David Kinnaman President | Barna Group published this short article on branding……

“Whereas in business, the key driver in the flywheel is the link between financial success and capital resources, I’d like to suggest that a key link in the social sectors is brand reputation – built upon tangible results and emotional state of heart – so that potential supporters believe not only in your mission, but in your capacity to deliver on that mission.”

Several years ago, our research pointed out the steep decline of a well-known non-profit brand. The leadership of that organization had a choice to take stock of the challenges and either recalibrate their efforts or ignore the warning signs.

What would you do? No organization should allow public opinion to determine its vision. Yet your identity – your brand – is a matter of stewardship. Perhaps your organization has enjoyed favorable positioning for decades or just for a few short years. Either way, your organization’s brand is part of your resource engine.

A non-profit’s brand amounts to “influence equity,” the ability to shape the future, to inform minds, to fill venues, to raise funds, to create and distribute resources, and ultimately to connect people to Jesus Christ. A solid brand offers the capacity to fulfill a vision.

Although every organization has a natural life cycle – and the economy is pushing many organizations into uncharted territory, accelerating the rise and fall of many enterprises – it would be irresponsible not to manage your “influence equity” effectively. Your organization’s brand is like finances, time or human resources: a gift from God to be stewarded carefully and strategically.

http://www.barna.org/blog/archives/55

So lets be perfectly clear. Anything outside this list is a unnatural progression of a Ministry or Business.

1) God Downloads Dream. You understand  and embrace your dream as your Destiny

2) Write down The Vision  “A Vision is a Dream with an Action Plan”

3) Formulate your Marketing and Business Plan

4) Develop your Brand

5) Communicate The Vision through Branding and Marketing

6) Hear from God Daily about Steps 1-5

7) Take Action: God can’t steer a parked car!

My personal experience is that we spend most of our time with clients understanding step #2. As a strategic Christian Ad agency the fun and exciting part is rolling with Step # 6. Gods Flow and anointing is always on time, never early or late, but always on time.

My latest recipe for creativity that I got from my good Aussie friends Stephen and Mara from Heartstyles. Three ideas or questions to ask God when you are in a situation that needs clarifying or direction you are seeking or perhaps creativity you are trying to leverage. One, what is “God Giving me”. What do I need to stay focused? Two, What is “God Telling me”. God is talking to us 10-15 times a day, are you listening?. Three, what is “God Showing me”. What is He showing me right now that I need to act on. What is happening to me? How am I going to be used by God in the next hour. Or how is the brand of my ministry impacting people or carrying my God given talents into the world. Does is say who I am?