First of all I want to say thank you to ALL who have served their country in the Armed Forces!

I appreciate my brothers and sisters who are fulfilling the call to duty, and having served personally in the Army Reserves, our soldiers are constantly on my mind. I am praying for all of you and your families. May God protect everyone of you and I hope you know that there are people who remember what you do! 11 BRAVO!

The download is ABSOLUTELY FREE and all you have to do is use the ADD TO CART BUTTON and checkout – you will not have to enter payment.  Please feel free to donate to a local or national organization that supports our troops as they could always use a show of support.

This download includes:

• Two different 16:9 worship slides.
• Two layered PSD (Photoshop) files without the fonts.

Please let me know if you need help with any of the files. Thanks!

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1. Keep Learning
2. Exegete Culture
3. Brand Sermons
4. Disrupt Routines
5. Keep Experimenting

Read the full post here.

Also, here’s his 7 steps to sermon branding:

1, Come up with a series title
2. Create a series logo
3. Design a series evite and invite
4. Brainstorm Big Ideas
5. Shoot a Series Trailer
6. Design a microsite
7. Add Sermon Props

Read the full post on sermon branding here.

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I wrote a post on Is Church Marketing Going Too Far a few months ago and know that a few other blogs have discussed it as well. It is also truly amazing as I research church branding that so many churches have jumped on the bandwagon lately to offer some type of sex-related series that is sure to cause a stir.

Is this endeavor truly good for the church?

Church leaders and staff are trying to find ways to increase attendance and get noticed. Church Communication Directors and their teams (or creative types serving in churches) are called upon to generate interest about their church through a variety of media and topics. Combine these two together and you can get some really creative and outstanding stuff! I think it is great to address issues that have been neglected or shunned by many churches and I also love churches who are innovative and break the mold.

However, I am concerned that some churches quest to be the latest buzz words of “relevant, missional and authentic” will cross the line between what is beneficial and what is not for the Gospel.

So should or shouldn’t your church use these sensitive or controversial themes for marketing?

My opinion is that if the purpose is strictly for increasing church attendance or to be the coolest church on the block – then I say absolutely not! My reasons are that they will have to always push the envelope to stay relevant and this can lead a church over the line. It can also bring up issues such as the “bait and switch” technique which non-Christians despise or the argument if attractional ministry methods really build disciples or bring consumers.

If a church is sincere about educating others about what the Bible says about a particular subject and is striving to use such topics for edifying the church, then this is a great reason to use these themes. But I do think that if you are talking about sex and it’s really a hot topic in your church community – you won’t need to throw it shamelessly on a billboard to promote it – people will be talking about it and spreading it by word of mouth anyways.

My advice is to really pray about the purpose of your marketing and communication efforts to see if it brings God glory or is just another gimmick to get people in the door.

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Check out the sermon outlines and their “year-round resource guide.”

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Check out his Chasing the Lions themed site where he provides downloadable videos and graphics — all of which is based on his recent book.
See also: How to Brand your Next Sermon Series

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It seems you, dear readers, are interested in the nuts and bolts of branding your sermon series …

So, I thought I’d throw out some ideas for how to brand your sermon series … here are some steps and thoughts:

1. Pick your main topic – This is obvious, I know, but also something to seriously consider. Don’t just throw out a series on your pet (and obscure) doctrinal hobbyhorse. See what topics your community would be interested in and teach them what the Bible has to say about it in a relevant, dynamic way.

2. Focus and hone the “one idea” you want to communicate – What main idea do you want to impart. Boil it down to one thing that you want to give people through the series. This helps when determining images, titles, everything.

3. Select a good name or title - Brainstorm with your staff. Make it catchy, but not hokey. Bounce it off people and see what they think. Ask the barista at your local coffeeshop what she thinks of both the topic and title. Make sure it communicates!

4. Find good support images - See iStockPhoto and stock.xchng for good images. When selecting images and photos think about the feeling and impressions you want people to have when they see the image with your title. For instance, if you want to set a “happy” mood, then pick images with bright colors and … yes, smiling people! I know … rocket science here.

5. Create a sermon logo that communicates - See my 6 ideas on logos post for more on logos. But the finished logo needs to support your “main idea” (see No. 2). If it doesn’t, start over. Don’t let the logo determine your topic or title. Force the images to “sell” and support your sermon series.

6. Promote the “brand” - Use the logo and artwork on banners, in your bulletin, on your website … everywhere you can.

7. Print invest and invite biz cards - Give promo cards with the logo to your congregation to hand out to friends. Use the cards as a coupon of sorts for a free offer, like a booklet, that deals with your topic. For example: “Bring this card to a Sunday service between [these dates] and get a free book on [topic].” Also, include easy directions to your site along with service times and your website.

8. Think through a themed Website - LifeChurch is one of the best at this. Their MySecret.tv site and series was a great example of it. This promo tactic works well if you have access to a billboard … or a facility that sits on a high traffic street.

MORE MISC. THOUGHTS

I’ve done sermon branding several times with mixed results. I believe the key is getting your people behind it and them inviting their friends, coworkers, neighbors, and family.

Consistently, when I tally up our guest registration cards or talk with our people, they came to a service or our church … [drum roll] BECAUSE OF A FRIEND!

This must be instilled into the DNA of your church, or the steps I’ve mentioned above will be an artificial system that produces anemic results (I’m talking attendance numbers alone here).

The key is your people. And secondly, your topic.

COULD I SUGGEST A TOPIC?

Marriage.

A timeless topic … one of which a lot of people are hurting about and will continue to hurt about … and who need to hear what the Bible has to say about it (like I do too) … and, yes, do it in a relevant, dynamic, loving, practical way.

SOME HELPFUL BOOKS ON BRANDING

• 22 Immutable Laws of Branding
• Married to the Brand
• Branding for NonProfits
• Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable
• Tribal Knowledge: Business Wisdom Brewed from the Grounds of Starbucks

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