Branded House vs House of Brands: Which is Right for Your Ministry?

What’s the name of your ministry? Is it fun? Is it easy to understand? Does it have a battle reference in it?

Church ministry names are as creative as there are people. We love to name things, but a lot of times when we name them, we don’t answer the essential question.

“Who is this for?”

A lot of times when we’re coming up with names, we want something catchy or pithy. Sometimes, we even try to be clever by coming up with an acronym that has our mission and vision in it.

If that’s you, don’t feel bad. We got it honestly from churches in the 80s and 90s. We were so excited to name all our rooms and ministries that we rarely thought about having to explain what all these names mean.

But it’s not just churches. It’s our culture as well. Have you ever visited a hospital or government building? They love to name things after people that mean almost nothing to anyone unless you’ve been there for 30+ years.

So, if you’re in the process of rebranding and trying to come up with a new name, fundamentally you need answer the question, are we a house of brands or a branded house?

Let me show you what I mean.

Let’s say your church is called Springfield Community church. (I don’t know if there is, I’m just making this up.) SCC has allowed their pastors to name their ministries whatever they want. Youth is called Rush, Kids are called The Ark, and preschool is called Sprouts.

This is a house of brands.

A branded house looks more like this. SCC has a brand strategy and decides to each ministry needs to refer to the church brand. Youth is called SCC Youth. Kids is called SCC Kids, and Preschool is called SCC Preschool.

But which is better? I think there are pros and cons to both.

House of Brands Vs Branded House

1. House of brands

As I said before, a lot of churches use this strategy. In fact, every church I’ve served in was a house of brands. My first children’s ministry was called Suge Kidz (gotta love the Z!) and was held in the Wave House. My church was 15 minutes from the beach so having a beach theme worked. We even had a rounded tunnel painted to look like a giant wave as kids came in.

Having a house of brands allows for each ministry to express itself. They can be creative and fun and fit the community well. They have their own logos, color schemes, and insider language. Students that attend every week don’t say they’re going to church. They say they’re going to the Wave House!

Many of these ministries put what age group they minister to the name. Surge Kidz is clearly for children, but for what age child? Can they bring their 3-year-old? Their baby? What about their 13-year-old who’s young for their age, but the size of a pro-football player?

While some ministries put their age group in their name, a lot don’t. Here are some of the ministries in churches I’ve been around. Try to guess which age group they’re for.

Ground Zero
Kidtricity
Energize
Society
Promised Land
Summit
OneEighty
Tiny Town

Some of these you can probably figure out. But what about outsiders? Like I said before, we have to think, “who is this name for?”

Your knee jerk reaction may be for you and your ministry, and you’re not wrong. But that’s not everyone. It’s also for visitors to your church. One of the 3 big questions guests ask is where do I need to take my kids? If they look at a sign with a bunch of names and can’t figure it out, you’ve just put an obstacle in their way that may stop them from ever coming back.

The name of your ministry is for you, but, and I think this is most important, it’s also for the people coming to your church. That’s why I suggest a branded house.

2. Branded house

Every church I served in had a house of brands, and just about every church I’ve served in, I changed it to branded house. To me, having one cohesive brand strategy makes the most sense. Most likely your main church’s brand is what’s known most in the community. Look at your Facebook Page likes, Facebook group sizes, and follows on Instagram. Who has more, your church or your ministry? Most likely, it’s your church.

When guests decide to go to church, they’re not talking about going to The Ark. They’re talking about going to Springfield Community Church. If they do say The Ark, they’ll say, let’s go to The Ark at SCC. There’s almost always a qualifier.

Having a branded house may not be as fun. Saying SCC Kids is bland, when compared to The Ark, but it is clear. A guest family can walk through your church and see SCC Kids, SCC Preschool, and SCC Youth and have a pretty good idea of where to take their kids.

These ministries can have similar, but not exact logos and design ideas. Here’s the logos I used for church number 3.

I used the same font and circle but made it distinct with my own color and letters. It’s easy to look at the kid’s logo and see that it’s related to the parent.

Businesses do this all the time. Look at Disney, Disney+, and Disney Channel. They all have that signature pointing back to the parent company.

Even though you’re using the same name, doesn’t mean you can’t theme the room to fit your age group and community. You can still do that awesome space theme in your youth area. Just don’t name your ministry S.P.A.C.E. Youth Church. Please.

3. A Compromise

If you’re not sold on a branded house, or other ministries don’t want to change their names, you can still compromise. Use a name that has your age group in it. Like Surge Kidz or Kidtricity. They both have kids in the name, so it’s easy for parents to figure out what you mean.

There are a lot of fun options out there and I’m sure you can come up with your own. Just make sure when you pick the name, that you’re answering the question “who is this for” with both your church and community in mind.

Picking a new ministry is expensive and time consuming. A rebrand shouldn’t be taken lightly. It’s a strategy decision that needs to have a lot of input from your pastor, your ministry, and outsiders. Before you make the change, look around to all the places where your logo and theming exists. You’re going to have to change all of them.

When I changed Energize to Hope Kids, I had a giant sign that said Energize. It was the focal point of my lobby and was going to take thousands of dollars to change. So, we decided to name the room Energize and rename the ministry Hope Kids. It wasn’t my favorite solution, but the most cost-effective. Sometimes you have to compromise when you’re working with existing space.

Bottom line, if you want guests in your church to feel comfortable, don’t fill it with insider language that’s going to take them months to figure it out. Have a cohesive strategy throughout that’s easy to understand. Your guests will thank you by coming back.

What does your church have, a branded house or a house of brands? What do you call your ministry?