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God calls all of humankind to be culture-makers. To make civilization. To transform the raw materials He created and make great things out of them.
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it” - Genesis 1:28
God wants us to make that which are worthy of praise to Him. That which echoes His Character and His creation — so that all of humanity can flourish.
Our passion for for-profit companies who want to be Christ-led is to help them build brands that are infused with this perspective and work to weave God’s Character into their ethos & identity. Whether this becomes overtly stated, or humbly unnoticed, we want to see more brands creating Godly culture and helping humanity flourish.
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The parachurch, in a Western context, is relatively still a newcomer in the history of the capital ‘C’ Church.
And while the Church remains the primary means of spreading the Gospel & providing a spiritual community for its disciples, the parachurch is needed more than ever to empower the Church as an effective gateway between inspiring & activating God’s people and affecting the world at large.
“There is one body, but it has many parts. But all its many parts make up one body.” - 1 Corinthian 12:12
Yet, as the Western world rapidly changes around us, how the parachurch engages has to follow the footsteps of the way the world itself operates.
Our passion for Christ-led non-profits is to build brands that do just that. We want to see more brands engaging in contemporary ways to help humanity flourish.
Be in the world & of His world.
Today, ‘brand’ rules supreme.
The competition is fierce. Customer trust is everything. Emotional connection is table stakes. Social identity connection is a requirement. The rise of digital technology and social media has made reach so easy and accessible that every company & cause is playing a constant tug-of-war for people’s attention.
That’s why branding is so important.
Your brand affects everything you do, from your signage to your digital presence to your business ethics to the words your receptionist says when he or she answers the phone.
It’s everything.
And to be effectively Christ-led as a brand, you have to ensure that every aspect of the organization, whether delivered or experienced, overtly or subtly, remains a consistent reflection of love & justice, connection & beauty, righteousness & goodness — committed to Godly civilization & human flourishing.
And that’s why the stakes are so high.
Branding takes time, costs money, and requires dedication & consistency in implementation for it to work. So why go through all the effort?
What’s at stake?
If you haven’t clearly figured out your brand, you will confuse your audiences and they won’t know what to expect from you. If you don’t pause to think critically about how your brand shows up as the world shifts, you will get left behind.
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Yes, you have to invest in the initial branding process, but over the long-run, studies show that strong brands:
Lead to reduced staff turnover and greater staff loyalty
Decrease your marketing expenditures because each message penetrates deeper and is better understood.
Improves word-of-mouth advertising both traditionally and increasingly through social media which also decreases your marketing costs while simultaneously increasing its effectiveness.
Makes decision-making easier. You learn not just what to say “yes” to, but more importantly, branding helps you know what to say “no” to.
Allows you to charge more for a product or service. Companies with strong brands can charge 15-20% more. Just think of Clorox bleach or Morton salt, both commodity products that sell for more.
Every message that goes out without a clear and consistent brand reflects a lost opportunity to use that for growing long-term relationships not just with the current audiences, but with people those audiences might talk to. Moreover, you end up spending more because you’re not as efficient with each touch point you have with constituents.
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Without a clear brand, you risk not knowing where or how to grow.
In addition, you will not stand out in an increasingly competitive environment and shifting landscape. Your staff – and thus your audiences – won’t be able to describe you and tell your story consistently.
As a result, you’ll find it harder to grow but even worse, you may lose current audiences who don’t know how you’re better than similar brands out there or how to talk to others about you.
You can’t have brand loyalty if they don’t know your brand.
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We often think of branding on only the funding or sales or marketing side. But a strong brand will make mission-focused decisions easier because you’ll be able to say “no” to opportunities that may be good but aren’t the best.
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In many organizations, people leave because they feel the organization is adrift. They buy into the mission, but don’t see that mission lived out consistently. Having a clear brand helps re-energize staff and align them to be both more effective in their jobs and better at communicating who the brand is to others. Empower and equip your staff with clear messaging and you have a powerful platform for reaching others.
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A brand doesn’t just clarify who you are, but why someone should care.
There are numerous competitors: how will you be different? And why will that difference matter to people?
No one is going to go out of their way to get excited about you. They have enough on their plates. If you can’t excite them, apathy wins.