What is brand messaging? You’re likely more familiar with it than you think. Whether it’s Nike’s iconic “Just Do It” slogan or Bounty’s “The Quicker Picker Upper” mantra, we’ve all encountered standout brand messaging examples that make us go, “Wow, that’s clever.”
The largest businesses in the world understand the importance of quality messaging when designing a brand.
But often, when a church considers a rebrand, they think only about the new logos, colors, and fonts that will modernize the church’s look and help them reach the community around them.
A church’s brand messaging isn’t one piece of writing, but it’s several pieces working together to tell your church’s cohesive story. These messaging components vary not only in length but also in function:
Not every church has the same kind of audience or set of messaging goals—which is great! When the Church is able to contextualize its message for who it’s called to reach, we’re able to reach more people for Jesus together.
To help you explore your own potential messaging goals, let’s look at how eight churches developed unique brand messaging based on who they feel most called to reach.
First up are some brand messaging examples for an internal churched audience: Christians who already understand the value of faith but are looking for something more or different in their spiritual lives.
Our challenge was to help these churches craft a message for their members that would inspire people to share their churches’ stories organically with their friends and families.
Dig deep. Discover truth. Grow together in Jesus.
We’re all searching for truth, but it rarely lies on the surface. At Canyon Bible Church, you’ll join God’s people, helping one another dig into God’s word to discover his truth for all of life.
If you’re anything like us, surface level isn’t enough. Whether it’s learning a new idea or meeting a new person, the real reward lies 10 more chapters in or a dozen more conversations deep. Because there’s always more if you’re willing to dig.
The challenge is that in a world of limitless access to an abundance of information, it’s hard to determine what’s true. What’s worth your time. What you can build your life on. Even before we met God, we wrestled with this challenge. We were driven to understand the brokenness in ourselves and the world around us, and we hoped that God could help.
To our pleasant surprise, God met us in the brokenness. He showed us that there is an ultimate truth to the world that can give our lives a profound sense of clarity—if we’re willing to dig. And here’s what we uncovered: God has given us everything we need for a meaningful life in his word and in his people.
So, if you’ve been searching for a clear direction in your life, our invitation is simple: Come belong to a family of fellow truth seekers learning God’s ways of wisdom and love. Because at Canyon Bible Church, you can dig deep, discover truth, and grow with others in Jesus.
Grounded in truth. Growing in grace. Living in love.
We’re a community of believers seeking to live out God’s truth and grace in everyday life—rooted in Scripture, growing together, and sharing His love with the world.
At Phoenix CRC, we’re convinced that truth and love aren’t opposites—they’re partners. Truth grounds us. Love propels us forward. Grace bridges the two.
We’ve found that when people experience God’s grace deeply, they grow in love for others naturally. It’s not about perfection; it’s about connection—to Christ, to each other, and to the community around us.
Here, you’ll find a church that takes the Bible seriously and takes people’s stories seriously too. We learn together, we serve together, and we grow together in grace and love. You don’t have to have it all figured out. You just have to be willing to grow.
Next, we have brand messaging examples for an external unchurched audience: people in a church’s community who may give faith a try if they hear the right message.
Our challenge was to help these churches craft low-friction invitations to church for their neighbors.
Life-changing grace is available on the beach.
At Church on the Beach, we encounter God’s presence and truth in a casual setting so you can come as you are and find renewal in Jesus.
When life is good, it’s easy. Easy to find joy, feel fulfilled, and go through the motions day by day. In the beautiful parts of life, it feels like sitting on the beach, watching the steady waters kiss the shore, soaking in the peace of our surroundings. And that makes life feel easy to live … when life is good.
But like that same beach, that same ocean, life can change quickly. What once was a rhythmic constant can suddenly shift into an uncontrollable storm. And when the waters get rough, the waves tower high, the undertow pulls… What was once easy, and peaceful, and calm becomes frustrating, lonely, confusing, and painful.
And when we’re facing a storm alone, when we’re standing in the sand with only our own bearings to keep us upright, survival becomes everything. We were facing storms too. Trying to make it through the high winds to see the clear skies on the other side. But deep down, we knew the waters wouldn’t stay calm forever. There was always a new storm coming, and we couldn’t calm it alone.
That’s why we started Church on the Beach. Because deep down, we knew life wasn’t meant to just be easy. It was meant to be meaningful. Purposeful. More than coasting by, and more than just surviving. And we knew there was something greater to believe in, faith that brought the peace we longed for, and a God who could—and did—calm waters and clear storms.
