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Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
| Hoosier United Methodists together |
February 2004 |
Ad campaign increases church attendance, study says
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 including those in Indianapolis.
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."
| 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. |
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 also are 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. Barna did not release individual figures for each city surveyed.
"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 Indianapolis, Baltimore, Raleigh-Durham, N.C., 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.
Both of the Indiana Annual Conferences of the Church use the spots. The North Indiana Conference budgeted $5,000 for the commercials in 2004. The South Indiana Conference budgets $50,000 for the commercials this year.
"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.
Last updated on 04/19/2004