02 May Introducing Healthy Ministry Resources

The United Brethren national office has a new name: Healthy Ministry Resources. The name reflects the mission of the national office, which is: “To effectively resource pastors and congregations of the US National Conference to fulfill the Great Commission.”

When Bishop Ron Ramsey took office in 2005, one of his strategic initiatives was to create a “brand” for the national office in Huntington which would:

• Provide an official name and logo for the office. The generic “UB Headquarters” has been used until now.
• Focus the office’s purpose squarely on serving and resourcing local churches.
• Emphasize that the national office’s only reason to exist is to help UB churches. The churches don’t exist for the sake of the national office.
• Change the perception of the national office as an hierarchical entity.

“The real work of our denomination occurs at the local level,” says Bishop Ramsey. “As a national office, our only reason to exist is to help those churches thrive. Many people in our churches around the country view us as a bureaucratic, top-down entity. I want to change that perception. Our purpose is to serve our churches. The new name, the website, and everything we do will emphasize that purpose.”

The branding initiative was unveiled on April 21 to the Executive Leadership Team, and went public on May 2. It includes:

• A name and logo for the national office, which you’ll begin seeing on stationery, forms, and all kinds of other materials.
• A new website for the national office: healthyministryresources.com

UB.org remains the official website of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, USA, and UBMissions.com is the official website for Global Ministries. Those aren’t going away. The new website deals specifically with the work of the national office.

The BishopBlog, which was launched in 2006, has been revamped and folded into the new website. It has a new purpose, and will be given far more attention than in the past. Communications director Steve Dennie describes the new BishopBlog as the “Grand Central Station” of UB communications–the one place to go to find out what’s happening throughout the UB internet world.

The Healthy Ministry Resources name and logo apply only to the national office. It is just one ministry of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, USA.

• We’re not changing the name of the denomination.
• This is not a new denominational logo.