Case Study
Christ Central Church Durham
Turning a building purchase into a vision the whole church can be part of.
We partnered with Christ Central Church in Durham to build the campaign story behind one of the most significant moments in their history—the purchase of a historic downtown building. "Make Visible" became the invitation: not just to fund a building, but to make visible movements of hospitality, mercy, and service for the good of the whole city.
INFLECTION POINT
Christ Central had spent years embedded in downtown Durham—a multicultural, multi-ethnic congregation committed to loving the city from within it, not from a distance. When a historic building in the heart of the city became available, they faced both an urgent opportunity and a meaningful challenge: move quickly to secure a long-term home, while ensuring that the story told wasn't merely about money or square footage.The building represented something far bigger than a facility. For a church whose identity is inseparable from its location—a Durham city church, not just a church in Durham—this was a chance to stake a permanent claim in the city they love. But purchasing a building is only as powerful as the story that carries it.Christ Central needed a campaign story that could hold both the urgency of the moment and the depth of the vision behind it.
STORY SOLUTION
We developed "Make Visible" as the campaign core story—a call to action rooted in Christ Central's deepest convictions. For eleven years, they had served Durham from within Durham—not as an outside-in presence, but as an embedded part of the city's life. A permanent home in the heart of downtown wasn't just a facility solution. It was a chance to accelerate possibility: to better love their neighbor, show hospitality, sow seeds of mercy and justice, and reflect the light of the gospel in the city they love. The building makes that visible in the most literal sense. Its steeple is visible from the highway—a landmark that signals presence, rootedness, and something worth noticing. Purchasing a building is about what it makes known. And what Christ Central wants to make known goes far beyond brick and mortar.Make Visible—because a building in the center of a city can point to something far greater than itself.
BRINGING THE STORY TO LIFE
With the core story in place, we built the full campaign communications system to carry it—giving Christ Central the strategy, language, and creative tools to invite their congregation and broader community into this vision.
Organization Website
After the campaign, we extended our partnership to develop a full church website that carried the visual motifs and identity foundations forward—giving the congregation a fresh digital home that felt continuous with the campaign, not separate from it. The result is a church website that reflects who Christ Central is: rooted in Durham, oriented toward the city, and always inviting people in.
OUTCOMES
- Secured the purchase
- of historic downtown Durham building—a permanent home at the center of the city they've committed to serve
- Raised $11M
- in pledges toward the building through the Make Visible campaign
- A cohesive identity and communications suite
- to carry "Make Visible" across every congregational touchpoint
