A field guide for our team — visual standards, voice, and the small decisions that add up to feeling like us.
Everything in this guide sits on top of a single sentence. If a design choice doesn't help that sentence land, it's the wrong choice.
We exist to help people become passionate followers of Jesus.
We lean toward the trend side. Modern, current, on-the-pulse — but never disposable.
We slightly favor function. Clarity beats cleverness. The message wins.
These statements aren't meant to be memorized. They're filters we use for every decision we make as a church — and everything we post or say ought to allude to or reflect them, even if it isn't said outright.
Jesus is the Lead Story.
We worship with reckless abandon because we've been radically changed.
Life change happens best in community.
We are spiritual contributors, not just spiritual consumers.
We live on mission.
We're all in on the next generation.
We will lead the way with irrational generosity.
We are faith-filled, big thinking, unafraid risk takers.
When you create content for 2Rivers or speak from stage, there are ways we choose what we say and how we say it. Our content is always three things.
We "like the cookies on the bottom shelf." We stay away from churchy buzzwords or overly used bible jargon that may alienate those without that experience or knowledge. We want everyone to clearly understand us — and ultimately the Gospel message.
We don't overhype but we're not boring. We bring genuine enthusiasm to our content, reflecting our transformative experiences with Jesus. We avoid overhyping and instead communicate our message in a sincere, positive, and relatable manner.
We talk about the hard things, but we're not going to alienate or bash anyone with them. Our voice navigates the delicate balance between honesty and compassion. We are open-handed and try our best to communicate what the Bible says.
These are the tonal calibrations to keep handy — examples of how the tone words show up at the line level.
"Bring a friend, bring a casserole, and bring your questions. Sunday at 10."
"You won't BELIEVE what's happening this Sunday — God is moving in HUGE ways, you have to be there!!"
"This part is hard. We're not going to pretend it isn't. But God doesn't waste hard."
"In the crucible of your suffering, the sanctification of your soul is being wrought."
"You don't need to dress up or have it together. Show up as you are — we'll save you a seat."
"Come fellowship with the body and be edified by anointed worship and prophetic teaching."
"Generosity is contagious — when one of us gives, all of us get to be part of something we couldn't do alone."
"Don't rob God — bring your tithe and watch Him pour out blessings you can't contain."
Two parallel parallelograms — abstract enough to read as a "2," literal enough to suggest two currents converging. Simple, clean, fresh, unique.
Our primary expression is the gradient mark — used full-color on white or dark. Where the gradient can't render (single-color print, embroidery, very small sizes), reach for the solid blue, white, or black versions.
The mark may appear with or without the wordmark. When in doubt about pairing or context, default to the horizontal lockup.
Questions: marketing@2riverschurch.org
Allow a minimum of one parallelogram-width of empty space on every side of the mark. More is better. Never crowd it with type, edges, or imagery.
Print: 1" wide minimum at 266+ DPI. Screen: 32px minimum for the icon, 250px minimum for the horizontal lockup. Smaller than that, the mark loses its read.
Print · 1"
Screen · 32px
Use the mark on white, deep navy, ink black, or solid 2RC Blue. Avoid placing it on a similarly-saturated background — the mark should remain the loudest thing in the frame.
Run the gradient at 135° (top-left → bottom-right) so it reads as motion, not decoration.
Add a light grain or noise overlay on large surfaces — it stops the gradient from feeling synthetic.
Anchor gradient surfaces with ink black or paper white. Two gradients in one frame is too many.
Reverse the direction, drop a stop, or substitute hues. The gradient is a recognizable signature, not a swatch palette to mix.
Set body copy in the gradient. Reserve gradient text for one display word per composition — at most.
Place the gradient on a colored background. It needs ink, paper, or its own canvas to breathe.
Two non-negotiables — 2RC Blue, Ink, and Stone form the daily palette. The five gradient hues sit on top, deployed deliberately when energy is needed.
Type does most of the heavy lifting in our system. A strong sans for clarity and impact; an editorial italic to introduce warmth and breath; a mono for utility.
Aa Bb 01
passionate
Read me clearly.
01 / Sunday
Photography is our most powerful tool for proving we mean what we say. We show real people doing real things in honest light — never staged, never glossy, never stock.
Catch people in the moment — singing, listening, weeping, laughing. The candid frame wins over the composed one every time.
Lean into available light — stage wash, low key, hard backlight. Cinematic, not commercial.
A touch of grain or film texture is welcome. It signals reality. Avoid clinical, over-retouched skin or HDR.
The building doesn't change lives — people do. When in doubt, frame humans.
Our pages reward restraint. One headline that owns the space, one supporting move, lots of air. The grid is invisible but always present.
One thing is largest. One thing is loudest. Everything else falls in line. Resist the urge to make multiple elements compete.
Snap to a 12-column grid for digital, 6-column for print. Headlines can span 8–12 columns. Body copy never wider than 8.
Empty space gives the message room to land. If a layout feels crowded, remove something — don't shrink it.
Either very big or very small — avoid the middle. Mid-size type reads bureaucratic. Push display loud and labels quiet.
The italic serif is a spice, not a sauce. One word per composition — usually the word that carries the most emotional weight.
A light grain overlay is welcome on gradients and dark photos. Heavy textures, patterns, and "design flourishes" are not.
Sermon series get the longest leash. Series art exists to do one thing — make you want to know more about what's being preached. Within reason, almost anything is fair game.
Templates for the formats we ship most. Use these as starting points — match the rhythm, then bring your content.
You don't have to have it all together.
Honesty doesn't
have to hurt.
Unafraid risk takers.
grace
has
your
seat.
be
still
&
know
"For we are God's handiwork, created to do good."
Save the date. Bring everyone you know.
Vertical text down the spine. Gradient mark at the nape. Ink black tee, screen-printed in soft-hand white.
2Rivers Youth and 2Rivers Kids each have permission to push the brand in a direction the parent can't. The audience defines the volume — but the DNA stays.