This post is in response to this article. I’ll give you the rundown, the UMC is spending 20 million dollars over the next 4 years targeting 18-24 year olds. Part of this campaign is running ads in Times Square.
Although I don’t think we should try to keep up with secular companies dollar for dollar when it comes to media and advertising, it doesn’t mean we should ignore it all-together. A lot of the comments I’ve read about that article are saying that instead the money should be use to train missionaries, etc. This isn’t an either/or situation (either we advertise in main stream media OR we train missionaries), it’s a both/and situation. And that’s what we’re really doing.
The thing that makes me happy is that the people getting upset about this “waste of money” are church people that think the world thinks like they do. Church people think that lost people are looking for a nice, big building with a fancy preacher and contemporary worship music. That’s really what church people are looking for.
I read an excerpt from a book by Ed Stetzer called “Lost and Found” that gave the results of extensive research into the young adult demographic and their thoughts on spirituality, the church, and God. When asked what appeals to them the most about a church: music, small groups, connection, and teaching, the results were not what most church folks would expect…
63% said they would be more likely to attend if the teaching was understandable and related to their life
58% said a church that cared about them as a person would make them more likely to attend
46% said they would be willing to join a small group to learn more about the Bible and Jesus
31% said they would be more likely to attend if the music sounded familiar to them
31%!!!
And the thing that gets me the most, is that half of those items don’t deal with just what happens on Sunday’s! It’s about connecting with other people!
Once again the church (in America) is finding itself playing “catch up” when it comes to actually meeting the needs of what people are looking for. I’m glad the UMC is doing SOMETHING! But all the advertising in the world won’t make up for a church unwilling to welcome newcomers and unwilling to let go of the “stuff” (ie., traditions) and grab on to what God is doing!