Posted on 06/03/2009 7:26:03 PM PDT by fgoodwin
"What if church wasn't just a building, but thousands of doors?" asks a new website launched by the United Methodist Church. "Each of them opening up to a different concept or experience of church. . . . Would you come?" After watching its membership drop nearly 25 percent in recent decades, the United Methodist Church, which is still the nation's largest mainline Protestant denomination, thinks it knows the answer. So it's pouring $20 million into a new marketing campaign, including the website, television advertisements, even street teams in some cities, to rebrand the church from stale destination to "24-7 experience."
"The under-35 generation thinks church is a judgmental, hypocritical, insular place," says Jamie Dunham, chief planning officer for Bohan Advertising & Marketing, the firm that designed the United Methodist campaign. "So our question is: What if church can change the world with a journey?"
With their pews having thinned dramatically, other mainline Protestant denominations are posing similar questions in like-minded campaigns. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a major mainline denomination, has TV ads spotlighting the church's charitable work and encouraging Lutherans to take pride in and to share their faith with friends. And the Episcopal Church recently launched a website called "I am Episcopalian," where half a million church members have uploaded videos explaining their faith.
These are the kinds of entrepreneurial church-building strategies that are more typical of evangelical megachurches, which have focused on member experiences by offering contemporary music and weeknight small-group meetings. Mainline denominations, meanwhile, have clung to hymns and centuries-old worship styles. "In the competitive spiritual marketplace, mainline churches are trying to reinvent themselves," says Stephen Prothero, a professor of religion at Boston University.
Some mainline church officials admit to taking a page from the evangelical playbook. And no wonder. Since 1990, the number of Americans identifying themselves as members of mainline denominations, including Presbyterians and the United Church of Christ, has slid from nearly 19 percent of the population to under 13 percent, a loss of 3.5 million people. Over the same period, the number identifying themselves as nondenominational Christians, the evangelical-style tradition of the megachurches, has exploded, from fewer than 200,000 to more than 8 million. "The megachurch folks learned that they have to address people where they are in their daily lives, and that's not in the sanctuary," says the Rev. Larry Hollon, who heads communications for the United Methodists. "The Methodist Church is beginning to recall that that is who we are as well."
With their new branding campaigns, mainline churches are betting that many young Americans are looking for worship alternatives to politically conservative evangelical congregations. A recent study conducted for the United Methodist Church by the Barna Group, a consulting firm specializing in faith-based polling, found that a third of Americans under 35 consider themselves spiritual but are not deeply connected to a church. "These young people have rejected too close a tie between religion and politics," says David Kinnaman, president of the Barna Group. "So the mainline sensibility provides a unique opportunity to speak to them."
Barna's polling also found that young Americans share an increasingly global outlook and a concern for social justice issues like poverty. Ninety-six percent say they want to make a difference in the world. So the United Methodist Church's new ads and website feature Methodist-led service projects around the globe. The Lutheran Church's new branding campaign, called "God's Work, Our Hands," spotlights a church soup kitchen in North Dakota and a mission in Senegal that teaches women business skills.
For all their marketing research and high production value, though, mainliners' branding campaigns face big challenges. Many young people are more likely to volunteer through college organizations or groups like Habitat for Humanity than by joining a new church. Indeed, some religion scholars say the campaigns' social justice messages aren't distinct enough to break through. "Study after study has shown that religions that grow are the ones that are hard-core in some way. They have something that differs sharply from the culture in which they operate," says Boston University's Prothero. "That's the problem with mainline Protestantism: It's not different enough from mainstream America."
And bringing any kind of change to centuries-old denominations won't be easy. "The brand and character of the Episcopal Church is being driven by a lot of things that came out of 17th-century England," says Robert Putnam, a Harvard University professor who has studied church growth. "You can't change that with an ad campaign."
Some mainline church officials say their denominations have begun making broader changes, updating worship music and offering small-group environments for congregants. But the branding campaigns, they say, are just as important. "The large churches have been extremely good at initial evangelizing," says Anne Rudig, the director of communications for the Episcopal Church. "But I'm an evangelist, too."
When I think of a church that could house a Hillary Clinton, my mind runs more to Molech, or Astarte, or Baal.
There was some speculation, back during the Clinton regime, that Hillary had some occultic connection. Pretty far out there, IMHO. Tinfoilhattery. Oh, yeah, here we go: HILLARY CLINTON WEARS NEW LAPEL PIN THAT ABSOLUTELY PROVES SHE IS AN ILLUMINIST.
