Anybody who traffics in marketing circles knows that branding is replacing marketing as the “in vogue” way of talking about what used to be called advertising

I thought I’d post a few branding thoughts.

One of my core convictions is that the greatest message deserves the greatest marketing. Another way of saying it is this: best message deserves the best branding. I’m obviously not talking about gimmicks that cheapen the gospel. I’m talking about Luke 14. Jesus said, “Compel them to come in.” The word means “to demand attention.”

How do we become more compeling?

The key to branding is what I’d call the law of differentiation.

Too many churches look too much alike We try to be like each other so much that we lose our originality and authenticity. We end up with lots of church clones. If you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all.

There are almost 400,000 churches in America, but most of them are invisible. As Seth Godin says, either you’re remakable or invisible. You’ve heard of the “Invisible Man.” I think there are lots of “Invisible Churches” out there.

One of the things we’ve done to increase visibility is creative outreaches that show the love of Christ in practical ways.

Don’t get me wrong. We’re not into “photo ops.” But the good news should make the news

Our annual Easter Egg Hunt on Capitol Hill has increased our visibility in the community because more than 1,000 kids participate. The network news actually covered it last year. Obviously, if your motives are wrong nothing is right. You’ve got to do the right things for the right reasons–”innocent as doves.” But we’ve got to be “shrewd as snakes” as well.

Another outreach that has really impaced our community is extreme home makeover NCC style. We find a single mom that needs helps and we give her home a makeover on Mother’s Day.

The real issue in branding is what should differentiate us?

Unfortunately, I think many churches are differentiated by what they’re against.

I think we ought to be differentiated by our love. Isn’t that what Jesus said? I’d love to be known as the church that puts a towel around its waist and serves people. I’d love to be known as the church that reflects the creativity of the Creator. I’d love to be known as the church that has authentic community.