Ads won’t draw guests if we don’t
invite people to church

Recent studies reported in the public relations trade press reconfirm something we in the church have known for a long time: Friends and family members can influence what we do more than communication media.
That reality is especially important to remember as we prepare to spend $300,000 during 2008 on regional advertising. If members of our 348 congregations aren’t inviting unchurched friends to church, the ads will have little effect on attracting newcomers to our fellowships.
One study by the University of Southern California found that advice from friends and relatives was the No. 1 information source for consumers making decisions about buying various products, attending events or voting for candidates.
Another study by a private research firm found that six of 10 baby boomers (people born between 1946 and 1964) asked friends and relatives for recommendations about products and services at least twice a week.
Church growth experts have known about the power of personal influence for years. Studies have repeatedly shown that 70 to 90 percent of those who join a particular faith community already have friends or relative there.
That’s a key reason the Southwest Texas Conference has scheduled Bring a Friend Sunday each spring since 1999. Bring a Friend Sunday is the Lenten version of Home for Christmas, the outreach effort that many Southwest Texas congregations have just concluded.
On the Sunday before Palm Sunday—March 9 this year—church members are asked to invite and escort acquaintances who don’t usually attend church to a special worship service. A fellowship meal usually follows that service. Members then invite their guests back to Palm Sunday and Easter services.
We know that getting individuals to attend worship for the first time is often the most difficult step toward commitment to Christ. But if someone comes to church three weeks in a row, he or she is likely to return.
To establish a backdrop for Lenten invitations, the conference is buying radio ads in Austin, Corpus Christi, the Rio Grande Valley and San Antonio. Those ads, produced by the General Commission on Communications, end with the tagline: “Open hearts, open minds, open doors. The people of The United Methodist Church.”
In addition, the conference is renting billboards along major highways in Corpus Christi, McAllen and San Antonio.
The Southwest Texas advertising will appear at the same time the General Commission on Communication is running television commercials on national cable networks.
This concentrated multimedia advertising approach—first of three waves for 2008—will briefly raise awareness of our denomination among Southwest Texas residents. But if we hope to help our unchurched friends know Christ, we will need to influence them personally. That means intentionally inviting them to church.
The Southwest Texas Conference Igniting Ministry Campaign Workbook presents a step-by-step plan for organizing an invitation effort. The process begins with prayer. Information from that workbook was sent to all pastors in early December.
Bring a Friend Sunday is just one way the conference is trying to empower congregations to offer Christ to all and become an evangelistic presence in their communities. What’s your congregation doing to take advantage of the ads scheduled before Palm Sunday?