wfn.org | United Methodist hearts, minds, doors are open, says campaign

[NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG]

Dec. 13, 2000 News media contact: Thomas S.
McAnally·(615)742-5470·Nashville, Tenn.     10-71B{568}

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) -- After more than three months of research and
testing, the Igniting Ministry office at United Methodist Communications
(UMCom) has announced the theme for a major national television media
campaign to be launched next fall: "Our hearts, our minds and our doors are
always open. The people of the United Methodist Church."

Theme art, media spots and newspaper ads for the campaign will be rolled out
Jan. 11-13 in San Diego at a meeting of the United Methodist Association of
Communicators. The goal of the campaign is to attract unchurched people ages
25 to 54.  

The campaign was approved by the church's top legislative body in May, with
funding of about $17 million to buy time on national cable networks for
television spots. UMCom is earmarking an additional $1 million annually from
its own budget to provide matching grants that will help conferences and
local churches promote their own congregations in regional media.  

"The desired action we want from this target audience is a willingness to go
to, or return to, a United Methodist church," explained the Rev. Steven
Horswill-Johnston, director of the Igniting Ministry campaign.

The theme grew out of research by UMCom, the Barna Research Group and an
advertising agency working on the project. Barna sought to identify people
who would be most receptive to an invitational message from the United
Methodist Church. The research showed that the target audience is most
receptive to a denomination with a caring heart toward those in need, an
open mindedness that requires no attachment to a mandatory creed, and an
openness to people with diverse opinions and beliefs, cultural traditions
and ethnic backgrounds.

The Rev. Larry Hollon, top UMCom staff executive, said Barna research showed
that "once people hear a description of a church that is global in outlook,
inclusive and concerned with spiritual development and social concern, they
respond positively." He said that description fits the United Methodist
Church, "but because we have been absent from the public media, we have not
presented the positive qualities of the church to people who are open to
hearing about them."

Horswill-Johnston said the television spots and other complementary media
messages will promise to the target audience "deeper meaning in life and a
new or renewed sense of spiritual well-being."

Research also showed a willingness of people in this age group to attend a
church that helps those in the community who are hurting and in need. 

"When we talk about people hurting and in need, we're not concluding that
these are just the homeless or hungry," Horswill-Johnston explained. "People
in this target audience may have money and food, but they are hurting and in
need. They are people who are stressed out as they deal with life's daily
experiences."  

Forty-six percent of the respondents to the Barna survey identified
themselves as "stressed out." Thirty-eight percent acknowledged they are
searching for meaning in life.

"These are people experiencing emotional pain or stress, people who want
their lives to add up to mean something," Horswill-Johnston said. "They have
a desire to be a part of a community of people offering a sense of belonging
and support." That's something he believes the United Methodist Church can
provide.

Hollon said UMCom is working with the churchwide Board of Discipleship to
provide training to help local churches assess their welcoming skills. "Once
we've gotten the attention of people and they venture to a local
congregation, we want to be welcoming and make them feel at home."

Research also showed what people are not looking for, he said. "They are
looking for people and community, not institutions." Addressing this target
audience with words from the new theme, he said, "Our hearts, our minds, and
our doors are always open. The people of the United Methodist Church."   

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United Methodist News Service
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