Thinking of using the name Watermark for your ministry?
We started Watermark with a great deal of prayer, research and conversation regarding the choosing of our name. In terms of its illustrative nature, Watermark represents our desire to be authentic, excellent, and a people that leave a lasting impact long after we are gone. We also felt that it would not limit us geographically as we thought about planting other churches and not allow people to prejudge or stereotype us with any common or denominational names.
While we thought long and hard about choosing a name that was unique in its meaning, we also went to great lengths to make sure it was unique in its usage. We spent a great deal of time and effort to make sure there were no other churches named Watermark and then went through the process to legally copyright our name. It was important to us that we were not just unique at our inception but also as long as God saw fit to allow us to exist as a church.
We have several concerns about the confusion that may result in sharing a common name and below are a few of them:
- Watermark’s sermon and audio ministry. Each month we receive close to 65,000 hits on our audio site and podcasting feed by people in every state and on every continent who are requesting audio of our sermons, conferences, bible studies, and special events. Obviously if there are multiple Churches named Watermark there can be confusion.
- Watermark’s current and future resources. We are currently sharing our resources with other churches and have big dreams about expanding this part of our ministry. When people see a resource, book, or hear of a Watermark Conference we would prefer there to be no confusion as to which Watermark they are referring to.
- Watermark’s future plans for satellite campuses and Church plants. As we look to the future we think additional campuses and churches will be a part of our strategy. If we go to another state, area, or city we would like the opportunity to again be known for who we are and not be confused with any other ministry named Watermark.
We want you to know that as we search our hearts this is not an issue of pride and that we really are deeply committed to seeing the universal church and not only our local expression of it prevail. We regularly enjoy serving and share our resources with likeminded churches and would genuinely count it a privilege serve you and to share anything we have that might be helpful in our common goal of being and making disciples. However, for many reasons we do not feel it would be best to share the name Watermark at this time.
We look forward to hearing your concerns as well as sharing ours in a manner that honors God and preserves the unity within his body.
Watermark's Trademark Rights
Watermark has incurred the time and expense to formally trademark its name with the United States Patent & Trademark Office and Watermark is the owner of United States' trademarks Nos. 3,021,059, 3,072,703, and 3,022,864. Here are the pdf's of the actual trademarks.
