wfn.org | United Methodists poised for 'open house,' media campaign

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Aug. 30, 2001 News media contact: Thomas S.
McAnally7(615)742-54707Nashville, Tenn.     10-21-71B{369}

By United Methodist News Service

Anticipating the launch of an unprecedented "Igniting Ministry" media
campaign Sept. 4, United Methodists across the nation are inviting and
welcoming visitors with "open hearts, open minds, open doors." 

For the first time, the denomination is using television to extend an
invitation to unchurched people looking for meaning in their lives.
Television spots will be shown on 15 national cable networks and CBS.

"We know that TV ads alone won't bring people to church," said the Rev.
Steven Horswill-Johnston, Igniting Ministry director, "but they will support
United Methodists in every community who are making a special effort to
welcome people in the name of Christ."  

Interest in the campaign across the denomination has been phenomenal, he
said. "It has filled a deep desire among local church members to reach out
and meet newcomers where they are."

Each TV ad tagline will invite people to visit a special Web site:
www.unitedmethodist.org, the first site produced by the church specifically
aimed at non-members. The site allows individuals to find information about
the church in simple, conversational language. They can also locate the
church nearest them or a church in an area where they may be moving. 

The campaign, authorized by the church's top legislative body in May 2000,
is much more than television ads. Local churches are using billboards,
newspaper ads, radio spots, banners, and everything from hats to T-shirts,
to supplement what is done nationally. Nationwide, the church's General
Conference has authorized about $20 million for the four-year campaign, and
local churches and annual conferences are providing additional financial
support.

How to welcome people genuinely was not left to chance or past methods. More
than 20,000 people took special training and returned to their churches to
share what they had learned. "The campaign has been a catalyst for local
congregations to engage in discussion about how they welcome newcomers,"
said Horswill-Johnston. "Not every church will become expert at welcoming,
but many are making efforts to walk in the shoes of newcomers and to
understand how they see and experience church. " 

The United Methodist Church is the second-largest Protestant denomination in
the United States, with 36,000 congregations and 8.4 million members.
Another million-plus members are in Europe, Africa and Asia. 

Horswill-Johnston said he hopes the mass media ad campaign will appeal to
people the church isn't reaching in other ways. "Television is the language
of the people," he said, "the kind of people we are seeking to bring into
relationship with Christ through our United Methodist congregations."

For the campaign, he and his colleagues at United Methodist Communications
in Nashville, Tenn., working with advertising and research agencies, have
developed 14 television ads, 34 radio ads, and more than 200 pieces of
non-broadcast advertising. In test marketing, nearly 40 percent of the
viewers polled indicated an interest in visiting a United Methodist church
after seeing the ads. The campaign will continue during the Christmas,
Easter and back-to-school seasons in successive years.
  
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United Methodist News Service
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