Evangelism Works Best for Growth
June 1, 2001
Q. Our church is looking for some inexpensive places to advertise. We will do the Yellow Pages and the newspaper, but also want to advertise in some other places that are focused toward groups with values similar to ours. I'd appreciate knowing where others have had success.
A. The best advertising is word of mouth, says the Rev. John Morgan of the First Unitarian Universalist (UU) Church Berks County in Reading, PA, (114). Other possibilities: area shopping papers, community TV, minority-owned papers, visitor center/chambers of commerce publications and packets. Morgan also writes a regular newspaper column that gets noticed. "But in the long run," he says, "I suspect that training our members to do evangelism, inviting friends, neighbors, and coworkers, may be the best and least costly strategy of all."
David Throop, of Bay Area UU Church in Houston, TX (230), says his congregation's web pages and National Public Radio (NPR) work best. The eight churches in the Houston area have joined together to sponsor a spot on All Things Considered and Morning Edition on NPR. "People frequently mention these on their first visit," Throop says. "And no matter how they heard about us, a majority of our visitors now look at our web page before coming the first time."
For more information contact interconnections @ uua.org.
Last updated on Friday, April 18, 2008.
