The Unlikely Evangelist

Towards a marketing campaign for the United Reformed Church. Learning from Catch the Vision and God is Still Speaking.

catch the vision

The Catch the Vision 2006 report to General Assembly stated that:

‘We are not persuaded that our particular offering to the future great church and indeed to the future of Christian witness in our three nations will be best served by dilution’. CtheV 2006, 2.9

Let’s not be ashamed about being here. Let’s be ourselves. Let’s be glad to be ourselves. Let’s not apologise for being the United Reformed Church. Let’s celebrate God’s gifts, and think about possibilities and mission and growth. Let’s get confident, secure in the gospel. Our ultimate unity lies there after all, CtheV 2006, 2.12

still speaking

God is Still Speaking is the national advertising campaign of the United Church of Christ (UCC) in the United States. It is from here that my inspiration and motivation for a United Reformed Church campaign comes.


Principles transferable to the URC and our campaign:

• Help thousands of people overcome alienation from God and communities of faith
• Empower URC congregations to be bold witnesses to the power of God - transforming lives, communities, and the world. Catch the Vision!
• Share God's welcome with all whose spiritual journey leads them to or through a URC
• Increase United Reformed Church name recognition in the general public
• Strengthen member pride in "who we are"
• Celebrate the URC’s unique identity and call to be a united & uniting, reformed & reforming
• Progressive mainline churches are virtually absent from public perceptions about church. Many people reject church, not knowing about churches like the URC.

I have been aware for some time that our church is lacking in identity, purpose and spirituality. The next stage of Catch the Vision, Vision4Life is looking to address the two latter points, but I believe we need to work alongside this process to redefine our identity as the United Reformed Church.

The Still Speaking campaign offers much we can learn from, maybe we could even simply copy the UCC campaign. Please visit their website, watch the TV ads and explore other resourses to get a feel for the kind of thing I'm talking about. I'd really apreciate your comments.

So below is an outline of what a URC campaign could look like, concentrating on our name, image identity and core values.

our name: church, reformed, united ‘ed’ or ‘ing’



First and foremost we are about being effective, contextual local churches, seeking to make a difference for Christ’s sake. So our name should say we are a church!

Secondly, although local is the primary point of mission, I do not believe we are a loose collection of independent churches, but a group of churches that recognise the equal importance of our interdependence, that we can achieve more together than apart. Also, we share our Reformed history, and need to learn together how to highlight our Reformed principles for our new age. And in our consumerist, media age we need a robust national identity and brand. Our identity/brand, (in part), is being the Reformed Church.

Thirdly, our identity/brand is still Unit(ed)(ing)! Our ecumenical ideals have not changed, but the landscape has. As a distinct, reformed, progressive mainline church, we are committed to working with others whenever possible, locally, nationally, or internationally.

So we are a Church, Reformed and United. Any ideas for a cracking good name?

advertising campaign

So agreed on our name, and our identity as a theologically broad, but progressive mainline (Reformed) church, with a mission agenda, then how do we brand and promote ourselves?

This will be no easy task, how do we come up with a message and shared identity which is both theologically broad, (without being theologically bland) and yet appealing to the un-churched?

Below are some ideas and comments from a church member who works in graphics and advertising. I began with describing the situation and what I hope an advertising campaign would achieve. In bullet point form, here are his comments and recommendations.

• if the budget is small, billboards are the most cost effective
• if it’s a people organisation, don’t use pictures of people, however careful you are, someone will feel excluded by the type of people you use
• also, a picture of a group of mixed age and background would not be very representative of many URC’s, this could become counter productive
• a simple word or phrase (like ‘God is still speaking’) is the most effective
• most striking colours to get noticed are good old black and white and red, (this also has the benefit of sometimes being cheaper to print)
• include an easily recognisable logo, thinking about brand image and audience
• include a web address where people can get more information

An idea

So what would a national billboard campaign for the United Reformed Church look like?

Well, obviously the branding needs to use out name, the United Reformed Church, but also give some clue as to who we are/what that means, our identity, purpose and principles.

I began playing around with the word Reformed, both in graphics terms and playing with the word itself, swapping ‘ed’ for ‘ing’. I then realised that there are many other similar, positive words which start with ‘Re’ and end with ‘ing’. So I drew up a list.

