The Still Speaking Initiative
Is Your Church Ready?

A checklist:

The United Church of Christ is in the midst of its first national advertising/ identity campaign. Is your church ready to make the most of this opportunity? Following are the top ways your church can prepare:

1. Opt-in. If your church has not opted in to the campaign, you can do so at any time. Opting in lets campaign leaders at the national setting know that your church has decided to participate in The Stillspeaking Initiative. It means you're excited about helping people find a spiritual home with the United Church of Christ and you are ready to strengthen your United Church of Christ brand identity. Participating churches must name a local contact person, attend a training session, and have a website / webpage (the UCC will provide a page if you do not have one). In return, your church will be listed on Stillspeaking.com as a participating church. Opt in here.
2. Pray. This is no ordinary moment. God is calling us to prepare a spiritual home for those who have felt alienated from the church.
   
   
3. Be Prepared to Offer an Extravagent Welcome. Nearly 900 people from 205 congregations in Massachusetts attended training events last fall to learn how to widen the welcome offered by their churches. Other trainings will be offered in the future.
   
   In the meantime, you can prepare by requesting a copy of Ron-in-the-Box, a 40-minute presentation available on DVD that will help members of your church learn more about the heritage of the UCC and about how to welcome others to learn more about us. (Request yours by contacting Tiffany Vail at vailt@macucc.org.
   
   You can also find Hospitality resources on the Evangelism, Mission & Justice section of this web site, and at www.stillspeaking.com/resources/.
   
4. Connect with the United Church of Christ "brand." When those who are not familiar with us hear about the United Church of Christ will they find your congregation? Only if you make the connection clear. So make sure your church's signs, web site, newsletters and letterhead identify you as United Church of Christ. Consider designing materials with this UCC logo, which is being used on the advertisements. (You can download logos for print from the UCC Logo page and from the stillspeaking.com logo page. For the Web, you can right-click on the logo above and save it to your computer.)
   
   
5. Do your own advertising. Conventional wisdom tell us that people need to be exposed to a message seven times before it sinks in. Projections are that the TV ads will reach people an average of 3 times. It is up to local churches to make up the difference. So hang a banner, use Still Speaking templates to advertise in local newspapers, at bus stops, on placemats or in concert programs. Put out lawn signs. Use Still Speaking postcards or door hangers in a direct mail campaign. Submit the TV ad (on the Ron in the Box DVD) to the local cable station that broadcasts your worship services. Wear T-shirts to a community event. The possibilities are endless!
   
   • Templates are available on CD as part of the Still Speaking Identity Kit, available for $50 from United Church Resources at 800-537-3394. Some ad templates can also be downloaded from www.stillspeaking.com/resources/.
   • Generic items, such as shirts, caps, tote bags, mugs, postcards, door hangers, placemats, decals, lawn signs, posters and pew pads can be ordered from United Church Resources at 800-537-3394 or from www.stillspeaking.com.
   • Customized T-shirts, with the name of the church on the back, can be ordered from Erin Smith at smithe@ucc.org.
   • Customized print materials, such as business cards, letter head, envelopes, post cards and door hangers can be ordered by calling 1-877-437-2212 or visiting www.stillspeaking.com.
     
     
6. Give financial help. ALL funds for this campaign come from donations from those who wish to see the advertistements run. Gifts can be made online at stillspeaking.com/campaign or can be mailed to the Still Speaking Initiative, United Church of Christ, 700 Prospect Ave., Cleveland, OH, 44115-1100. To discuss options for giving, you can also contact the UCC's Financial Development Ministry at 800-846-6822 or at giving@ucc.org.

For more information on the Still Speaking Initiative in the Massachusetts Conference, contact Tiffany Vail at vailt@macucc.org or at 508-875-5233, ext. 229.