United Methodists offer encouragement on N.Y. billboard
12/5/2001 News media contact: Linda Green · (615) 742-5470 · Nashville, Tenn
NOTE: A photograph is available with this story.
By United Methodist News Service
A 45-foot-high billboard in the Wall Street district of Manhattan, just two blocks from ground zero, is offering passersby a word of encouragement from United Methodists.
Erected Nov. 29, the billboard features a large photograph of praying hands with the words: "Fear is not the only force at work in the world today." It also includes the church's familiar cross and flame logo with the words: "Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors. The People of the United Methodist Church." The phrase regarding openness has been a part of a major national "Igniting Ministry" media campaign directed by United Methodist Communications (UMCom), a church agency based in Nashville, Tenn.
During the next three months, more than 600,000 people a day are expected to see the billboard, according to outdoor advertising officials.
The billboard's simple but direct message is intended to tell New Yorkers that followers of Jesus Christ are praying with them, said the Rev. Steve Horswill-Johnston, Igniting Ministry director.
The $20 million Igniting Ministry campaign was launched shortly before the Sept. 11 tragedy, using TV spots, print ads and billboards. Its purpose is to reach people seeking answers to real-life questions and to invite them to United Methodist churches to continue that search. The billboard in Manhattan was produced especially for use in the city as a message of hope and reassurance.
The billboard is a "bold proclamation of our belief in the God who is at work in the world even now empowering us, healing us and bringing new life to places where fear seeks to disable and diminish us," said the Rev. Larry Hollon, UMCom's top staff executive.
Horswill-Johnston said that since Sept. 11 church leaders of diverse traditions have observed that people are searching to fill a "hole in the soul." That hole is widening and deepening worldwide, but is most evident in the lives of the New York citizens, he said.
"New York has been hit by much more than two planes in the sides of two buildings. They have been hit in the soul, and they have demonstrated a great spiritual resiliency," he observed.
UMCom has used a variety of communications channels, including the Internet, television and radio, to help Americans deal with the aftermath of the terrorist attacks and to share the church's concern for victims, family members and loved ones. A television spot broadcast on CNN in late October and early November urged people to pray for safety, justice and a "change in angry hearts."
Given its role in helping the church speak to the needs of the world, UMCom has sought to offer appropriate messages of hope, comfort, community, justice and peace - "messages rooted in the gospel and manifest in the life of Christ," Horswill-Johnston said.
Hollon agrees. "We believe in the life force of a creative God who transforms our fears into confident hope. I can think of no more appropriate location to affirm this belief and share it with others than ground zero."
The basic purpose of the overall Igniting Ministry campaign is to invite people, particularly those between 25 and 54 years old, to enter into connection with the Christian community as they seek meaning and purpose in their lives.
Initial reports from a media-tracking firm indicate the effort is working. More people between the ages of 25 and 54 are reporting a favorable opinion of the church and have expressed a willingness to attend one of the 36,000 United Methodist churches across the country.
A random telephone survey of 1,250 people was conducted in 100 churches in each of the denomination's five jurisdictions. First-time attendance figures were gathered for churches in Raleigh-Durham, N.C., San Antonio, Portland, Ore., Baltimore and Indianapolis.
According to the results, 14 percent people of those surveyed remembered the United Methodist Church's television spots, compared to 18 percent who remembered ads placed by the Mormons, who have a 22-year history with television advertising.
The survey shows an 8 percent increase in awareness of the United Methodist Church over 2000, Igniting Ministry officials said. Seventy-five percent of those sampled indicate a belief in what the television spots say. More than 35 percent report a favorable attitude toward the United Methodist Church.
Most religious groups reported an increase in attendance immediately after Sept 11. Horswill-Johnston said that the 100 Igniting Ministry test churches in September had a 108 percent increase of first-time attendance over the previous year.
The full report from the media-tracking firm will be available on the Igniting Ministry Web site at ignitingministry.org by mid-December.
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