We Changed Our Name!
All organizations—whether they are for-profit or nonprofit, Fortune 500 or a local church—have a “brand.” In its simplest form, your brand is what others say about you. Key people in an organization help form and fuel a brand identity using a combination of words, visuals, and actions that deliver and describe their distinct identity over time. In other words, what an organization actually says, how they act, and what they look like all contribute towards an external image, or brand. That means “Sojourn Network” has a brand! We want to do all we can to ensure our brand aligns with who God’s called us to be and what He’s called us to do in this world for the advance of the gospel.
We believe that in order for our brand to better align with what He has called us to do, we actually needed to rebrand. So, for the better part of a year, Sojourn Network has been doing just that.
So what does a "rebrand" actually mean?
Rebranding includes shifting, refining, or changing our identity to more closely align with who we truly are, where we want to go and who we want to serve. Inherently different from forming a new brand, a rebrand implies that something currently exists that must be altered in some way because it no longer represents the essence of the organization. The work involved in a rebrand is extensive, but the well-documented fruit on the other side of the process fuels many organizations through the months of work.
What’s involved in a rebranding process?
The scope of a rebrand can range from a simple logo update to a comprehensive change in the name, visuals (i.e. logo, color scheme, etc.), messaging (how do we position ourselves), and identity clarification (mission, vision, values, etc.). For us, we opted for a more comprehensive rebrand.
On the visual side, this includes a new logo, completely reimagined color scheme, website, and swag.
On the messaging side, this began with a new name and then moved to an updated mission, vision, and core values.
We also took the time to take a deep look at other aspects of our organization that naturally flow from a rebrand. This included work done by our Theological Advisory Team to sharpen our core beliefs and theological distinctives, as well as work done by our staff team to evaluate our current programming, staffing, and financial models.
Why are we rebranding?
A host of reasons exist for why an organization might undergo a rebrand, but for us there are three primary reasons:
First, the name “Sojourn” is associated with Sojourn Collective, the organization that launched our network in 2011 (then as “Sojourn Community Church”), generously resourced (and still continues to as one of our member churches!) our early years, and provided valuable incubation and support beyond finances. Yet, the name created more confusion than clarity between what was Sojourn Church (a local church in Louisville, KY) and what was Sojourn Network (a national network of churches of which the Sojourn Collective churches are just a few members).
Second, while the word “sojourn” is a beautiful biblical metaphor for God’s people, it no longer describes who we are.
Third, having experienced the ebbs and flows of the first decade of our organization’s life cycle, we felt that this inflection point provided an opportunity to solidify our identity for the next season of our ministry.
Even as we thank God for Sojourn Collective’s unique place in launching and resourcing our network, we need a brand that differentiates us from Sojourn Collective, accurately describes who we are, and provides a stable and solid foundation for years to come. In establishing this brand now, our hope is that current and future churches, their leaders, and their people will enjoy deeper partnership with us as we move towards a common mission and vision.
How did we go about our rebranding?
After evaluating the best approaches (e.g. in-house or outsourced), we opted to partner with an external creative team called OX, based in Chicago. We formed a rebrand team composed of staff and board members who, together with OX, explored our organizational history, key turning points, as well as highs and lows over time. We took a deep look at ourselves and other similar organizations, and asked God to give us clarity for our unique calling as an organization. We explored over one hundred name options.
Navigating (more!) change
Rebranding necessarily involves change and change is rarely easy. For those of us who have been in this network for many years, the rebranding process will expose feelings of sadness and nostalgia. Some may experience feelings of joy, hope, and even excitement. For others, already weary from a year of incessant change, this rebrand will produce feelings ranging from curiosity to mild anxiety, instability to fear. Change can be hard, but we believe this particular change is good, healthy, and necessary for us.
We believe we’re better together!
Animated by God’s Spirit and anchored to his Word, we look forward to seeing how the hard rebranding work will both guide and launch us more effectively into the horizon of our future, a future that we embark on with others. Though we believe that the beginning of a worthy journey begins by first knowing who we are, what we’re doing and where we’re going, all journeys are better with others. After all, to go far in life and ministry, we must go together!
