My wife and I have been semi-vacationing in Utah. She has been dealing a lot with her mother’s health challenges for the past couple of weeks and I flew in after visiting a client in Edmonton to be with here. When we are out, we typically attend Sunday Service at some who is jesus.
This week, we attended a church and one of the many things that struck with me was the church’s tag line. For some churches, it is merely an expression that they put on their letterhead. But here, it seemed much different. It was sincere and you could see that it radiated out through every part of the service and throughout their fast growing congregation.
What is a “Tag Line”?
Sometimes called a “by-line”, it might also be called a motto or a simple catch phrase that identifies what your church or organization is all about. I have heard it also called a rally cry. In our sound bite world that we live in, churches have used tag lines as a way to differentiate themselves from the others. The hope is that is intrigues someone enough to have them visit and see if the promise holds true. And for those within the organization, it can be used as a call to action in lieu of a mission statement to know what to do or how to act when you don’t know how to do either (similar to a guidepost)
Church Tag Line’s are an integral part of the marketing effort!
Let’s face it. When a tag line is seen outside the church in either an ad or on signage in and around the church, it is probably the first insight into your church. It is something not to be given short shrift to as it is an integral part of church branding.
Sounding good vs. being accurate.
I have seen some churches who don’t have a tag line. In this day and age, I believe you should have one as part of your church brand. Why? Because it is similar to an “elevator pitch”. For those unfamiliar with that term, the elevator pitch refers to if you meet someone on the way up or down in the elevator and they ask you about your business, you should be able to succinctly deliver the info before one of you gets off on their floor.
In short, it makes it easier for someone to describe your church when a potential visitor asks about it. The tag line is an extension of what your church is all about. So you are not doing yourself any favors by not having it accurately portray something you are not. For example, if you are the “Church of Love In Action” and your visitors don’t feel or see it in how your church operates, you may be shooting yourself in the foot.
A good approach to creating a tag line is to ask church members how they would describe the church in one sentence.
The line that caught my attention?
Simple said, their church tag line was the following:
Come as you are…leave the way you want to.
The more I thought about it, the more it resonated with me. Does your church’s tag line resonate with what you represent as a church? If not, perhaps you should be rethinking it.
What does your church use for it’s “rallying cry”?
I then became curious and wanted to see how other churches use this branding tool. So, I invite you to submit your church’s tag line’s.
If your church doesn’t have one, then let me know that as well.
If you are looking for some link love, this is a great opportunity. Come to the site, submit your tag line along with your church website address so I can verity it. I want to see what people are doing. Perhaps you will get some divine inspiration from someone else’s tag line.
Want to learn more about church marketing? Or did you read something here that you want to discuss more? Perhaps you have a project that you need help on or at least want to bounce ideas off. We are there for you!
