Church identity resources

Creating and using a church identity, also known as "branding", is a sign that a church is "serious" about public relations. Branding is not just for businesses. Churches reap benefits from applying the same principles that help business with their "identity".

Branding both answers the question, "Who are we?" (by use of a meaningful logo), and provides a consistent look that people begin to associate with your specific local church.

Church identity is not just producing and using a new logo. It includes the whole consistent "look" of your church products, both printed and electronic. Fonts used, font sizes, colors, even shapes of products can all be a part of a consistent identity.

Below are some typical church products in the two basic categories and can benefit from a consistent branding.

Print media

• Stationery
• Intra-office memos and note paper
• Newsletters
• Worship bulletins (where used)
• In-pew materials
• Brochures 
• Post cards
• Pamphlets and leaflets
• Flyers & posters
• Door hangers
• Print ads
• Ad-type banners
• Business cards
• Give-away products (mugs, for example)

Electronic media

• Emails from church staff
• Emailed news, notes, or similar publications where the email itself is the publication
• Web sites of all types -- including blogs
• Videos
• Projected materials (for services, classes, or meetings)
• Online ads
• Online business locators (such as Google, which lets you associate a photo with your church's map location and with your business information)

To make good use of funds people give to further God's work on earth, look for free online resources. One example is a free class on identity by Hewlett Packard. You have to sign up, but it's free.

A few online identity resources toget you started...

• Branding? For churches?
• Church branding
• Identity (branding) postings at this blog
• Creating a distinctive identity (online class by HP)
• Five Reasons Why Missional Churches Cannot Ignore Identity Branding
• Unity Church Marketing blog ("church identity" labels)

A couple image searches you can use for logo inspiration...

• Church logos (Bing image search)
• Church identity (Bing image search)

Web 2.0 can be dangerous

Usability expert Jakob Nielsen says Web 2.0 can be bad. "Before throwing spending money at "2.0" features, make sure that you have all the "1.0" requirements working to perfection." He says that most web sites don't yet use terms in headlines and page titles that their visitors would use.

What's the message to church web developers? Before you leap into trying to adopt fancy new techniques, make sure you have done your best using the older methods. Few churches have a lot of time and funds to devote to web work, so make the most of what you have. For example, do you meet all the below criteria on every web page of your current site?

• Each page's code includes keywords appropriate only for that page, a descriptive page title, and a short description.
• Common, non-churchy language and terms.
• Easy navigation that any visitor can understand.
• An uncluttered design .
  Don't distract from the text message.
• No splash or introductory type page.
  Such pages force the visitor to click once again just to get to the real home page.
• A minimum of animated graphics.
  Animated graphics pull the eye away from the main content area, which should be the meat of the page.
• A good contrast of text and background.
  A background image may look great, but also make text hard to read when placed on top of it.
• Text is easy to read at any common screen resolutions.
  A fixed 10pt font on a 1024x768 screen resolution is "squint print".
• Visitors can easily resize text.
  At over 1024x768 pixel resolution, visitors may need to enlarge small text to make it easy to read.

You can't have it all

Rarely do churches have the staff, volunteers, and funds to do absolutely everything they'd love to. The applies in the web communications as well as other traditional committee areas. So what do you do? You prioritize the work. But how do you do that and involve church members as well as staff.

Below are thoughts about getting fresh ideas and then prioritizing web work using brainstorming:

• Open a session with the understanding that your church cannot do everything it would like to.
• Brainstorm ideas for web communications of all sorts.
• Use a session moderator, one good at encouraging ideas.
• Adopt rules:
• All ideas are welcomed.
• Phrase ideas as positive ones.
• No discussion during this first phase -- just generate tons of ideas.
• Let others' ideas spur you to related ones.
• Don't criticize any idea given. Ideas at this stage may not even be practical, and may be "far out". The aim is a ton of ideas, some of which you'll end up using.
• Ignore whether your church currently has the resources to implement an idea or not. That analysis comes later.
• Set a time limit for brainstorming (30 - 40 minutes, maximum).
• Collect all ideas. One way is to use paper or a large "dry erase board" to record all ideas.
• Use one main collection method. One is a "limb and branch" approach [I forget the technical term] ... draw lines and mark the ideas above the lines. Fan out lines that are related. This actually helps spur ideas! [Anyone who knows the technical term -- post here for the benefit of all.]
• Categorize the ideas (some may fit in more than one category).
• Ask group members what categories (groupings) they see in the ideas.
• Jot down each possible grouping.
• Ask the group to assign actions to the first category.
• Record the responses.One way is to use a different colored dry erase marker for each category, then place "bullets" of that color next to each action associated with the category.
• Move to the next category, and continue till done.
• Record the final results (a digital photo of a dry erase board might work).
• Prioritize ideas
• Do a first cut at prioritizing the categories.
• Do a first cut at prioritizing the actions in each category.
• Disregard available resources at this time. That comes next.
• If the group deems an idea way too "far out" to be done at this time, mark it and put it in a "set-aside" group for now. Always keep ideas. You never know when today's "far out" idea will become practical.
• Analyze categories and actions
• Consider privacy aspects to each action.
• Consider security aspects to each action.
• List any resources needed to accomplish each action.
• Resources include people, time, and things (equipment, web hosting, web developer, etc.)
• List which resources your church already has.
• List which resources should be easy to get.
• List which resources may be very hard to get. Nothing is impossible, but look at the effort-versus-benefit of each "very hard to get" resource.
• Discuss alternative ways and approaches to getting hard-to-get resources. Conference funding? Temporary seminary student help? Grants?
• Agree on which actions should be postponed due to resource constraints.
• Re-examine the priorities in light of security, privacy, and available resources.
• Finalize initial milestones
• Acknowledge that people need to accomplish some actions that they just like to do, regardless of priority.
• Keep the web communications workers happy, motivated, and engaged.
• Re-examine priorities and establish short-term milestones.
• Plan early milestones that will be easy to accomplish -- you need some "wins" fairly fast to keep morale and excitement up
• Agree on how and when to next meet.
• Decide of you want an "email meeting" to add ideas that post-session thoughts and discussion may generate.
• The next meeting should address progress, resource challenges, future resource needs, any changes needed to existing milestones, and any possible milestones for other actions.

Decide on the type of meeting format. Meetings could be in person, via email message exchanges, or a web meeting. Explore options. Seek variety -- keep interest up.

Content in Pastors' blogs

What content should appear in a pastor's blog? Anything they want, of course. On the other hand, it depends on why the blog was created and the purpose of the blog.

Pastors may arrive at a church with a blog already. They may well use it for publishing daily happenings (journal style) and musings. If the church wants "their" Pastor's blog to integrate with the church web and church worship, the church and pastor need to discuss a blog that is directly tied to the church. Both type blogs can exist at the same time. Authoring multiple blogs is common.

The Christian Web Trends blog posting lists some great content ideas for "Supercharging sermons with a blog", which I have added to the below tips.

Come decision points about pastor blog content and design on which the church and pastor need to reach agreement:

• If the pastor has or wants a personal journal type blog, is the pastor also willing to author a pastor's blog that is a more direct extension of the local church?
• Should the design integrate with the church web design or its existing blogs?
• Should the pastor's blog contain any sermon texts, summaries, or outlines? Sermon messages can be one form of online evangelism.
• Should a "Sermon blog" be a separate blog or mixed in with the other postings in the church's Pastor's blog?
• Should the church offer (and link) sermon podcasts or video?
• Should the blog allow comments, as is the norm?
• Should any comments should be "moderated", so as to avoid anti-Christian rants and foul language appearing in blog comments? Yes, of course!
• Should the blog contain short "point of view" postings about spiritual life in a secular world? These could be "thought for the week" style, supplement a past sermon, or based on the pastor's and congregation's daily life experiences.

Sermon information

If the pastor's blog will contain sermon information, decide the following:

• When should such information be posted?
  Immediately or after a week or two delay?
  Some pastors and church leaders may fear that offering full text or even outlines immediately might lower actual church attendance. Others may want to immediately offer the message to shut-ins or people who were unable to attend church.
• Should it be full text, paragraph summary, or outline?
  I suggest a two-level outline format, which is easiest to scan. After all, research shows that most surfers scan, not read text on web pages. An outline of two levels includes the key points and yet is short.

Add sermon resource links

If posting sermon outlines, help people dig deeper by stirring in:

• Links to resources related to the sermon topic. Remember that your own church web may contain information or related link collections.
• Links to bible passages for the sermon.
• Titles of materials available in the church library.
• Links to Books, say available from Cokesbury, that are a really great reference.

Add the "So what?"

Sermons at their best are like editorials, not just commentary. Editorials urge their readers to take action. Here's the pastor's chance to reinforce the Christian actions that readers should take in their lives during the coming days and weeks. The Christian Web Trends blog calls these "Action Steps." Be specific. Make each action step short. Use bullets – make the action steps easy to scan.

Encourage contact

If you have enabled comments, your blog postings automatically have a way to "contact us". Some readers, though, may wish to contact the pastor personally, not via a blog comment. So it's best to also add a "Contact us" link. Since this is a Pastor's blog that is tied to your church, how about adding a "Send a prayer request" link too? It couldn't hurt and might be just what some blog reader needs.

Methoblogger Lectionary & other helps

When your pastor, teachers, or any other interested people want to get someone else's take on Common Lectionary readings for the week, surf on over to "The Methoblogger Lectionary Group" site.