That’s not fair. I wasn’t even wearing my tin foil hat or running around in my masonic apron before the great owl in the forest when I wrote that.
They just can’t get it through their heads that people don’t go to church because it’s *trendy*.
That people don’t go to a church because it looks like a spaceship.
That people won’t like a sermon better if the “clergyperson” is dressed like Elvis.
That people don’t want a Bible that calls God “She”, is “Afro-centric” written in the vernacular, poorly, tries to ingratiate with moral relativism, suggests that Jesus was “gay, and that’s okay”, and otherwise looks like it was written by a sarcastic atheist.
Nor do people like hymnals that 40 years ago were pop songs, and bubblegum ones at that, lyrics unchanged. Why should that matter?
“The megachurches have swapped the Christian gospel for feel-good socializing and whatever sells.”
Please don’t put all eggs in the saddleback basket
—
“that the number of true Christians in the world would always be a small minority”
Lets assume (and I know this is incorrect) that each and every person in a ‘mega chuch’ is saved (thats 8M people)
2% of the US population
and a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of the world population..
Yes in most, if not all, churches there is a ton of chaff but to assume any church with numbers is (1) putting them ahead of God or (2) not preaching the gospel is specious.
I wasn't impressed with that statement until I got to the "50 people" part. Our (also non-denom) church couldn't handle 50 people baptized in any reasonable amount of time. We have been baptizing at least 2-3 per week, lately.
I'm guessing that crowd was done in a "muddy water" baptism? Up here in Michigan, open air baptisms are not extremely popular. For at least one month per year, you had better bring chain saws, and a lot of the rest of the year it is still a little cold to expect anyone to get wet outside.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2264321/posts?page=35#35
In saying “our” Catholic Church, I was referring to my local Catholic Church — not all the Roman Catholic Churches of the U. S.
Many are bursting at the seams like ours is, because the Gospel is being preached and people are being called to accountability for their sins.
I have heard it said that the two things that distinguish a “Good” Catholic Church — are
1. The length of the lines at the Confessional
2. The number of vocations to the priesthood and religious life from one’s parish.
Our church was absolutely packed at the first one above during the Easter Reconciliation Service. Seven priests’ jaws dropped in amazement as they behold the number of repentants seeking Confession.
We have a couple of live ones on the vocation path, too. One attended Mount Angel Prep at the Seminary last year and is finishing his Associate degree this year at the local Community College.
Oops
they beheld the number of repentants seeking Confession.
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Speak the truth in love. Eph 4:15
What would Jesus say?
"Peter, feed my sheep. And remember always, sheep do not like astro-turf."
The Lutheran Church's new branding campaign, called "God's Work, Our Hands," spotlights a church soup kitchen in North Dakota and a mission in Senegal that teaches women business skills.
Lutheran Ping!
Veni, Sanctae Spiritus!
The article states that many Lutheran churches have been updating their songs, but I prefer older songs. I agree with this joke, from www.lutheransonline.com, “You might be a Lutheran if you think that a new song is any song that was written after 1900.”
Churches would probably increase membership, if they preach the Bible, including the parts about abortion and homosexuality.
The Orthodox Church - standing room only for every service.
The Orthodox Church - Proclaiming Truth Since 33 AD.
Same as it ever was, unyielding to fads. Now and ever and unto ages of ages.
www.gettoknowtheoriginal.net
Yet the crowds that followed Jesus were numbered in the mul;tiple-thousands. Those converted on Pentecost were numbered in the thousands.
Neither Jesus or Peter scattered them to indulge in a "lonely" worship.
I like it.
In the Orthodox Church we refer to one of our teachers as "St. Simeon, the New Theologian." He lived around 1000 AD.
Oh, and how many Orthodox Christians does it take to change a light bulb?
Change? What is this "Change"?
God calls people and they come in droves, but Jesus also spent very serious conversation time with the Father alone. He’s my Dad and I will always appreciate our alone time.
You might want to note that the “god’s work, our hands” motto is of the ELCA church, and doesn’t have anything to do with Lutheranism.
I think the main issue is that people don’t want to feel any moral restrictions on their sexual activity. Thus traditional churches who believe that there is such a thing as sin and proper behavior turn off those who don’t want to hear that. Those churches that embrace the modern view that anything goes and that there is no sin are losing members because, if there is no sin and no standards of behavior, why go to church on Sunday morning?
I prefer the hits of the 1500’s myself.;-)
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