| Linda Green, United
Methodist News Service
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The United Methodist Church
will get premium air time on the CBS television network when the
denomination launches its national television commercials the first
week of September.
The television spots, part of the church-wide
Igniting Ministry effort, will begin airing during the CBS “Early
Show,” Tuesday through Friday, beginning Sept. 4. The national
commercials highlight the church’s diversity and focus on people
considering what it means to be in the community of God.
Igniting Ministry is the first full-blown
television, newspaper and outdoor campaign undertaken for the church.
The $20 million national TV ad campaign will be supplemented by
regional and local church efforts to help raise awareness of the
church.
Two of the three major television networks—ABC,
Fox and NBC—have a general policy of not accepting religious
advertising for nationwide broadcast. CBS was the only one that
accepted the United Methodist Church’s commercials, according to the
Rev. Steve Horswill-Johnston, director of Igniting Ministry and a
staff executive at United Methodist Communications.
“We cannot afford to buy CBS throughout the
schedule, but we were able to buy ‘The Early Show’ with Bryant
Gumbel from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. (Eastern Standard Time) beginning Sept.
4, and the spots will be aired during that week to roll out the
campaign. This is a significant breakthrough,” Horswill-Johnston
said.
The four-year campaign will attempt to reach
people who are seeking answers to real-life questions and invite them
to United Methodist churches to continue their search.
Thirty-two percent of all adults in the country
18 years and older—about 95 to 100 million people—are “unchurched,”
according to data collected by the Barna Research Group of Ventura,
Calif. Those are people who have not attended a church in the last six
months except for a wedding or funeral.
Atheists are included in that group, so it is
unknown how many of those people are seeking a church home, but
research indicates that at least 40 percent are actively searching, he
said. The term “searching” refers to people who are seeking
meaning and something greater in their lives.
Research revealed that unchurched adults are
more likely to be independent in their thinking and behavior; demand
control; be achievement oriented; strive to be on the cutting edge;
feel overly busy; be less relational; be less engaged in the world;
and seek meaning in life.
Research also shows the unchurched are not
deeply spiritual. They are theologically liberal, less committed to
the Christian faith and less interested in being active in the church
in traditional ways, such as serving on committees.
“These things change how we go about talking
about our faith to these people and putting a face in our community…,”
Horswill-Johnston said. “The task is to create avenues of intrigue
that address their needs. That is what we have tried to do with the
Igniting Ministry campaign.”
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One version of the advertisements that are part of the denomination's nationwide media campaign focuses on people considering what it means to be part of a community of God. |
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