Photo illustration by James Stevens The United Methodist Church's ad appeared on the Reuters building at Times Square

Jan. 15, 2004

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.

The Rev. Steve Horswill-Johnston

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.

 News media contact: Linda Green · (615)742-5470 · Nashville, Tenn. · E-mail: newsdesk@umcom.org
 

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"The Gift" Igniting Ministry Ad MPEG (:60) Windows Media (:60) MPEG (:30) Windows Media (:30)