Reforming - Resurrection - Restoring - Reviving - Reclaiming - Reimagining - Recreating - Reliving - Relaxing - Rejoicing - Reconnecting - Revisioning - Responding - Revolution - Renewing - Revamping - Re-educating - Recalling - Recycle - Retelling - Rebuilding - Remaking - Remodelling - Reconciling - Receiving - Re-evaluating - Relearning - Refreshing - Revitalising - Returning - Retracing - Remembering - Reuniting - Remarrying - Rethinking - Reconditioning - Resurfacing - Reincarnating - Recurring - Researching - Reigniting - Replanting - Refuelling - Rereading - Reacting - Rearranging - Reweaving - Retraining - Receiving - Reworking - Replenishing - Reword - Reappraising - Renew - Regeneration - Reaction - Reconvening - Rekindling - Reborn - Rebirthing - Repicturing - Redressing - Rebalancing - Reopening - Relocating - Recondition - Relating - Relationship - Reawakening - Restoration - Recreation - Rediscovering

Maybe let me know some of your favourites, which you feel are appropriate to describe/promote the URC.

All the words I have selected are positive, all are active, and all are intended to be theologically acceptable by the whole church. So what next?

So how about a campaign which looked like this? We launch nationwide a black and white board with the letters Re in red on the left hand side.

This type of campaign gets people talking about it. ‘Have you seen those posters with Re on them do you know what they are for’?

Once everybody’s talking, we add the rest of the word in white on the black section!

The posters also then have [a revised version of] the United Reformed Church logo in black in the bottom right corner and a web site address in black at the bottom of the white section on the left.



Also, the benefit of the campaign being a series of similar posters, should keep people interested and looking for them, trying to find new words.

Finally, the campaign ends with a third poster, offering a simple welcome.

It’s best if you see the results, simply click on the Re-campaign to open a PowerPoint presentation. For best results, as the slide show stars, right click with your mouse and selece 'Full Screen'. At the end of the presentation press 'Escape' to exit full screen, then click the 'back' button on your browser to return here, and read on!

So, what do you think? I'd really, really apreciate your comments on this. Not just on this particular idea, but in the general primciple of a national church advertising campaign.

Like the UCC campaign, the posters themselves are not the substance and the church certainly will need the same level of preparation and engagement before we launch a campaign.

For now, this is ‘just’ an advertising suggestion, but I believe it has great potential to fulfil the same objectives as Still Speaking for our church, a positive, progressive, fresh, memorable, and inspiring campaign for our existing members as well as attracting other people to faith and The United Reformed Church.

catch the vision prayer

May the spirit of the Lord rest upon us,
may the call of God sustain us,
as we seek to be God’s people,
transformed by the Gospel,
announcing good news to the poor,
proclaiming freedom for those in prisons
of wealth, poverty, disease and disorder,
committed to making a difference
to the world’s kingdoms
for the sake of Christ’s kingdom.

May we deploy our resources as the Spirit guides,
not shirk difficult decisions about the priority of mission,
pledge ourselves anew to work with all our fellow Christians
and use the gifts of all God’s people
so that all may be filled
with the Spirit of healing, justice and peace,

Amen.

I look forward to your comments
The Unlikely Evangelist

At a recent conference at The Windermere Centre concerning the future of the United Reformed Church, we were posed the question by a group of professionals from an advertising agencey, 'What are the Core Values' of the United Reformed Church'? In other words, what is our identity and purpose?

The discussions which followed, you may be surprised to learn, were very focused and harmonious! There were no theological splits or arguments, lots of ideas, but through which I feel four clear themes emerged as our Core Values.

This list of values is not to say that they are unique to the URC, nor that we do them better than other traditions, but that they are precious to us and we feel, at our best, we do them well and with greater emphasis than most.

The Core Values identified are:

A Radical Welcome
- welcome, fellowship, no one turned away from our churches.
A Place to Think
- questions, doubts, fears and a safe place to exoplore
A Place of Change
- Reformed and Always Reforming is still our distinct driving force
A Passion for Justice
- Fairtrade, Drop the Debt, Make Poverty History - define who we are!

Implied within the four is our unique committment to work with other churches and partner organisations whenever possible, but we were also clear that ecumenical partnerships would no longer hold us back when our way forward was clear.

The United Reformed Church - Re-invented? No! Just Re-defined!

Come as you are!

As I have said in previous posts, two key questions the United Reformed Church must address are, what is our identity and what is our purpose? Or to put it another way, in the form that others may ask us, 'Who are you?' and 'What do you do?'

The United Reformed Church has a severe loss of identity and purpose, which though disabling, may be by design. Those within the church who still believe our short term goals should be further organic union, particularly at local level, envisage a church which fades away as a distinct denomination and simply joins with whoever is most appropriate locally.

However, another option is to re-invent ourselves as a distinct 'brand'. A small, reformed church, mainline AND progressive. Comfortable being itself, yet still wholly committed to ecumenical working wherever appropriate.

There seems to be two clear directions before us, I know which one I favour and believe will bear the more fruit.

Which do you favour? I'd really appreciate your comments and posts before I do more work/thinking in this area.

Finally, to aid your deliberations, below are excerpts from this years Catch the Vision report. Enjoy!






