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Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
| Hoosier United Methodist News |
April 2001 |
Training events for national campaign show churches hungry for welcoming skills
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) -- The proof is in the numbers of people registering for the 33 regional training events scheduled this year as part of "Igniting Ministry," the Church's first major national ad campaign. Igniting Ministry officials had hoped that at least 100 people would register for each training event. That goal has been surpassed with the first three training sessions last month, which drew 1,429 registrations. The events are aimed at preparing local congregations to welcome visitors generated by the ads.
"People are hungry to understand how to welcome people into the faith and have a radical attitude about hospitality," said the Rev. Steve Horswill-Johnston, director of the Igniting Ministry effort and a staff executive at United Methodist Communications (UMCom).
At two "train the trainers" events earlier this year, 77 people learned skills for guiding other trainers in making their congregations welcoming and inviting. Among them was Bert Talbott, chairperson of the South Indiana Communications Commission. "This is a tremendous opportunity," Talbott said. "But if we're going to make this thing (Igniting Ministry media campaign) work on the local level, we've got to train our local churches."
Both Annual Conference Communications Committees are now planning for day-long training sessions in the coming months, to be announced as soon as details can be worked out.
Last May, the 2000 General Conference approved funding for the Igniting Ministry campaign, UMCom's $20 million effort to use television and other media to evangelize "seekers." utilizing national TV commercials about the church for cable television and other media.
The Rev. Alvin Horton, host of the Virginia Conference's training event, noted "Whoever created the term 'Igniting Ministry' is on target because it is definitely igniting the church."
"What is exciting is that the people attending these training events are ignited teams from local congregations who will return to their local churches to train, teach or ignite others," said Shirley Struchen, director of the Igniting Ministry training events.
How the training works
Local churches are encouraged to send at least three members, including their pastor, to the daylong training events. For a $35 registration fee, each attending congregation will receive help in increasing community awareness of its presence. Participants will explore how people are made to feel welcome and wanted. They also will examine the quality of life in their communities and receive a planning kit filled with practical "how-to" guides for local churches. The training will provide local churches with guidance in conducting media campaigns.
Each kit includes training videos and a video of the TV commercials, along with a textbook-like three-ring binder with newspaper ads, radio spots and artwork for supporting media. The resources also are available online at www.ignitingministry.org. Local churches will be able to customize each piece to fit their needs.
The training events give local churches "an opportunity to look within and to also see where they might want to grow," Struchen said. The idea is to ensure that the elements of a welcoming church as shown on television are actually available in local congregations. The catch phrase of the campaign is "Open hearts, open minds, open doors: the people of the United Methodist Church."
Getting ready for company
The national television campaign will kick off with a September "United Methodist Open House Month," in which local churches will be urged to hold a month-long open house to get ready for company. Churches will make a concentrated effort to sharpen their hospitality and marketing skills, and will encourage members to invite people personally to worship.
When the idea for the regional training events emerged, Igniting Ministry officials realized that the denomination had few if any experts in welcoming and hospitality, according to Horswill-Johnston. "We were just not good at that," he said. The recourse, he said, was to train people in local churches -- to have the entire congregation work together to bring people into the faith.
"We are not asking for a welcoming committee because welcoming is not a committee function." He said. Instead, the entire congregation must have a change of mindset in order to be welcoming and to make disciples for Christ.
The Igniting Ministry campaign is an attempt to reach people who are seeking to resolve real-life questions and invite them to local United Methodist churches to continue their search, said the Rev. Larry Hollon, UMCom's top staff executive. "I believe this campaign is an expression of faith in language understandable to people who do not know us, or who may even been skeptical of us."
The campaign's theme -- "Open hearts, open minds and open doors ." reflects our Wesleyan philosophy, UMCom General Secretary Larry Hollon emphasized.