Church media campaign lays new plans for reaching seekers
Church media campaign lays new plans for reaching seekers
Feb. 4, 2004
By Nancye M. Willis*
UMNS photo by Mike DuBose
The
Rev. Elijah Stansell tells attendees at the Pre-General Conference News
Briefing that the United Methodist Church�s media campaign has changed
the public�s perception of the denomination.
The
Rev. Elijah Stansell tells attendees at the Pre-General Conference News
Briefing in Pittsburgh that the United Methodist Church�s media
campaign has changed the public�s perception of the denomination from
that of a �generic� church to one that non-churchgoers are interested in
attending. �We believe this ministry is a 21st-century expression of
our Wesleyan heritage, taking the gospel to wherever people congregate,�
said Stansell, a director of the Foundation for United Methodist
Communications. The foundation sponsored a dinner Jan. 30 for
participants at the briefing. A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose. Photo number
04-036, Accompanies UMNS #034, 2/4/04
PITTSBURGH
(UMNS) - The United Methodist Church's media campaign has changed the
public's perception of the denomination from that of a "generic" church
to one that non-churchgoers are interested in attending.
Key
people in the campaign shared that message with participants at a
Pre-General Conference News Briefing held by United Methodist
Communications. The Jan. 29-31 briefing brought together about 280
church communicators, first-elected delegates and others in preparation
for the denomination's top legislative assembly, which meets this
spring.
"We
believe this ministry is a 21st-century expression of our Wesleyan
heritage, taking the gospel to wherever people congregate," said the
Rev. Elijah Stansell, a director of the Foundation for United Methodist
Communications. The foundation sponsored a dinner Jan. 30 for
participants at the briefing.
United
Methodist Communications, the agency that administers the Igniting
Ministry campaign, is proposing that the church increase its advertising
and develop specific messages for young people during 2005-08. The
proposal will go to the General Conference, which meets April 27-May 7
in Pittsburgh.
The
communications agency is asking for $33.5 million to continue and
expand by 18 weeks annually the core advertising on cable television
networks, and for $5.4 million to develop an integrated advertising
strategy for local church youth ministries. The agency would continue to
provide funds from its budget for administrative costs, regional
training and creation of local church resources.
UMNS photo by Mike DuBose
The
Rev. Larry Hollon describes his vision for the denomination�s media
campaign during the Pre-General Conference News Briefing in Pittsburgh
on Jan. 30.
The
Rev. Larry Hollon, top staff executive for United Methodist
Communications, describes his vision for the denomination�s media
campaign during the Pre-General Conference News Briefing in Pittsburgh
on Jan. 30. Hollon said funding �will enable us to continue to reach
people in an environment where they are comfortable, and to say to them,
�We care about you.�� A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose. Photo number
04-038, Accompanies UMNS #034, 2/4/04
The
youth expression, described as a "grass-roots" effort, "is an
evangelistic peer-to-peer sharing of the gospel in a compelling
multimedia approach, rather than a television advertising campaign,"
said Larry R. Hygh Jr., director of communications for the
denomination's California-Pacific Annual (regional) Conference.
"The
goal is to get youth to enter into a United Methodist youth ministry
program and then to give them a reason to stay," said Hygh, who has been
involved in the Igniting Ministry effort since its inception in 2001.
The
youth effort is particularly significant since "the percentage of
people younger than 30 who are part of the church now is at the lowest
level in history," he said. According to statistics found in the 2001
General Minutes of the United Methodist Church, the denomination can
identify fewer than 500,000 youth members of United Methodist Youth
Fellowship ministries among the more than 8.3 million U.S. church
members.
The
youth expression would include advertising materials, local church
resources, training, grants, and major online opportunities to exchange
ideas, creative materials and music and to enter conversations with
seeker youth. Many elements would be developed in collaboration with the
denomination's Board of Discipleship.
Stansell
outlined Igniting Ministry's accomplishments of the past four years,
including findings of a recent Barna Research Group indicating:
Expressed
willingness by almost half the 1,200 people surveyed to attend a United
Methodist church, far exceeding the initial 10 percent goal set by
Igniting Ministry.
An 18 percent awareness level of the church among those surveyed, up from 3 percent before Igniting Ministry was launched.
A 14 percent increase in first-time attendance in 150 test congregations.
A 6 percent total attendance increase in test congregations.
The campaign was launched after the 2000 General Conference approved nearly $20 million in funding for the 2001-04 period.
If
the 2004 General Conference approves the latest proposal, the core
advertising funding "will enable us to continue to reach people in an
environment where they are comfortable, and to say to them, 'We care
about you,'" said the Rev. Larry Hollon, United Methodist
Communications' top executive.
Igniting
Ministry's presence at Ground Zero shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks and in Times Square last fall are prime examples of
how "the United Methodist Church, through Igniting Ministry, is planting
messages that impact lives in ways we may never know," Hollon said.
"Reaching
the public using broadcast media … is an investment in our future as a
relevant, vital and leading Protestant denomination," he said.
The
Rev. Steve Horswill-Johnston, a United Methodist Communications staff
executive, leads the Igniting Ministry effort. Complete information on
the expansion proposals is available at http://www.seespotrunagain.org
online.
*Willis is editor for the Public Information Team at United Methodist Communications in Nashville, Tenn.
News media contact: Tim Tanton · (615) 742-5470 · Nashville, Tenn