Catch the Vision Report 2006





There are no unity schemes on the far or near horizon. For thirty years the driving dynamic of the United Reformed Church has been unity. It has made us a movement, a pilgrimage, a people of no abiding city. But is God now asking something extra of us? Are we now being asked to balance our willingness to ‘die’ with a passion for ‘life’ and mission? CtheV 2006, 2.6

In a world where calls for unity receive no positive response, we could opt for the ‘homeopathic’ form of ecumenism. This is the ‘dilute until no one knows you’re there’ option, and it has a certain validity. Well, it says, pull down the shutters. That was an interesting experiment. Let’s sell off the silver and throw in our lot with the parish church or the Baptist meeting and strengthen the Christian presence. CtheV 2006, 2.7

Or we could opt for the ‘passion fruit concentrate’ version of ecumenism. That says, we might be a peculiar flavour, but the drinks cabinet would be much worse off without it. CtheV 2006, 2.8

‘We are not persuaded that our particular offering to the future great church and indeed to the future of Christian witness in our three nations will be best served by dilution’. CtheV 2006, 2.9

Historically we know about living a radical witness, … we know about reconciling diversity. We know what it is to be captivated by Scripture and have our lives turned upside down. It happens week by week and month by month. It’s electric and wonderful, and we don’t know why we don’t shout about it. We might be an odd flavour, but we’re a catchy one. People might get to like us. CtheV 2006, 2.10

Christ’s gift is not that we are either ‘united’ or ‘reformed’, but that we are ‘united and reformed’. CtheV 2006, 2.11

Let’s not be ashamed about being here. Let’s be ourselves. Let’s be glad to be ourselves. Let’s not apologise for being the United Reformed Church. Let’s celebrate God’s gifts, and think about possibilities and mission and growth. Let’s get confident, secure in the gospel. Our ultimate unity lies there after all, CtheV 2006, 2.12

[We see] both a God-given opportunity to leave behind the evangelical-liberal divide, and the possibility of a process of renewal which could gather the church into a community of difference makers for Christ’s sake. We have seen a vision. We intend to follow it, and make it the key feature of ‘Catch the Vision’ 2007. CtheV 2006, 4.5

On a blog about evangelism you may be surprised at a post about bags! But these are not just any bags, they can help you tell the story of the FIVE Marks of Mission!

I'll explain. It's the current big thing in supermarkets as they get all environmentally friendly to encourage us to stop using so many plastic carrier bags. First, all the big chains offered sturdier plastic bags that could be kept and reused, but now many stores are selling Jute or Canvas bags, which will last much longer and don't involve that nasty plastic stuff at all.

Great, but what's this to do with evangelism or the FIVE Marks of Mission?

Our local church had the idea of producing a Jute or Canvas bag with our church Logo on it. Not that this alone would ensure revival broke out, but would be just one small part of a strategy of raising awareness of the existence of the United Reformed Church. (see 'Logo's and Logos') However, as the planning for the project developed, several other ideas and considerations came into play. Could the material the bag is made of not only be something other than plastic, but could it be Fairtrade? If yes, should we put the Fairtrade logo on the bag as a witness to our support of that initiative? After all our church is very concerned and in involved with justice issues.

So, our simple bag idea had grown into something much more significant. A bag which tells the story, or rather is an aid to us sharing the story of the FIVE Marks of Mission.

So, here it is!

Imagine yourself shopping with this bag and someone asks you either about The United Reformed Church or Fairtrade. What can you share with them? You could share something about our church, what it is to be United, what it is to be Reformed and how Church is a group of people committed to God and each other, concerned with issues of Justice, Peace and Love.

If people want an example, flip the bag over and share something about the Fairtrade Movement, a real tangible way of explaining our faith.

Then point out how the bag itself represents the churches commitment to caring for the environment, the world that we believe God made and entrusted to us to be its stewards.

Finally, you could let people know that the bags are made by a company based in London and India, who help get people off the streets and into work making these bags in good conditions and for a fair wage.

In just a couple of minutes you will have shared with someone the FIVE Marks of Mission and what your faith means to you.

TREASURE - God's world, by using less plastic bags
TRANSFORM - a little part of the world through Fairtrade
TEND - for a small number of people in India who needed help
TELL - of what it is to be the United Reformed Church
and in doing all this
TEACH - a little bit of what it means to follow Jesus

You won't have a conversation like this every time you shop, but even if it just happens a couple of times, as TESCO says, Every Little Helps!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

If you would like to buy a small quantity of these United Reformed Church - Fairtrade bags just drop me an e-mail at the address on this blog. Alternatively, if you think your church (of whatever denomination) would like to do something similar, just e-mail me and I'll send further details of Canby and Freeset, the companies used.