Introduction and Big Idea

This brand identity for Josh McDowell Ministry (JMM) follows this diagram of the various components of the brand identity:

Remember that all of these components are intended as foundational, internal concepts and constructs.

Let’s now present the recommended elements of your brand identity starting with the Brand Essence or Big Idea.

Brand Essence

The brand essence captures your Big Idea in one to five words. It reflects the heart of who you are, your connecting thread or unique DNA. Your mission is what you do but your essence expresses the unique way you do that. Examples include “magic” for Disney, “creative diversity” for Apple, “optimal athletic performance” for Nike or “Freedom” for Harley Davidson. Or think about the essence as explaining how you live out your mission.

For JMM, the brand essence is based on this understanding of the distinctive way you carry out your mission (or, put another way, your Big Idea). Let’s review the mission and our background.

Mission, Vision, and Values

Our mission is to serve others until the whole world hears acerca de Jesús.

Josh McDowell Ministry’s vision is that true followers of Jesus everywhere live, defend and share their faith because they know that the Christian faith is reliable, relational and relevant to their lives. The Ministry serves students, parents, leaders, churches and virtual movements through the production of innovative events and cutting-edge ministry resources in the heart languages of people everywhere.

The Ministry’s core values are truth, relationships, fruitfulness, serving others, and innovation and creativity.

As a Cru Ministry, our mission is to serve others until the whole world hears about Jesus.

We live out this mission by delivering breakthrough messages and moments that lead to clarity, conviction, confidence and connection so people can live, support and share their faith in new ways.

Josh D. McDowell has been at the forefront of cultural trends and groundbreaking ministry for more than 50 years. He shares the essentials of the Christian faith in everyday language so that people of all ages and stages are prepared for the life of faith and the work of ministry. This includes meeting the needs of people through leveraging resources based on years of experience, new technologies, and strategic partnerships. Josh is passionate about helping people know the truth, understand why they believe it, and experience it in their relationships by living out their faith.

Ministry Background

Since 1961, God has worked through Josh McDowell’s dramatic conversion and testimony to draw people to faith and sharpen their understanding of what they believe, why it is true and how to live out their faith in relationships.

From the beginning, Josh experienced God’s call to create and share messages in the areas of:

Classical Apologetics which help people understand the deity of Christ, the reliability of the Bible and the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus.
Relational Apologetics which refer to the way believers live out the teachings of Jesus in their relationships (friendship, marriage, parenting, self-image, etc.)
Moral Apologetics which help believers align their behavior and actions with the nature and character of God (truth, purity, love, forgiveness, justice etc.)

Throughout our history, the Ministry has employed different methodologies in classical, relational and moral apologetics, delivering messages through speaking at live and recorded events as well as publishing and producing printed and digital resources.

Ministry Distinctive

The unique contribution of the Ministry has been the ability to communicate these messages in fresh ways that spark new understanding about faith in Jesus and that inspire renewed commitment and confidence in living like Jesus.

All of this leads to our Big Idea or essence.

Brand Essence: "It's True"

JMM creates and presents “It’s True” messages and moments that lead people to that point where they “get it.” Messages are the content. Moments are the experiences where that content strikes home and the Holy Spirit helps a person to see something in a whole new way or reminds them of something critical they had forgotten. To better understand what an “It’s True” moment or message is, we turn to the next step to define the characteristics of these moments and messages.

Core Identity Attributes

Core offering

The Ministry will provide events and resources that communicate unchanging truth into an ever-changing culture, using traditional printed publications, current digital resources and future technologies for communicating messages that inspire defining moments and life-changing experiences for people everywhere.

main emotion

Confidence is the main emotion we want people to feel when they engage with our brand.. It demonstrates that a person has gained something of value from JMM and now feels equipped to use it in their own lives and with others. When a person first engages our brand, the emotion may not be confidence — it may be closer to relief, excitement and the feeling they have answers to difficult issues.

Core Identity Attributes
(Characteristics of “It’s True” Moments or Messages)

These are attributes or characteristics of an “It’s True” moment and the messages that lead to and proceed from that moment. Keep in mind that in each person’s life, there will be major moments that alter the trajectory of one’s entire life. But there will also be smaller, affirming or revelatory moments that add up over time to something significant. God places these “It’s True” moments in our lives so that we can look back on them as the defining moments when He demonstrated His love and faithfulness or some other characteristic of His nature in a new way.

Relational – JMM is both personal and relatable and filters everything through a relational lens.

Enlightening – JMM surprises and sometimes shocks people with the truth framed in personal and applicable ways they can absorb and pass on to others.

Catalytic – JMM is catalytic in spurring people to action — it is missional and seeks to launch people to mobilize others to share their faith. Within this attribute are all the “next step” and training-others concepts of taking action after you’ve experienced an “It’s True” moment.

Relevant – By focusing on the root issues and not just cultural symptoms, JMM creates resources and experiences that are applicable in countries and cultures around the world.

Reliable – Everything JMM does is biblically and research-based so that audiences can rely on God’s truth and JMM’s presentation of that truth.

Clear and Compelling – JMM articulates complex concepts and terms into messages that are easily understood intellectually, experienced emotionally and able to be applied in practical ways

Brand Personality

The personality traits we aspire to reflect are:

Bold – We are willing to address tough issues in fresh ways as God leads us to do so.

Grounded – We are theologically sound and biblically based.

Engaging – We desire to interact with our various audiences in meaningful and compelling ways.

Discerning & Insightful – We use biblical discernment and practical insights to analyze current and future trends.

Understandable – Our content is easy to understand. It is presented in a clear manner that provides clarity to others.

Approachable – People feel they can come to us and can easily access our content, our staff and our insights.

Servant-hearted – We serve others out of a posture of humility and concern about each individual with whom we engage. In all that we do, we seek to serve with excellence.

Empathetic & Gracious – We care not just about the truth but how that truth will be received. This is why we don’t address certain topics. We extend grace to others from a position of respect and appreciation.

Brand Promise

Clarity, Conviction, Confidence, and Connections

Our promise is to provide messages and moments that lead to clarity, conviction, confidence and connection that help people everywhere live, support and share their faith.

Brand Positioning Statement

The basic formula for the brand positioning statement is this:

For (target audience), (brand name) is the (primary adjective) (category) that (benefits) because of its (reasons to believe).

Here is the new brand positioning statement. Remember, this isn’t meant to be used externally so much as to make sure we’ve covered all the bases on the elements of the brand identity such as target audience and reasons to believe. However, there are elements here that could be used in external messaging separate from the whole positioning statement.

For people seeking purpose and meaning, and for those who serve them, JMM is a catalyst who introduces defining moments and life-changing experiences that provide insights leading people to know Jesus and to live, share and support their faith.

For every decision, piece of content one writes or any message spoken on behalf of JMM, ask the following:

“It’s True”:

What’s true? What’s the insight or enlightening idea here?
How does this create an “It’s True” or breakthrough moment or message?
Why does it matter?
What should the reader/audience do as a result (e.g., what are practical, specific next steps)?

Ben Bennett

Austin Fruits

Matthew Tingblad

¿Qué Convierte a los Escépticos en Creyentes? ¡Josh McDowell comparte algunos hechos!