JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (BP) — The brouhaha over a certain country-themed restaurant/store’s brand redesign touches on a topic that churches encounter at some point.

Words like “branding” and “marketing” can cause ministers to flinch, because there is no greater example of either than the work of the gospel in a person’s life. But a logo is often the first visual associated with a church, and there’s a pretty simple way to know if it’s a good one.

“Someone in your congregation should want to get a cap or T-shirt with your logo on it, and wear it,” said Mark MacDonald, founder of BeKnownForSomething.com and author of the book by the same name. “It actually represents them, since they are the church.”

It goes much deeper than a shirt, though, and expands beyond the church’s walls.

“Think about your neighbors. God has uniquely placed you near them. What are their needs, concerns and goals? The church needs to fall in love with those people,” said MacDonald, a national church branding strategist and speaker who has previously served on staff for churches as well as a communications catalyst for the Florida Baptist Convention.

Trying to be everything to a community is difficult. MacDonald encourages churches to find their “thread.” But it needs to be done with caution.

“What do you want your church to be known for? A good church rebrand clarifies that thread and then communicates it consistently,” he said. “We help them look at how their current brand is, or isn’t, reflecting that. Only then do you consider a new visual identity, or logo. Done right, it aligns the message, look and ministry focus so people inside and outside the church recognize it and connect it to the gospel.”

Various marketing organizations recommend 1-5% of a church’s budget to communications, which includes marketing. MacDonald’s company suggests 1-2%.

There are wrong reasons for a rebrand, MacDonald added, such as just because the pastor doesn’t like it or there is a desire to keep up with the cooler church in town.

“That’s cosmetic, not strategic,” he said. “If you rebrand without a strategic reason, you’ll only confuse people and waste money.

“A church that chases after trends ends up looking like noise, not the gospel.”

Either way, people tend to judge rebrands too quickly and forget that a logo change is only a small part of it. That is also why the process may feel like an attack on what people have come to know and accept. It’s why MacDonald feels like the Cracker Barrel rebrand isn’t as bad as many may think.

“It isn’t terrible, just different,” he said. “The backlash happens because people are emotionally attached to the old logo and what it represents.

“For churches, this is an important reminder that when you change anything visual, you need to connect it to something deeper so people understand the ‘why’ behind the change.”

(EDITOR’S NOTE — Scott Barkley is chief national correspondent for Baptist Press.)