We have a mission!...Now what do we do?

The most genuine Cause Branding (what corportations call it when they link themselves to a "good" cause) is the aligning of internal resources with a higher purpose.  As churches, we don't need to link ourselves with a "good" cause.  Well, we are the good cause.  

But aligning our internal resources with the higher purpose of being and making disciples of Jesus Christ is an intentional process.  

First: Identify your church's unique mission.  (See my previous blog, Creating a Mission Statement You Can Actually Use, for steps to do so.)  

Second: Once your mission is carefully crafted you must find ways to act it out.  This involves three divisions.  We'll look at each as they might play out in a church:

 1. Communication: the Talkers.  

These would be pastors, staff people, or leadership lay people.  However, it's important to make just a few of these people the information conveyors to the wider audience.  Rather than having oodles of communicators, a smaller number can insure the consistency and quality of information being conveyed.  Having less people as Talkers also enables more people to function as Do-ers.  Talkers all convey information consistent with the same mission.  So preaching, announcements, bulletins, website, youth pastors, children's ministers...all are Talkers, but their message must originate from the same prior chosen mission that represents the brand of the church.

 

2. Fundraising: the Askers.

  Very different than asking for a handout, fundraising is asking for money to carry out the mission of the church...to make step three possible!  Askers have to understand this idea and be passionate about it!  It's equally important that these people convey the same message that the talkers give to the wider audience to those they ask for support.  The Askers need preparation time and frequent contact with the Talkers in order to ensure that the message is consistent and the remains ethical.

 

3. Mission: the Do-ers. 

 Hopefully, by this point, the Talkers and Askers have gotten the church to a point where everyone can fall into the category of Do-ers.  This process is cyclical so as the process repeats itself at reinforcing the mission of the church more and more people become involved in caring out the mission.

 

All three are equally important to the process of branding and all three are ongoing.