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Test ad in Western MA brings rave reviews

April, 2004

By Diane Lavos
When 80 UCC pastors and leaders from Western Massachusetts turned out for a training session on how to respond with hospitality to anyone who comes to their church as a result of the UCC’s TV ad campaign, pastor Wayne Strever was thrilled. He had imagined that a handful would come.

Why the theme, ‘God is Still Speaking’? Wilson Yates, president of UCC-related United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities (MN) noted in a recent issue of New Conversations, that the phrase evokes the “active presence of God, and to the possibility of dialog between God and the human community.” He stated that the theme “engages us in asking such questions as, ‘Who is the God who is still speaking? Where will God speak? How do we prepare ourselves to hear God?’”

His church, Mittineague Congregational, UCC, West Springfield, is a part of the Western area test campaign, where the advertisement is running on network television March 1 through the day Easter Sunday, April 11. Six other market areas throughout the U.S. are participating in the test to determine how well the ad is received.

“I have been waiting for the UCC to take this kind of initiative for 30 years,” said Strever. “We have always had such a rich story to tell, and it has been a shame that we have not been positioned to tell it to the nation. I’m also excited that this ad will cause our own people to reflect on how they actually do receive people into our midst. I am confident that we will be even more open and cordial than before.”

The training offered ways to talk about the UCC and resources for welcoming newcomers. Barely had the initiative started when the following reaction came from United Church of Ware, in the Central Association, close to the Western area:

Guests’ faces light up at ‘open’ church

“At a recent evening meeting of Deacons at our United Church of Ware, a member asked if any had seen the advertisements on TV about the UCC,” related Bruce MacLeod, interim pastor. “The deacon spoke positively as he described its content. About that time, two unchurched guests arrived to talk about baptism. In the midst of the conversation, I asked if they had seen the ad. One of them lit up and said, ‘Is that you? Is that your ad? Did your church do it?’ She commented on the portrayal of openness, including to people with limited physical abilities and those in same-sex
relationships.

“We had to explain that it was not this congregation, as such, but the whole denomination. She raved about how much she liked the commercial and what it said about the UCC. While some congregations might not embrace it fully, we told her, this congregation sees itself that way and strives for that kind of openness.

“After the guests left, the Deacons affirmed that they felt good about ‘seeing themselves’ and their church represented in the test market ad, and learning that the ad would be shown nationally in December. It felt good to me to have it affirmed in such strong terms, both by members and nonmembers.”

Bold outreach, Good News

“The ad campaign and the whole ‘Still Speaking’ Initiative is news and Good News,” declared Nancy Taylor, MACUCC Minister and President. “It is news to a vast majority of the general public – who the United Church of Christ is. And the distinctive Christian witness of the UCC is Good News/Gospel. We take our light out from under a bushel and let it shine in and through the United Church of Christ. This is new behavior for the UCC, part of reclaiming our evangelistic mission with bold outreach to both society and culture.”

Ad campaign part of greater initiative

Like a set of nested boxes, the initiatives fit into larger plans above them. The Western area advertising campaign test is part of the United Church of Christ’s national identity ad campaign. And that project, in turn, is part of The Still Speaking Initiative for the whole UCC, whose goal is to strengthen denominational identity and stewardship nationwide.

It is hoped the initiative will “bridge the local-national divide and strengthen churches’ sense of collective identity and shared mission,” according to an article in the March national United Church News by editor J. Bennett Guess.
The Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Conference is weighing Conference participation in The Still Speaking Initiative, which would include a financial contribution.

Good start for Kickoff

Many churches in the market area planned a kickoff event on Sunday, Feb. 29, the day before the commercial first aired. Among them was First Congregational Church UCC, East Longmeadow. Pastor Robert Gormbley, one of the two MACUCC people who attended a training session in Cleveland in February to become a resource for other churches, was pleased with the result.

“I have had comments from people in my congregation and others that they have seen the commercial and enjoyed it,” said Gormbley. “We showed the commercial to our congregation at our Annual Meeting on Feb. 29, and the congregation applauded! I have every reason to believe that the commercial will raise awareness of who we are as a unique expression of the Christian faith.”

Audrey Walker, pastor of Easthampton Congregational Church, UCC, the other Massachusetts representative who attended the training to become a local resource, showed the ad to her congregation on March 7.

“The ad campaign came at the right time,” she said. “I had just had a discussion with my deacons and committee heads about the gay marriage issue, so the inclusive, non-judgemental feeling of the ad gave us something concrete to show people who want to know about us. According to the Supreme Judicial Court order, same-sex marriage in Massachusetts will be allowed starting May 17, and we are preparing for that time. The ad shows that the United Church of Christ is welcoming and open to this innovation.

“I was amazed at the increased pride in the United Church of Christ from our congregation,” she added. “I asked during announcements to raise your hand if you have seen the ad, and a large number did – with a positive feeling about it.”

Why use a TV ad?

Ron Buford, national UCC marketing manager and The Still Speaking Initiative coordinator, explains the rationale behind the ad: “We live in a postmodern culture, where visual images speak louder than words. Mass media marketing drills home product identity 24/7 on television, radio, and the Internet. To reach today’s culture, particularly those in the under-40 demographic, it is essential to use today’s preferred communication medium – TV.”

A recent survey on the state of the church reported that 87 percent of Americans claim that religion is important in their lives, but only 42 percent of U.S. Christians attend church at least once a month. The 45 percent difference could be a good place to proclaim the UCC identity and welcome, as many unchurched people in focus groups haven’t heard of the UCC, Buford noted in his training material for clergy in the test market area.

The target audience is people outside the church who believe that church is irrelevant to their lives and those who feel alienated from the institutional church. Special demographic groups the campaign hopes to reach are people under the age of 40 and women with young children.

Welcome them, when they come

The campaign’s planners hope that there will be a “welcoming, fertile environment” for any person who responds to the ad and visits a UCC church.

“We are revisiting the use of name badges, looking at how we use our own advertising dollars, and attempting to sharpen our in-house techniques for welcoming guests,” reported Wayne Strever of Mittineague. “The campaign has already paid dividends for us that we will cash in down the road, I am sure.”

“Churches have to be intentional about the campaign to bring people through the doors, but what will they find when they get there?” asks Western Area Minister Peter Wells. He has devised a witty and helpful quiz concerning what it takes to welcome people (example on this page). The quiz and more information about improving skills as a welcoming church will be featured in the May issue.