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United Methodist Church Invites Television Viewers to Join �Journey� of Faith Through $2 Million Advertising Push

      Beginning August 29, The United Methodist Church will begin using national television commercials to invite millions of Americans to join in a journey of faith.

     �The Journey� is the newest element of the denomination�s �Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors.� advertising and welcoming ministry, said the Rev. Larry Hollon, chief executive at United Methodist Communications.

      The commercial will begin airing on 18 cable networks on August 29, and will continue through the week of Sept. 18. Hollon said the commercial would broadcast more than 1,200 times during the back-to-school period. The denomination is paying $2 million for the advertising time.

      In addition to the national campaign, United Methodist Communications has awarded additional grants totaling nearly $313,000 for 64 local media campaigns across the U.S. The local campaigns involve a mix of advertising media, such as local broadcast and cable television, billboards, radio, and cinema. Every dollar provided by the national agency is matched by a dollar from local United Methodist organizations.

      �We are on a journey that leads us toward God. This spot shows that persons seeking a path for their faith can find a home in The United Methodist Church,� Hollon said. The commercial, shown in 15, 30, and 60 second versions, shows several people following various trails of items. Ultimately, these paths come together with an invitation to visit a United Methodist Church.

      Hollon said the new commercials are designed to appeal to 25-54 year old persons. The commercials are the first element of a new wave of advertising by the nearly 11-million member denomination. The next national flight of commercials will air between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The denomination plans to spend up to $25 million on  advertising between 2005 and 2008.

      The United Methodist Church began its �Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors.� advertising and welcoming campaign in 2001. Research showed the campaign significantly increased first-time and overall worship attendance in 150 test churches across the U.S. between 2001 and 2004. Tracking will take place in 300 churches during the 2005-2008 time period.

      The commercials will air on the following networks: A&E, ABC Family, Animal Planet, BET, CNN and CNN Headline News, Discovery Channel, Fox News Channel, Hallmark Channel, Home and Garden Television, The History Channel, Lifetime Movie, TBS Superstation, TNT, TV One, USA Network, The Weather Channel, and WGN Superstation. Spanish-language commercials will be broadcast on Telefutura, Galavision, and Univision.

      The commercial will have the most airings, 264, on CNN and CNN Headline News, followed by 138 on The Weather Channel.