Mississippi Baptists Brand Messaging
A voice that brings churches together.
With over 2,000 churches in the network, Mississippi Baptists serves a wide variety of churches spread across the state, providing the resources each church needs to flourish on mission and in community. Each congregation faces its own needs and opportunities, even as we share a common foundation of truth. In particular, our language at MBCB needs to reach the many small rural churches in Mississippi as well as the larger churches in more metropolitan areas.
Whether a church is in the midst of the Delta or the center of Jackson, a clear, consistent, and encouraging voice can convey welcome and support for the body of Christ throughout Mississippi.
These messaging guidelines include a tagline, mission statement, tone descriptors, and naming conventions.
Tagline
This is an approachable and memorable summary of Mississippi Baptists’ central message. Use this on a wide range of resources — especially in short or casual contexts like social media posts, handouts, t-shirts, and email footers.
Mission Statement
“We equip local churches to make disciples in Mississippi and around the world.”
This is the guiding statement that is built on Mississippi Baptists’ foundational convictions and clearly describes our unique goals. Use this in more informative resources like brochures or other introductions to Mississippi Baptists.
Tone
In writing just as in speaking, the words we choose and the way we set up our sentences can show a tone of voice. In order to reach people effectively and reflect our mission, we aim for the following tone in our written and spoken communications:
MBCB sounds …
- Committed (confidence based in conviction)
- Compassionate (kindness with attention)
- Clear (approachable for anyone)
- Welcoming (openness to growth)
Committed
Mississippi Baptists speaks with a confidence born from conviction. We trust God and believe in the importance of our mission, so we are ready to partner with churches for the long haul.
Sounds like …
- Using language people can picture — active verbs, specific nouns, and images from daily life. (In addition to being more memorable, specifics can show you mean what you say.)
- Weaving Scripture into our writing (in a way that would still be clear to people unfamiliar with the reference)
Compassionate
Mississippi Baptists takes churches’ concerns seriously and seeks to understand local issues. Our empathy comes from our foundation of shared beliefs, uniting us across economic, social, or racial lines.
Sounds like …
- Addressing specific local issues with care and understanding
- Using language like “we” and “our”
- Using regional language (y’all, folks, etc.) in informal contexts like social media
Clear
Mississippi Baptists talks in a way that makes sense in everyday life. We use straightforward language that will meet people where they are — both lifelong believers and those new to church.
Sounds like …
- Speaking in a way that would sound natural out loud in an everyday conversation — without too many long or over-complicated sentences
- Using words that would make sense to someone who didn’t grow up Baptist
- Providing specific, helpful information
Tip: Ask yourself how you would explain something if you were talking to your next door neighbor or your mom.
Welcoming
Mississippi Baptists has enough confidence in our unchanging convictions to invite the new ideas and potential changes that can come with growth, without losing who we are.
Sounds like …
- Inviting input with informal questions
- Planning ahead and sharing goals and ideas for the future
- Casting a vision for the future that connects with real needs in the present
Naming Convention
- We refer to our organization as “Mississippi Baptists” most of the time
- We still use MBCB in spaces where we’ve already used the primary name (Mississippi Baptists) and need to be concise as we continue referencing it.
- We use the full name, the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board, in legal contexts or contexts that also involve the Mississippi National Baptists State Convention or General Missionary Baptist State Convention of Mississippi