wfn.org | Ad campaign increases church attendance, study says

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

Jan. 15, 2004 News media contact: Linda Green 7 (615)742-5470 7 Nashville,
Tenn. 7 E-mail: newsdesk@umcom.org 7 ALL{014}

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - A new study indicates that the United Methodist
Church's national advertising campaign has increased public awareness of the
denomination as well as first-time attendance at local churches.

In its annual evaluation of the church's Igniting Ministry campaign, Ventura,
Calif.,-based Barna Research Group said "the advertising is working in part
because it combats a typical challenge that denominations face: indistinct
positioning." 

Viewers of the church's commercials have a significantly stronger favorable
impression of the denomination than those who have not seen the ads,
according to Barna. The study highlights the campaign's continued
encouragement of first-time attendance and its building of positive images
about the church.   

People who have seen the commercials are nearly twice as likely to say United
Methodists "are there for people facing personal difficulty" than those who
have not seen the ads, the Barna report said. Those viewers are also much
more likely to say the church helps people in their communities, accepts
people from different walks of life, and shows care and support for its
members, the report said.

Since the campaign's launch in 2001, first-time attendance is up 14 percent
at the churches surveyed, while overall worship attendance has increased by 6
percent.

"Igniting Ministry is having a greater impact than we expected upon the
lifestyle of our congregations," said the Rev. Steve Horswill-Johnston, a
staff executive at United Methodist Communications and director of the
Igniting Ministry effort. 

The $20 million initiative, approved by the church in 2000, is aimed at
raising awareness of the denomination through a series of cable television
commercials and other advertising. National commercials are aired during the
Easter, Christmas and back-to-school periods.

Barna's analysis said "awareness of the campaign is excellent - 18 percent,
statistically even with the four-year goal of 20 percent."

"The advertising is effectively communicating with those who are either
dissatisfied with their current church experience or looking for a church to
belong to," the study reported.

The research involved telephone interviews with 1,202 adults in Baltimore,
Raleigh-Durham, N.C., Indianapolis, San Antonio, and Portland, Ore., and data
from 149 churches across the country. The telephone interviews were conducted
with people identified as "seekers" - people seeking spiritual fulfillment,
including those who are "unchurched," marginally churched or church
attendees.

"Local churches are connecting with this special group of newcomers in ways
previously not possible because of the messages we are producing,"
Horswill-Johnston said. "It shows that when significant local church efforts
are combined with a consistent presence in public media, it opens up real
possibilities for disciple-making."

Horswill-Johnston attributes the increase in first-time attendance at United
Methodist church services to congregations working better to understand
newcomers, as well as sharpening their welcoming skills and local visibility.
 

"Igniting Ministry is not so much about church growth as it is about
disciple-making, making welcoming a lifestyle," which is a shift for many
United Methodist congregations, he said. "Moving evangelism from a committee
function to a lifestyle of the whole congregation ... is a change that will
continue to be incremental. We are changing bad habits formed over many
decades."

Before the campaign, many people had little or no understanding of what is
important to a United Methodist, Horswill-Johnston said. The Barna study said
people's perceptions about the denomination are changing because Igniting
Ministry is educating them about the church by touching emotions instead of
using facts and figures.

The research shows that Igniting Ministry is accomplishing what it was
created to do: "helping people understand the United Methodist Church is a
strong option for people looking for meaning in their lives," said the Rev.
Larry Hollon, top staff executive of the communications agency.

The Barna research also shows 58 percent of the respondents exposed to the
campaign said they were very or somewhat willing to visit a United Methodist
Church, with 10 percent being very willing, according to Hollon. That is
substantially beyond the program's overall four-year goal of 10 percent
showing a willingness to visit a United Methodist Church. 

"The more people know about the church and how it can help them," he said,
"the more likely they are to choose to visit one of our congregations."
# # #

*Portions of the article were adapted from a press release from the Public
Information office of United Methodist Communications.

 
 

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United Methodist News Service
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