| Igniting Ministry TV ads return By John W. Coleman Jr. UMConnection Staff If youre searching for something to believe in, for your children to believe in, our hearts, our minds and our doors are always open. The people of the United Methodist Church.  United Methodists are hoping those words will bring more visitors to their church doors this fall and that more of those visitors will find welcoming congregations when they arrive. A series of six ads targeting unchurched audiences ran on television and radio stations in Washington, D.C., and Hagerstown during the first half of September. The Igniting Ministry ads are part of a comprehensive, churchwide evangelism campaign using media resources and congregational training to promote the denomination as a place to find spiritual answers and a friendly, nurturing environment. Igniting Ministry ads were broadcast in Baltimore early in the summer and adapted to promote attendance at the Saving Stations there. In the second year of a four-year tracking study, about 20 churches in the Baltimore-Washington Conference will again report their worship attendance and number of visitors each Sunday for eight weeks to help researchers gauge the possible impact of the ads. Their reports after the first Igniting Ministry ads ran last fall showed a dramatic increase in attendance even before the Sept. 11 national tragedy drew more worshippers into local churches. United Methodist Communications produced the ads and commissioned the research of five test-market cities. UMCom has had to discontinue another serial Igniting Ministry resource, its ToolKit 1-2-3 notebooks containing worship, evangelism and media resources. It had planned to offer the notebooks yearly for use during Lent, the fall back-to-school period and Advent. However, because of costs and lagging sales, the agency will discontinue the series after filling orders for the new Advent kit, available in late September for $34.95. Instead, visitors to UMComs Web site, www.umcom.org, will be able to download ads and resources for free to help churches promote welcoming congregations. The agency will continue to sell its remaining inventory of ToolKits until they run out. Also, a new UMCom resource due out in March 2003 promises to take congregations to the next level of Igniting Ministry. Beyond 30 Seconds: Developing a Welcoming Congregation, a seven-session, print and video curriculum that includes exercises, offers to help church groups better understand and assist one another in making welcoming a way of life for the body of Christ. The leaders kit will cost $49.95 next year but may be pre-ordered beginning in October for $39.95. For more information, go to www.ignitingministry.com , or contact John Coleman at
, or (800) 492-2525, Ext. 421. | 
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