There are a ton of helpful web sites and blogs related to preaching and teaching. Add to that web pages helpful to various committees and work areas in the church and you have the makings of a great resource page for your web.

Gather a list of such links and put them on a special "leader helps" type web page, similar to what Avondale Pattillo United Methodist Church has done.

My Maps a great new resource

Google has done it again! The Google Maps home page now offers "My Maps". This tool lets you add several map points, lines, shapes, balloon text, pictures, and more.

Prior to this new feature, I had tested MultiPlottr, which is a similar tool and does use Google Maps. Google's My Maps appears slicker and offers the familiar ease of use and easy to learn GUI we've come to expect from Google. With Google My Maps you have to guess at location by dragging a plot marker. Try both and see if you agree.

Side note: There is a limit of 50 plotted addesses per map at present.

Ideas for possible uses

• Plot the street addresses of your church members. A visual look at clustering and dispersion may give you added insight for outreach or visitation planning.
• Plot members' addresses, but use different colors for:
• Members who have moved out of the area but still attend.
• New members within the last year.
• Founding members (if the church is new).
• Members who have not moved out of the area.
• Your church's street address (the key reference point on the map).
• Location of selected community resources (City Hall, Courthouse, City or County agencies that help people, Clothes closets, etc.). This might become the basis for a "Where to get help" portal page for your community.
• Home address of visitors in the past year.
• Plot the location of an event away from the church. The Church Art Online Plus Calendar does this, but that is a paid subscription. You could email this map link to all church members and any visitors that gave you their email address.
• Plot any type of demographic information about your members that is related to their address. Just remember the 50-address per map current limit.

Special note about long links. Remember that if you email map links, you should check the length and potential for problems at the receiving end. If the link is a long one or contains special characters, the recipient's email messages may "break" the link, especially when it wraps lines.

A way to avoid that problem is to use the free "TinyURL" online service to create a special short link when the target is a long one. TinyURL creates a special very short link that points to the long one you provide. An example long link reduced by TinyURL: http://tinyurl.com/ywzpx8 .

TinyURL also offers a "preview" feature that lets people see the actual destination link before they decide to select it. Here's an example of the same link as a "preview" one: http://tinyurl.com/preview.php?num=ywzpx8

Church PR using Flickr

If your church uses Flickr or some similar sites for photo albums, you also have easy access to a unique avenue for identity products.

• Zazzle
  Zazzle site lets you design produce custom stamps, T-shirts, mugs, and more. Custom stamps come in varied sizes using photos of your choice and sizing. They are more expensive than USPS stamps, but it's a unique way of promoting your church. Flickr offers a cross-site link to Zazzle.
• QOOP
  QOOP uses your photos to create custom cards (myCards) of different sizes, calendars, Posters, an more. You can create picture-based business cards, for example. Or mini-cards with a photo on one side and printing on the other. You might want to purchase some for special seasons or to promote select events.
• Moo
  Make notecards or mini-cards

Web Directions South resources now online

Get session notes, handouts, speakers' slides, and eventually podcasts of the sessions for the Web Directions South conference held in Syndey from September 26-29, 2006 at WD06 Resources.

Session topics include:

• Design
• Accessibility
• Web standards
• RSS
• Online communities

Surf and learn.

Corporate logo library

BrandsOfTheWorld.com is a free library of brands and logos. The service is searchable, categorized and provides scalable vector versions (usually EPS) of thousands of logos.

Color tools for web work

While trying to decide on color changes for the Congo UMC - Mulungwishi blog, I happened across a simple but fast and effective tool — The Colorizer at WebReference.com.

Color Scheme not only helps you check out a palette, but also lets you check out how it looks to people with color vision problems. Cool. Their old version operates a little differently and can be fun too.

And speaking of fun, try the Colour Sampler. Play around with a palette and then select the "Sample Page" link to see all the combinations of text and backgrounds. ColorCombos' ComboTester is a nice, free online utility. The site also has many sample 3 to 5-color palettes.

For PhotoShop fans favoring free goodies, Visibone has downloadable color swatches.

WebReference also has a couple of pages on color, each with good links within the text.

• Communicate with color
• Emotions of colors

Translate your web

Do you have congregation members or anyone in your Web site's "target audience" that prefer a language other than English? If so, offer them a way to translate your web page.

Google offers a Language Tools page that "translates" from one language to another. Just type in the web address of the page you want translated, and ... presto. Test it out by translating the Avondale Pattillo UMC home page from English to Spanish.

Free online survey tool

SurveyMonkey offers online surveys. The basic version is free and lets you ask up to 10 questions and collect up to 100 responses. This is perfect for a small to medium organization, including a church. Their professional version is relatively inexpensive and allows unlimited questions and up to 1,000 responses. More responses incur a slight per person charge.

