In most churches, the communication ministry is in charge of keeping the website up-to-date and publishing a newsletter. But in addition to these important internal tasks, communication is the ministry of the church that should work to “brand” or put a public face on your organization. Here are five ways to brand your church and tell your story:

Develop a public communication strategy – Is your church known in the community? Brainstorm ways to make friends and become known in your community. Make a list of people you would like to know about your church (i.e. neighbors of your church, community leaders, public servants, media, and leaders of other religions) and ways church leaders and members can connect with them. Consider everything from attending events to using local media to connecting through social media. Develop action steps and a team to carry them out, a timeline, budget, and evaluation process.

Create an Information Packet – What do you want to be known for? Put together a brochure or folder that lets people know who you are as an organization, where you are located and in what ways your church can or already does serve the community (i.e. VBS, food pantry, sports league, CHIP, youth programs, Bible studies, a renowned choir, tutoring, etc.)

Host a Communication Day – What’s your story? Plan a special Sabbath worship service to focus on the ministry of communication. Invite someone to speak about communication, and host afternoon workshops for the entire church on raising public awareness and church identity. This is a great opportunity to share your public communication plan and information packet. Invite the entire church to participate in the public communication campaign.

Practice Your Pitch – What’s a Seventh-day Adventist? This is a common question, yet difficult to answer. Every church needs a mission statement or motto for leaders and members to share when asked. Invite members to practice answering this question so when the opportunity arises, they’ll be ready to share their faith with confidence and pride. Here’s an example: “Seventh-day Adventists are Bible-believing Christians who base our faith, hope and future in Jesus Christ. The name ‘Seventh-day’ indicates our adherence to the biblical Sabbath, while ‘Adventist’ means we anticipate the promised return of Christ.”

Plug Into Online News Sources – Are you connected? Most broadcast and newspaper outlets now have online operations that they keep updated. New hyperlocal news operations are popping up in communities across the United States. One such organization is the year-old Patch.com, which covers news in 750 communities in 19 states and is growing rapidly. Each community has a full-time editor whose job is to cover all the news and information in their assigned community. Local organizations can also share news. Use resources like these to promote and report on your church news and events and to stay abreast of what’s happening right in your neighborhood in real time. 

Celeste Ryan Blyden is Vice President for Strategic Communication and Public Relations for the Columbia Union Conference