Bethany Completes New Branding Project

This summer, a new logo, website, and graphic themes represent the culmination of work by members of the Bethany Theological Seminary community to give the Seminary a re-envisioned public presence.

Those with whom Bethany is in contact will see the new elements on printed and digital communication, marketing materials, and a completely redesigned website. The site features streamlined navigation, a focus on recruitment, and a series of new photos and video.

To guide the rebranding, Bethany contracted with 5 Degrees Branding, who began the process with interviews and surveys of employees, students, alumni, and Church of the Brethren leaders. A committee continued working with the agency, first identifying themes from these conversations that represent the Bethany educational experience, values, and aspirations. In addition to the Seminary’s new visual presence, the agency also created a plan for recruitment and publicity efforts. Members of the committee were Jeff Carter, president; Steve Schweitzer, academic dean; Mark Lancaster, then executive director of institutional advancement; Lori Current, executive director of admissions; and Jenny Williams, director of communications.

“A change in an institution’s outward appearance should spark interest in what is happening within its mission and program,” says Carter. “Consistent with our historic values, Bethany’s new logo depicts the power of scripture read in community, with colors that represent growth and wisdom. Our new tagline—’so that the world flourishes’—speaks to the hope of our mission while leaving room for individuals to live into the ways God is calling them to serve. With a restructured master of divinity program, a soon-to-be-revised master of arts, and new scholarships and graduate certificates, Bethany’s outward look is an expression of inward change, so that our students, and the world, might flourish.”