So what could you use it for? Did you ever wish you could poll your members about an issue or even how they like your web site? SurveyMonkey may be the answer to your prayers.

Learn one thing ...

The Learn One Thing blog, run by Mary Gillen, has a bazillion tips on subjects including writing, marketing and sales, web technology, SEO, RSS feeds, podcasting, and blogging for business.

Mary says the name came from a class she taught, where the student said he was there to "learn just one thing".

The blog doesn't have categories yet but Mary says she'll be adding them soon.

Some Web technology blogs

Here are a few AOL-hosted blogs related to Webs:

• The CSS Weblog
• Web Design Reference Guide (articles)
• Writely - an online word processor recently bought by none other than Google. The basic version, which can edit and post to blogs, is free. But during this Google transition, you have to sign up on a waiting list. For more, see the Writely FAQ at their old site.
• The RSS Weblog
• The Social Software Weblog (news)

Online Microsoft HTML, CSS reference

The Microsoft Developers' Network (MSDN) Library contains a great HTML and CSS reference, including some obscure properties. The pages include code samples and a "Show me" button that opens a separate window that uses the code.

Learn to float using CSS!

Max Design has a nice series of pages listing steps and showing results for a variety of uses for the "float" attribute. So he calls these the "Floatutorial".

This is also the site for Listamatic and Listamatic2 -- how to use CSS to create menus from lists. Access them from the Max Design home page (above).

Free web site search

I came across FreeFind Search recently. It offers a free search capability, but with a banner ad. It also automatically makes a Site Index. Google offers free search for non-profits, but you don't get a site map out of the deal.

Other features of FreeFind Search:

• Track visitor searches (get ideas for better key words)
• View an automatic "What's new" list (newly edited pages)
• Offer visitors content monitoring -- an alert when a specific page has changed
• Schedule periodic reindexing of your site

If a non-profit wants to pay a small fee (starting at $5 per month), you get the results without the banner.

As always, check the site's policies, including their privacy policy, before using the service.

You've got mail - Sunday School Lesson

How cool would it be if a Sunday School teacher could get a pre-done lesson plan that also related to current news -- all without spending hours on research and preparation?

Well, Communications Resources has a new commercial product that fills the bill: The Wired Word. You get a ready-for-use, adult lesson sent to your email inbox each Thursday.

Communications Resources also offers several other church-related products, including Church Art Online (the "Plus" version includes an online calendar). Avondale Pattillo UMC makes use of Church Art Online Plus.

A United Methodist Glossary

What do you know about United Methodist Doctrinal Heritage? Not much, I'd guess. You may want to offer this link to our Doctrinal Heritage for your web site visitors.

Uses for the glossary

• Add a brief definition to the word such as "Intinction" on a web page by inserting the "TITLE" attribute in a span that covers the text to be defined. In such a case, when the visitor holds the mouse cursor over the word, the definition pops up in a small "tooltip" type box. For example, hold your mouse over "Intinction" above in this paragraph. This example also assigns a background style of yellow to make the defined word stand out.


• Add a separate glossary or "terms" web page that links to terms like below or else uses your own phrasing (have the pastor check for accuracy).

Below is a pretty decent link collection, mostly from the Intrepreter Magazine Glossary.

• United Methodist Social creed
• Glossary of terms related to Sharing Our Gifts
• Acolyte
• Aldersgate
• Annual Conference
• Apostles' Creed
• Apportionment
• Book of Discipline
• Chancel
• Confirmation
• Covenant
• Charge Conference
• Discipleship
• District
• District Superintendent
• Doctrinal Standards
• Episcopal area
• Evangelism
• General Conference
• GBGM
• Golden Cross Sunday
• Heritage Sunday
• Human Relations Day
• Inclusiveness
• Intinction
• Jurisdiction
• Lay Leader
• Lectern
• Lectionary
• Litany
• Narthex
• Native American Ministries Sunday
• Nicene Creed
• One Great Hour of Sharing
• Parish
• Pastor
• Peace with Justice Sunday
• Pentecost
• Postlude
• Committee on Lay Leadership (formerly called the PPR or SPR Committee)
• Prelude
• Psalter
• Pulpit
• Sacrament
• Sacrament of the Lord's Supper
• Special Sundays
• Stewardship
• Stole
• Tenebrae
• Trustees, Board of
• UMCOR
• UM Student Day
• "The Upper Room"
• Vesper service
• vestments
• World Communion Sunday
• World Service Fund
• Youth Services Fund

Compare fonts on-screen

The Typesetter web site is itself a great utility. You can choose up to three fonts, specify all kinds of attributes such as size, word space, background and foreground color and then see the results on-screen in regular, bold, italic, and bold italic.

This is superb for deciding which fonts are more easily readable or have the desired emotional effect you are looking for.