0 Comments

When it comes to churches, the kind of sign outside the building can be a sign of how things are going inside the building. A tired, worn-out board may indicate that the congregation isn’t doing so hot itself. A vibrant, well-maintained one might bode well about a church’s health.

“More and more churches are doing away with old signage because the church sign is symbolic of the church itself,” said Chip Goudreau, sales and marketing manager for J.M. Stewart Signs. “An old, ratty-looking sign gives people the wrong impression of the church.”

Actually, it may give people the correct impression, but probably not the impression a church that is interested in reaching the lost would ever want to portray.

This story and all the great free content on Church Central is supported by: JM Stewart Advertise on Church Central.  Click here for details.

“Many churches have been suffering with an old sign that is not drawing in new church members,” Goudreau said. Signs with peeling paint, rust, cracked glass, broken or burned-out bulbs, or rotting wood are sending out a message that tells non-members that they are not a priority. After all, it isn’t the members who need the sign.

A decrepit sign “says a lot about where someone like me, a non-member, stands in the scheme of things,” said Clayton Brumby, a senior sign consultant for J.M. Stewart. “Like individuals, congregations send all kinds of non-verbal communication about themselves and about how they feel toward us as total strangers coming by.”

The text message is also important. And since churches with signs are really in the business of outdoor advertising, experts such as Verlyn D. Verbrugge, author of “Your Church Sign,” recommends using captivating messages.

“The main goal of outdoor advertising is to reach people traveling by in their vehicles quickly, with a catchy message that they will remember,” Verbrugge said.

Drivers only have between three and seven seconds to see a sign. So outreach with signage becomes a matter of split-second impact. Verbrugge recommends no more than 12 words.

Brumby said it’s important for churches to think of outreach as they craft a message. If the sign offers something meaningful, Brumby said, “I can't help but think I might get more if I walked in the door.”

Changeable message signs are increasingly popular for churches. “If changed often enough, people will actually look forward to driving past the sign,” Verbrugge said.

“Many churches are turning to electronic LED message centers, which are rapidly replacing the old-style manual message centers,” said Goudreau. “The LEDs provide a more dynamic means of communication.”

Some LED signs also allow a church to incorporate video, graphics and animations along with the text of a message. “The attention it attracts and marketing power it provides is 10-fold that of the changeable copy sign,” Goudreau said.