At Church on the Beach, we meet in one of God’s own amphitheaters—amidst the sand and waves. We hold space to explore grace-filled truth with the freedom to come as you are and ask tough questions about God. And we build community that cares for one another and challenges each other to be the best version of themselves.
When life isn’t good, we need to be reminded that God still is. And he doesn’t leave us standing on the shores alone. You’re invited to experience common grace and discover saving grace. Because life-changing grace is available on the beach.
Open tables. Spacious faith. Love in action for all people.
Does it feel like people are losing their empathy and compassion for one another more and more? We think it’s holding back our collective potential for good. At First Christian Church, we open our doors and tables for all kinds of people to meet each other, explore spacious faith together, and live united in love to make Edmond a better place for everyone.
Let’s face it: People today feel as divided as ever. All across our country, we see families separated by divorce, lifelong friends divided by politics, and entire communities fragmented by race or class. The shouting and finger pointing have reached a fever pitch, and it feels like there are few places left you can go without picking a fight.
What happened to a future where people genuinely care for one another and work together to do great things—one we’d be proud to pass down to our kids and grandkids? If you’re exhausted by the division and long to rise above the divisive rhetoric, there’s good news: Restoration is possible, and it’s happening right now.
There’s a bigger story working to transform our world entirely. It’s curious people, compelled by God’s deep love, opening their hearts and learning to love their neighbors well. This is why we’re here.
At First Christian Church, we’ve strived to love Edmond well since 1899. We’ve grown into an eclectic bunch of people who don’t all think the same thoughts, dress the same way, vote for the same candidates, or even believe all the same things about the mystery of God. But we believe we need each other because of our differences, not in spite of them.
We’ve endeavored to create a place of peace, humility, acceptance, and sacrifice, and we’re working together daily to make God’s unifying love known and embraced throughout all of Edmond. And we want the same for you!
Here, you can get curious again—about God, the way of Jesus, and your role in the story. You can open yourself up to people who will love you for you, learn to live like Jesus, and reclaim a relentless belief in a better future. So we invite you to join us at First Christian Church to experience open tables, spacious faith, and love in action for all people.
These are brand messaging examples for an external de-churched audience: people in a church’s community who have extreme hesitation around church or faith due to past experiences.
Our challenge was to help these churches reframe the value of church and, quite frankly, apologize for some of the burnt bridges their audiences likely attributed to the Church at large. The Hills Church is a particularly great example of translating a reconciliation mission (to make disciples of dads who don’t like church) for a less-than-interested audience.
The hill we’re willing to die on is you.
The Hills Church is a place where misfits can find hope again and build a life they’ll be proud to leave behind.
This is it. I’ve ruined everything. There’s no going back from here. It’s moments like these when the word “hope” starts to sound like a cuss word. It tastes bitter in your mouth, mocking your devastation with insincere optimism and dismissive positivity. Hope? Are you serious? Don’t you see who I am? Don’t you see what I’ve done?
We do, because we’ve felt exactly how you feel right now. Hopeless. Stuck. Desperate to find a way out of our mess. But everything changed for us when we encountered the real Jesus. And not the lofty, impersonal, man-in-the-sky Jesus from Sunday school, but the Jesus who meets us in the mud. He showed us that God spends most of his time in the dark valleys of life, looking to transform weary wanderers into courageous climbers. And to believe in hope again, it’s going to require a climb.
But Christians haven’t made that climb easy, have we? We’ve not always been kind, understanding, or helpful. You might have been run out of enough churches at this point to wonder if God even cares if you rise at all. And some of the hills Christians have chosen to die on—things like rigid ideology or fake perfectionism—are hills you couldn’t care less about climbing in the first place.
But we are committed to razing those hills to the ground. At The Hills Church, you can join a family for misfits and exiles, where broken meets broken, and trade the despair of rock bottom for new hope and purpose. You can meet real people pursuing the real Jesus, unpolished and out in the open, and find a family for the climb. Why? Because the hill we’re willing to die on … is you.
Everyone is welcome at the table.
At Journey Church, you’re invited into a diverse community that’s curious to learn who Jesus really is and how we can move closer to him together.
