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New Research Points to Major Success
All 2001-2004 Goals Met or Exceeded
The United Methodist
Church is better known and is seen in a more favorable light since
the beginning of the Igniting Ministry media campaign, according to
the newest research released by The Barna Group. The report is
perhaps the most significant news yet that the campaign is
working.
The Barna Group stated
in its annual report that "the messages being communicated are
understood, and better still, are believable and important to the
audience. These messages also appear to be effectively shifting
people’s attitudes about The United Methodist Church."
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Awareness levels
are now at 19 percent (up from 3% in 2000)
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Willingness to
attend is now at 49 percent (up from 35% in 2001)
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First-time
attendance in test churches is at 19 percent (up from 14% just a
year ago)
The media impact
research performed by Barna surveys both 1,200 unchurched
individuals across the United States and more than 160 test churches
that track first-time attendance.
According to Barna,
"overall, there has been significant and favorable growth in the
perceptions of The United Methodist Church since last year and
especially since 2002. Exploring the differences between 2002 and
2003 we found that eight of the nine perceptions had become more
favorable (well beyond the range of sampling error). Furthermore,
the increases in the positive positioning of the United Methodists
are even more substantial when compared to 2002."
Read the
whole report!
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New Online
Welcoming Center
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Learn From the Experts
Learn About Model Welcoming Churches
A new online
Welcoming Center from Igniting Ministry offers local
church success stories, free resources and fresh Open House
ideas!
Meet our current model welcoming
congregation,
Tomball United Methodist Church (Tomball, Texas) and
listen as its members share their excitement in adopting a
welcoming lifestyle.
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September Is
Open House Month! |
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Get Ready for September Now!
Open Your Church Doors to Special Activities
Churches all over the country
have embraced Open House Month as a time to especially reach
out to their communities. Now's the time to make sure your
church is ready. Check out the
Open House section of the Igniting Ministry Web site for
great ideas your church can use.
Here's just one: National
Neighborhood Day, Sunday, Sept. 12, a new initiative to help
communities become better acquainted, is right in the middle
of Open House Month. This is a great way to show our "open
hearts, open minds, open doors" to the community. Download
the "Open House Ideas"
PDF, which suggests ways your church can be a good
neighbor on this day.
For more information and ideas
about getting involved in National Neighborhood Day, visit
http://www.neighborhoodday.org/
Whatever you do, be sure that
your ideas and activities reflect the people of YOUR
congregation. Have fun!
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"Living Our
Promise" Training |
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Only Three Training Events
Left in 2004
2005 Training Schedule Soon To Be Announced
There are three more training
events this year. The next is in the Kansas City area, on
Saturday, Aug. 14.
Registration deadline is coming soon - July 30. You
can
register online today or call (877)-281-6535 and we'll
take your church's registration information over the phone.
In September, "Living Our
Promise" training will be in Albany, N.Y. In October, it's
Fishersville, Va.
Get complete
training information here.
Watch for announcements in
upcoming news updates about the dates and locations for 2005
training events.
Questions? Contact:
IMtraining@umcom.org.
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Back On The Air,
September |
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A few of our network
partners. See the
full list here.
National
Commercials Air During Back-to-School Month
Will Reach Millions
The Back-to-school schedule of
United Methodist Church television messages will run for two
weeks starting the week of Sept. 6 on 15 national cable
networks. The commercials to be aired will include the
newest Spanish-language spot, "You Don't Have To."
You can check out the
national schedule online. Tune in to one of the
networks beginning Sept. 6. |
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A new Spanish-language radio
message is now available for local churches to place in
their communities. To learn how to place the commercial,
call Igniting Ministry at (877) 281-6535.
Hear the new spot
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Product of the
Month |
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"Open hearts"
(Gift video)
This VHS is a
carefully crafted 10-minute overview of the history and
global ministry of The United Methodist Church. This moving
video will help you communicate the core beliefs and
welcoming culture of our church to newcomers. This VHS makes
a great visitor gift or new member orientation resource. The
perfect gift for every first-time visitor.
Additional Information:
• $8.95 ea.
• VHS video cassette
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Special
Services |
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This Month's Letter
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Each month
we feature an e-mail or letter we received.
"A co-worker invited me to your
worship service and said you had a friendly and welcoming
congregation. But you are more than friendly -- your people
actually looked me in the eye and made eye contact that let
me know they acknowledged me and really listened to me. It's
a little thing, but it really meant a lot. Thank you."
First-time
visitor
First United Methodist Church
Lexington, Kentucky
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