the worship service.
  • A good understanding of both worship style and personality of worship leadership
  • A good understanding of the primary teacher’s style, gifting and personality
  • Comments made from guests and membership classes/processes

 

Why do we look at this initial exposure to the church? While the church hopefully fulfills all of the facets of a gospel-community, it’s opportunistic to align the face of your church through branding and marketing to the strength of your upfront experience. It creates a seamless connection for your guests! In the long run, it most likely positions the greatest strength of your culture.

To determine your promise, use the Ministry Brand Promise Palette developed by our team at Auxano Design. Do this with your team:

  1. Reviewing the Vision Frame and consider the first experience of your ministry
  2. Ask each leader to select two “slices” from the palette
  3. Tally the responses and select the top-two “slices” giving you four words total
  4. Create a hyphenated two-word promise by picking the best word from each of the top “slices”

For example your promise might be:

  • Authentic-excitement
  • Growth-intimacy
  • Freedom-new beginning

 

GO TO Step THREE: Brainstorm many possible tag lines

Return to Church Tagline Post Overview

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Will Mancini

Will Mancini

Will Mancini wants you and your ministry to experience the benefits of stunning, God-given clarity. As a pastor turned vision coach, Will has worked with an unprecedented variety of churches from growing megachurches and missional communities, to mainline revitalization and church plants. He is the founder of Auxano, creator of VisionRoom.com and the author of God Dreams and Church Unique.

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comment_post_ID); ?> Thank you for this information. I'm going to use this article to improve my work with the Lord.
 
— Abel Singbeh
 
comment_post_ID); ?> Thank you Ed for sharing your insights into the Church Growth Movement. I have my reservations with Church Growth models because it has done more damage than good in the Body of Christ. Over the years, western churches are more focused on results, formulas and processes with little or no emphasis on membership and church discipline. Pastors and vocational leaders are burnt out because they're overworked. I do believe that the Church Growth model is a catalyst to two destructive groups: The New Apostolic Reformation and the Emerging Church. Both groups overlap and have a very loose definition. They're both focus on contemporary worship, expansion of church brand (franchising), and mobilizing volunteering members as 'leaders' to grow their ministry. Little focus on biblical study, apologetics and genuine missional work with no agenda besides preaching of the gospel.
 
— Dave
 
comment_post_ID); ?> Thank you for sharing such a good article. It is a great lesson I learned from this article. I am one of the leaders in Emmanuel united church of Ethiopia (A denomination with more-than 780 local churches through out the country). I am preparing a presentation on succession planning for local church leaders. It will help me for preparation If you send me more resources and recommend me books to read on the topic. I hope we may collaborate in advancing leadership capacity of our church. God Bless You and Your Ministry.
 
— Argaw Alemu
 

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