Dear spiritual refugee, We see what you’ve been through. We know that when you closed the door behind you, your first few steps away were tentative. Leaving was hard. There were people you cared about and people who cared about you. There were memories. There was love. But maybe you had to nod when you disagreed, or smile at what saddened you, or swallow your questions, or say words you didn’t believe just so you could be part of the club. That wasn’t going to work for you anymore.
It didn’t work for us either. Because this new journey you’re on? We’re on it too. We want to be part of a place where we can be our true selves, even with our doubts and imperfections. We want to be part of a place where people lean in when someone says, “I’m not sure about that.” We want to be part of a place where we explore our faith together with Jesus at the center.
We’re continually creating and recreating that place—a safe, gentle environment shaped by our people and transformed by Jesus. In this place, we seek to create safe spaces to heal and grow. We seek to generously share God’s love by serving others. We seek to build relationships, grow in our understanding of one another, and embrace the beautifully diverse community God has given us.
In this place, our doors are wide open to everyone. Including you. Welcome to Journey Church: Everyone is welcome at the table.
Finally, here are some brand messaging examples for an external pre-churched audience: people in a church’s community who may have no context for what a modern expression of church or faith looks like.
Our challenge was to help these churches come up with messages that felt surprising and different from typical church messaging.
We’re throwing a party. BYOB*
*Bring your own beauty. And brokenness.
Everyone’s up for hanging out when the party’s happening, but when the going gets tough, few people stick around. At Resurrection City Church Chicago, we’re throwing a party where you can BYOB—bring your own beauty and brokenness—so you can find rest in a community that will love you no matter what.
Life is a flurry of places to go, people to meet, and things to do, and sometimes you can hardly catch your breath: appointments, calls, networking. After the rat race is over, it’s time to relax with friends. But even that’s not all you hope it could be. While everyone’s up for a good time, no one is around to listen when things aren’t so good. Parties end. Friends go back to their dens. And at night, you’re left staring at the bathroom mirror, mind racing.
So maybe it’s best to keep the party going. That’s how we felt. Because when the music stops, we are left alone to our thoughts, pain, and anxieties about life and its elusive purpose.
But we found a local place where we are loved for who we are. We found community with other Chicagoans we genuinely connect with. Together, we explore the ups and downs of life around firepits or delicious meals. No topic is taboo, and no one is uninvited.
We learned that our individual lives are part of a bigger story—God’s story—and that we were meant to do life together. This big story calls us to serve as Jesus’ hands, feet, and voice in Chicago.
Our house is open to you. You can leave loneliness in the rearview mirror and bring yourself—baggage and all—and hang out with us. Come do life with people who authentically love you—and find your place in the greatest story ever told. God’s getting his family back together and restoring your neighborhood. And you’re invited to the party at Resurrection City Church. BYOB*
*Bring your own beauty. And brokenness.
Take the road less traveled.
Live the adventure of a lifetime.
The Journey is a family of adventurers who follow a God too good not to believe in, and invite anyone intrigued by a path that’s too good not to take.
In a city like this—bustling, relentless, and teeming with life—it’s easy to feel like you’re on the right path. Maybe you’ve found some career success, proved your independence and self-sufficiency, or finally found a place to truly express yourself. But do you ever find yourself asking, “Is there more to my story than this? Is this the journey I was meant to take? Shouldn’t there be a little more excitement, a little more passion … a little more?”
We know what it’s like to ask those questions. To feel a longing for something truer or deeper but having no way to find the answers, and no one to turn to for help. But that’s when we met people who showed us there was far more to our story than what we were living. The same is true for you.
You can embark on a new journey that lies beyond the well-worn path, and though the journey isn’t easy, it’s rich with meaning and purpose, and it leads to a larger and truly authentic life. And along that path, you’ll encounter God—not the God of rigid religion and people who claim to have all the answers, but a God who loves you as you are and invites you to see the world with fresh eyes.
The journey wasn’t over for us, and it’s not over for you either. We invite you to join us on The Journey. Take the road less traveled. Live the adventure of a lifetime.
Looking for more messaging inspiration? Check out 12 more messaging examples for churches to see how you can turn your mission into a message that resonates.
There are many ways to craft brand messaging for your church, and no single method is better than the other.
We hope these brand messaging examples encourage you to keep Jesus at the center of your mission while keeping your audience at the center of your messaging—because who you want to reach determines how you need to reach them.
You can get started on your own brand messaging by downloading our strategic messaging guide, or you can schedule a free 30-minute call below to learn more about our messaging process.
