4 Southwest Texas groups get ad grants

Three Southwest Texas Conference congregations and the Communications and Public Witness Office received $68,240 in matching grants last month for advertising during Lent.
The General Commission on Communication in Nashville, Tenn., announced the dollar-for-dollar awards Dec. 20. The money comes from the denominationwide Igniting Ministry hospitality and image campaign.
Korean UMC, Austin, received $3,435 to help pay for $6,870 in Igniting Ministry newspaper advertising during Lent. The ads will include the phrase: “Open hearts, open minds, open doors. The people of The United Methodist Church.”
First UMC, Edinburg, got $12,805 to help pay for a $25,611 LED sign.
Coker UMC, San Antonio, was awarded $1,540 to help pay for $3,080 in cinema advertising during March.
The Communications and Public Witness Office received $50,459 to help pay for $100,919 in Igniting Ministry radio commercials and billboard ads across the region during Lent.
The radio ads from “The people of The United Methodist Church” are to run on stations in Austin, Corpus Christi, San Antonio and the Rio Grande Valley during the two weeks before Bring a Friend Sunday (March 9).
Billboards are to go up along roads in Corpus Christi, McAllen and San Antonio during March.
The Southwest Texas advertising is being done in coordination with a national Igniting Ministry cable TV campaign. The United Methodist communication agency has purchased time in March for commercials on 15 cable networks.
The Rev. Larry Hollon, chief executive of the communication agency, said partnering with conferences and local congregations who want to advertise during the national campaign creates greater visibility and increased reach for United Methodist messages.
“The grants make it possible to supplement the national campaign with regional and local ads and reinforce our welcoming messages in those communities,” Hollon said. “Research indicates that our advertising efforts have been very successful in increasing public awareness of the denomination as well as first-time attendance at local churches.”
The 2000 General Conference approved the hospitality and advertising campaign. The communication agency began running “Open hearts, open minds, open doors” commercials on cable TV networks three times a year in 2001.
The communication agency has awarded about $1 million annually to conferences and congregations to assist with local Igniting Ministry advertising.