wfn.org | Online service provides ad campaign resources to churches

["NewsDesk" <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Feb. 20, 2003  News media contact: Kathy Gilbert7(615)742-54707Nashville,
Tenn.	10-71B{097}

By Nancye M. Willis*

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - Media Warehouse, a new online service, offers local
churches economical and step-by-step instructions on how to launch a
welcoming media campaign. 

"Media Warehouse offers every local church the opportunity to be a part of
Igniting Ministry," said the Rev. Steve Horswill-Johnston, executive with the
welcoming and advertising ministry of the United Methodist Church.

Launched in mid-January, this service at
www.mediawarehouse.ignitingministry.org "puts at the fingertips of the local
church all the necessary components to launch a media campaign and to be a
part of Igniting Ministry," he added.
 
Local churches will find the service economical - with a preview and free
download of a full media campaign, Horswill-Johnston said. Guidelines and
instructions "mean a local church can undertake new welcoming community
projects with confidence," he said.

Users can browse the menu to locate and preview a full complement of Igniting
Ministry resources, including all the TV ads, graphics and ads for local
church and vendor use, MP3-format radio spot ads, dozens of newspaper ads in
six standard sizes, and downloadable informational files that guide users in
knowing how to place and work with the advertising files.

"Its shopping-cart format and user-friendly nature simplify the process of
getting the most up-to-date Igniting Ministry evangelism tools,"
Horswill-Johnston said. "Media Warehouse takes seriously Igniting Ministry's
'open hearts, open minds, open doors' theme by opening a direct path to
downloadable Igniting Ministry tools." 

Customers with less than optimal computers or those who want sizable
resources, such as outdoor advertising, can order a CD or a VHS for any
single theme at a nominal charge. 

Igniting Ministry, highlighted by a series of television commercials, also
includes a matching-grants program, regional training and an Internet
presence. The effort is designed to support and encourage local churches to
become active partners in reaching out to "unchurched" people and creating
renewed enthusiasm among members.

The 2000 General Conference authorized United Methodist Communications to
coordinate the effort and to create the commercials being used.  

More information on Igniting Ministry is available from
www.ignitingministry.org or by calling	(877) 281-6535. 

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*Willis is a writer/designer for United Methodist Communications in
Nashville, Tenn.

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United Methodist News Service
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