The exciting new outreach possibilities of a church sign

by Gary A. De Bois

Jim and Jerri Milligan were looking for a church. They had just moved into the Folsom, California, area after a job transfer. As Jim was driving along Greenback Lane near their neighborhood on a Saturday afternoon, the Milligans noticed a catchy church sign announcing a youth activity to be held the next day.

Jerri was intrigued enough to write down the time of the church service. The Milligans had been involved in youth activities at their former church in Cleveland, Ohio. They arrived at the church 20 minutes before the first service, just in time to be greeted by the senior pastor. He welcomed them and introduced them to a group of adults about their age. One person in the group asked the Milligans how they found the church.

"It was your sign," Jim said.

What kind of sign will work best for your church depends on various factors, such as the focus of your church ministry, the location of the church, and local codes and restrictions on the size and position of signs. You should also ask questions, such as:

• Do we want a permanent structure that pretty much says the same thing from week to week, or do we want something that changes to announce coming events?
• Do we want something quietly conservative or something that shouts contemporary?
• Do we want to simply identify who we are and what we offer, or do we want heads to swivel at catchy announcements or slogans on an electronic computerized digital display?
• What kind of construction do we need? And what kind of materials do we want to use?
• How long do we want this sign to last?

1. It must state the name of the church.
2. It must offer a glimpse into the heart of the church.
3. It must serve as a landmark.

Marketing is a key factor in any sign. "Big nationwide companies spend millions every year just for name recognition," Dinsdale says. "Getting people into their establishment is their number one goal. That is what a church should be doing with its sign."

Who you are should also be part of a church sign. If you're outreach-minded, for example, that should come through on a sign via friendly, colorful slogans and graphics. "The biggest mistake most churches make is putting just the hours of service on their signs," says Terry Jackson, president of Innovative Church Products in Sarasota, Florida. "That communicates little to the community. The sign is stagnant. It be comes an identification sign or marker—nothing more."

Instead of just listing information about service times and pastor names, a sign could promote events that would appeal to community people, such as a craft show, an aerobics class, or abuse-recovery meetings, Jackson suggests.

"Projecting an image is important," he says. "A sign that projects a poor image of a church may cause people to go elsewhere."

Warning: Be wary of including denominational logos or graphics that may be unrecognizable to the public. "People who see those could lump the church into a cult," Dinsdale says.

You should also allow enough changes on a sign to keep people intrigued. "Big companies spend millions of dollars changing their signs," Dinsdale says. "They do that to add another spin to doing business, to regain former patrons or customers, and to keep people coming back. We are programmed by nice looks and what's new. Don't put your mind on a shelf when it comes to attracting people to your church."

Don't try to put too much on a sign, however. As John Martin, president of Distinctive Signs in Louisville, Kentucky, says, "Keep your message simple, especially if your sign is on a busy street. Only a few words can be seen and retained."

You can use light emitting diodes (LED) or filament incandescent lamps to light the sign, says Tim Self, marketing director for J. M. Stewart Corporation. LEDs, which are solid state, have no filaments to burn out, so they last longer than incandescent. The LED has a life span of 100,000 hours.

With a two-sided electronic sign, it's possible to flash two messages at the same time. Graphics are also possible. And maintenance is almost magic. "There is a phone modem inside the sign incorporating its own phone number. The software dials the phone number and talks to the sign," Brumby says. "A factory sign technician can dial in and help diagnose a problem on the spot."

Sunrise Community Church in Fair Oaks, California, applied that ad vice when it replaced its old wooden sign, which was on its last legs, anyway, but collapsed completely when hit by a storm. The new sign that replaced it has a base pedestal of slump stone, which is the same material used on the exterior walls of the adjacent buildings.

Martin approves. "In our society, some people look to the church for something stable and unchanging," he says. "We should not be building a $3 million building with a piece of junk for a sign."

Gary A. De Bois (bleatsfbr@ips.net) is a freelance writer living in Orangevale, California.

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