According to Pew Research Center, one in five churchgoers attended services online in 2022. This means that now, more than ever, religious organizations should position themselves to reach parishioners online and provide virtual services, too.
One of the best ways to build your church’s online presence is with a strong online branding strategy developed around it. A church logo design is one small component of this—but it’s an important one. A well-designed logo will foster a sense of community, bring attention to your congregation and help make an overall positive impression on both new and old members.
In this post, we’re going to give you some tips to help you create your own logo and level up your church’s visual brand identity in the process. On top of tips, we’ll start with some inspiring church logo examples to inspire your own.
Learn more: How to make a church website
9 best church logo examples
Whether you perform religious services online or in person, deciding to build a website for your church, alongside other marketing channels, like social media, are vital in this day and age.
Church logos are visual symbols that can help your community build a digital presence and connect with members online. By communicating a lot about what your church stands for in a tiny symbol, a logo can help people understand who worships there and even what style of services they’ll find.
We’ve rounded up 9 of the best church logos to show you what an effective church logo design looks like and how it can instantly add credibility to your organization and mission. Use these examples for inspiration and from there, find the best logo maker to bring your idea to life.
01. Lynwood Church
Crosses are a common motif in religious organizations, which is why they’re often found in church logos. That said, there’s no right or wrong way to present this type of iconic religious symbol. Wix user Lynwood Church has a great example of how to create an abstract church logo using a refreshing concept of a well-recognized symbol.
The white cross-shaped symbol is made up of two parts. There’s a double-L shape that sits upright in the top-right corner of the design, and a transposed version of the same symbol points to the bottom-left.
02. Menai Anglican Church
Menai Anglican Church is another religious organization that’s come up with an abstract concept of the cross. This one is made up of a collection of colorful blocks for an engaging effect: Blue and green, yellow and orange, pink and red.
The overlapping shapes create an imperfect version of the cross. This might be intentional considering the church calls on anyone, at any point of their spiritual journey, to join them. It’s like the logo is saying you don’t need to be a certain type of person or Christian to worship. All are welcome.
03. Fincastle Baptist
Mountains are another common symbol found in religious branding. And just as there are different ways to depict the cross, there are different ways of handling the concept of a mountaintop.
For example, the white-and-black church logo for Fincastle Baptist is a geometric representation of a cross on a mountaintop. Considering one part of the church’s mantra is to grow as a community, it seems fitting to place an inspirational symbol like the cross on top of an aspirational symbol like a mountain.
04. North Point Community Church
One of the reasons why you would create a logo for a church is to make it stand out visually amongst other churches in the area. While there are unique and creative ways to play with traditional religious iconography (e.g. cross, mountain, Bible, fire), it might be worth thinking out-of-the-box in terms of your own church logo’s symbolism.
For example, the North Point Community Church’s logo is a colorful representation of the church’s name. Inside a double-lined circle in orange and white we see four directional arrows. The one pointing north is orange, while the others are in white. It might not say anything about this organization’s religious leanings, but it does provide a sense of security — telling members to head north to find and join us.
05. World Changers Church International
Another cool example of using non-traditional iconography in a church logo is World Changers Church’s. Above the church’s name is a symbol of the globe. In it, we see the American continents in blue with a peek at the European continent to the right.
What’s interesting about this logo is that both parts of it—the symbol and the lettermark—can stand alone and still provide the church with strong, recognizable branding. So this logo is quite versatile in terms of placing different versions of it across varying marketing assets for the church.
06. Immanuel Church
Immanuel Church uses location-based iconography in its church logo design. It can also be broken up into a standalone symbol and standalone lettermark—both will still be immediately recognizable.
The design of the cityscape with a church in the center of it is no coincidence. This is a neighborhood church and its mission is to bring people together. The church standing at the center of the city is directly representative of this concept.
07. The Grove
Wix user The Grove is a modern and vivacious church with a bold logo to match. That’s because this is more than just a church. The Grove has its own coffee shop, counseling services, online church services and a variety of ministry programs.
Soft, gentle shades of gray and white pair well with the logo’s ample size and hand-drawn design to instantly capture the attention of anyone who sees it. What’s more, the mixed type case (“the” in all lowercase + “GROVE” in all caps) creates an interesting, dynamic impression. It certainly looks a lot like a logo you’d find on the outside of a hip new eatery or coffee shop rather than a church—and we’re sure this modern vibe will draw in new members.
08. Gospel Grace Church
At first glance, this church logo looks like a simple lettermark with a curved line drawn between the words “Grace” and “Church.” However, once you get to know more about the church’s mission, you’ll see that the design has a deeper meaning.
Gospel Grace’s mission is to bring the world out of darkness and disconnection. The arc of light and the pronounced lettering above it, then, is supposed to be representative of the rising sun, bringing light to the earth and all the people on it.
09. Fresh Life Church
Fresh Life Church is another religious organization that’s taken a modern approach to designing its logo. Using a dark theme, the plain white lettering of its wordmark logo stands out in sharp contrast to the background of their church website. The same goes for the vibrant and youthful imagery and videography depicting live music, engaging sermons, community volunteering and more.
The simple, stylish wordmark church logo seems to be the way to go for newer churches as well as ones with active youth programs. That’s something to keep in mind if your religious organization fits into that category.
8 church logo design tips
In order to create meaningful and genuine connections with parishioners as well as the local community, a church needs a strong visual identity—one that’s credible, trustworthy and memorable. At the core of this identity is the logo.
Here are some tips to help you learn how to design a logo that will be effective for your religious organization:
01. Define your brand identity
First in our list of logo design tips is nailing your brand identity. Inventing your brand identity will require you to drill down into what makes your organization tick—its mission, vision, and values—and then ensuring that your symbols and designs represent them well. Be sure to define this before you design any branding assets, as you want to create something cohesive.
02. Know your congregation
While you want to design a church logo that you’re proud to put on your website, social media and even on the signs outside the church, it’s also important to consider how your members will feel about it. Sometimes, visuals are the first thing that draw worshippers into a church, so it’s important that your logo resonates with them.
03. Seek out inspiration from a variety of sources
You can start by looking at beautiful church websites. You can also get logo ideas from secular sources and many of today's top brands.
04. Draw up different types of logos to find the right one
There are different types of logos. Lettermarks only contain acronyms or abbreviations. Wordmarks only contain the name of the church. You could always design your logo using just a symbol or emblem. Another option is to use a combination of words and a symbol.
05. Make sure it looks good at any size
Church logos shouldn’t just look nice. People should be able to clearly read any words in them and interpret the symbols with ease, wherever it appears. Choosing the right logo size will affect both of these things.
06. Don’t be afraid to explore abstract symbols
This is one of the reasons why developing a clear brand identity is important. If you have a good understanding of your church’s mission and audience, you’ll be able to think outside the box when it comes to choosing non-traditional iconography, logo shapes or putting a unique spin on a classic.
07. Choose a font that matches the style of your church
Even if you have a great-looking symbol that can stand on its own, chances are good your logo will also include the name or abbreviation of your religious organization. Because of this, you want to choose a logo font that looks good, matches the church’s message and is easy to read.
08. Use color to evoke emotion
There’s nothing wrong with using a font or icon that’s all one color. That said, color can take branding to a whole new level by evoking strong emotions from those who encounter it. By using certain logo color combinations, it can be just as powerful as choosing the right symbol for it.
Learn more: What is a church website and why do you need one