We take a look at the rebranding process of Evangelistic Center, a church in Kansas City, Kansas, which was a well-established church that found itself in decline. They are now experiencing a great deal of momentum and growth as a result of the rebranding process they have gone through in the past 3 years. Justin Vaughn talks about the journey to create a new brand for the church in order to reach new people in the community. He also shares the results they have seen from their efforts.
Rejuvenating a Declining Church through RebrandingShow Notes:
• Justin started in a small roll but then felt a call to meet the needs of the church which was in decline
• The first barrier Justin had to overcome in making rebranding was with his father, Bishop Vaughn
• One of the first things to change was to get off the radio and put that budget toward other forms of media to build a brand
• Justin focused on reaching people who needed the message the most
• Bishop Vaughn got on board with Justin’s desire for change and helped lead the church through the change
• Justin was sure to point out the benefits of the changes as they took place to the leadership of the church
• When changing your church brand, start small then build up after some wins
• Justin is able to brand the church because he built trust with Bishop Vaughn
• The rebranding started with a simple TV in the foyer that replaced the traditional bulletin board
• The people of the church were allowed to be involved in the rebranding process by giving then seeing results quickly
• Justin was able to get his father on board first with the rebrand then Bishop Vaughn was able to lead the members
• The rebranding had pushback on Justin as people approached him with complaints
• Justin also experienced encouragement which keeps him moving forward
• The rebranding created a more welcoming feel to the church for new people
• Justin focused on having exceptional “customer service” with the new church brand
• Signs in the facility was a big project to help people know where to go allowing them to feel comfortable
• Graphics were created to show the vision in the facility so people bump into the church brand
• Justin is constantly getting ideas from businesses and then adopting them for the church
• The new church brand was intentional about reaching out to young people
• A room was designed specifically for the teenagers to sent the message that they are welcome
• A kids room was designed specifically for elementary kids
• A sub-brand was created for the church for community outreach efforts because this was a main focus of the new branding
• The “All People Matter to God” initiative became a feature for the church
• The new church brand created excitement in the church culture
• Social media became a large part of the church communication so the brand messages are better dispersed
• Online giving and text to give has allowed people to participate more frequently
• Series videos have allowed messages to be better promoted
• Evangelistic Center has now become thought leaders in their industry
• Bishop Vaughn has become influential around the country as a result of the strong brand that has been created
• The methods are constantly changing as the message remains
• Work within your budget but start making small changes by planning ahead
• Show people the positive results so they can choose to be a greater part
• Make giving as easy as possible; online giving, text to give
• Get the experts were needed to help you, then leverage the internal help you have
• Catalyst Conference has been a large influence on the Evangelistic Center rebrand
• Be intentional about everything you do in order to build a good church brand
• Visitor space was created to allow visitors to feel welcome; the idea came from an Acura dealership
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