Ryan Wakefield currently assisting Summit Park Church and formally James River Church joins us to talk about marketing and branding. We discuss the difference is between marketing and branding and how they work together to help churches grow. Ryan shares church-specific definitions of marketing which will help church leaders think differently about their approach.
Show Notes:
Ryan Wakefield:
• Went to Evangel University
• Worked as the creative director at James River Assembly with over 8,000 members at the time
• Helped plant Summit Park Church in 2013 and runs their marketing
• Works with the Pregnancy Care Center to run their marketing
3 definitions for marketing within the church:
• Communicating who you are to people where they are
• Introducing your city to your church – stop thinking like pastors and start thinking like missionaries
• Sharing your story in such a compelling way that it makes people want to be a part of it – the goal is to have people join their story with your story
– Branding is the consistency that helps your story make sense to people and compels them to be a part of it
– Get branding in place first to get clarity so you can then put it out there
– Good branding takes effort like catching fish requires a strong knowledge base of the fish you are trying to catch
– You can get others to help you get your marketing right because there is a lot of knowledge required
– A good brand is a genuine brand to represent God and to represent your church
– Effective marketing connects with the audience in a way that relates to them
– Start where the culture understands then bring it to the God story
Links:
• Evangel University
• James River Assembly
• Summit Park Church
• Pregnancy Care Center
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