Looking back on how I did things my first time around … we were doomed from the start. Our website was a generic, sterile-looking cookie cutter website from Lifeway. Our logo was a broken oval tilted on an angle around our church name, which was copied from another church from somewhere in Texas. Nothing looked good under it, over it or next to it on anything we printed.
The church name was common in our area. We were one of seven other New Hopes, and there were several other churches that had names similar like New Life or Renewed Hope. Our parking lot was as uninviting as the cluttered and cramped foyer. Further, I dressed like a goober. I wasn’t wearing the coat and tie like I used to when I was at an established church, instead I wore khakis and a button-down every week.
I looked like one of those guys in a Dockers commercial from the 1990s. I was a traditional-church-looking pastor in a nontraditional church setting trying to reached unchurched people.
My second time around, we chose a name that communicated who we were and what we would be about. It was also a name that didn’t have any baggage associated with it. Further, since it was a rare name, we could get a good domain name and good Google search rankings with it pretty easily. (For instance, if you decide to name your church “Crossroads Community Church,” the chances of you showing up on a Google search is zero since there are so many well-established churches with that name already.)
The first thing we spent money on was logo design. We used colors similar to the Monster Energy drinks. They were bold and modern. The logo itself wasn’t a typical church logo. We didn’t make the “t” in our church name into a cross. There wasn’t a dove, a sunrise or Bible in the logo either.
The second thing we spent money on was a website. Using WordPress, we were able to do this for less than $250 (see this post to learn more or check out this website company). We put funny signs in the parking lot that communicated our church’s personality along with really classy looking feather flags.
The foyer had clean tables with fitted black tablecloths. There were signs directing people where to go that had a unified theme and look to them. And yes, I bought a new wardrobe. I started wearing designer jeans, fitted shirts and a variety of stylish shoes.
Call it all superficial if you want. Call me a “sellout” or a “poser” for changing the way I dressed. All I care about is that people actually showed up and stuck around long enough to hear the message I spent time preparing. Further, they came back week after week. Lost people love our church. I’d wear a clown suit every week if it meant I could see people coming to know Christ like we have at Essential.
My hope is you’ll be humble enough to learn from other planters and take the time to learn how church planting will be different than your previous church experiences. I also pray you have the boldness to make hard choices and not sell out the vision God gave you in order to keep disgruntled “church people” happy. And finally, think about what people think about you and your church if you want them to hear the life-changing message you have to share.
