Advertising the Meetings
This subject is of far more importance than the average minister or the average church realizes. One great reason why so many of our churches have such a small attendance is because the people are not made to know what is going on, or that the meetings are important, by frequent and judicious advertising. By wise and persistent advertising the vacant seats in most of our churches could be filled. Many churches do not give this subject a second thought; but up-todate business men are saying constantly: This advertising pays,” or, “That advertising doesn’t pay.” The church of Jesus Christ would do well to adopt many ideas from the commercial world relative to making important work known. The old saying, “The best tie to connect business men with the public is to advertise,” is as true to-day as when first uttered. In announcements for the Lord’s Day and other meetings of the church, too great emphasis is laid upon reaching the church-goers. One of the chief purposes, if not the paramount purpose, of the church is to reach the unsaved. The unsaved, as a rule, are within hearing of the Gospel, but the majority of them are not in actendance at our churches. C. H. Spurgeon used to say that if you could get people to thinking you could get results. Just so; if we can get people to thinking of the church and of their own responsibility thereto, we can get results. The writer was much struck recently by an illustration in a leading paper. The saloon, brilliantly lighted within, the sidewalk in front clean, and everything bright and attractive, holding out every inducement to the young man from the country who has just reached the city, was illustrated in one cartoon. In another cartoon was represented the church with this announcement: “Open Sunday and Wednesday evenings.” The sidewalk in front was covered with snow and not a single light was to be seen. This is a true picture of many of our well-equipped metropolitan churches. Statistics show that every year thousands of young men from the rural sections flock to the cities. Many of them, while in the country, have the advantages of church-life, and are brought up under the influences of Christian homes; but, when they reach the city, they fall among less godly companions, and forget their early training. It is the business of the church to reach these young men. Just how to reach them every church and every organization must decide for itself, with a due regard to its environment.
The little weekly bulletin announcing the church, its services and its church motto, together with when and where the pastor may be seen, is a very attractive way of reaching many. At all times, and on all occasions, a large bulletin-board close to the church, announcing in an attractive way the speaker and his subjects, has proved a great help, as all who have tried the bulletin know.
It is also well to place permanent bulletin-boards where a great many people pass on foot or in the cars. The bulletins should be large enough to be read from the cars, and there should be frequent changes of matter, so that people will learn to watch to see what is going on.
One of the best ways of advertising is by the use of the large three and twenty-five sheet bulletin-boards. They are expensive, but experience demonstrates that, when they have been used to advertise evangelistic and other special meetings, they have accomplished great results. All the bill-boards of a large city were utilized recently for notices of special revival services. These notices were found in every part of the city. The newspaper people noticed them, felt that something important was going on, and reported the meetings daily.
A church may be well known in its own locality and city, but the pastor may be more widely known; and his name, appearing in a striking way on the bulletin-board, often attracts people who do not care for the church, but who wish to hear him speak.
There is perhaps no better plan for the bulletin than that followed by Mr. Moody in his wide evangelistic work. He always used a white background with plain black letters — letters that could be read a block away. As an auxiliary to the large bulletin, Mr. Moody made use very frequently of the free-admission ticket — thus creating a personal tie between the meeting and the recipient.
At the weekly prayer-meeting and other meetings, the co-operation of each individual member of the church should be obtained. They should be handed all the tickets that they will take and judiciously distribute. These tickets should have printed upon them the name and location of the church, the name of the pastor, and also the subjects for the morning and evening services. It is well to have some striking text printed upon the back of the ticket. Distributing these tickets is work that any Christian can do. What matter if many tickets are wasted? — many bullets are wasted in a war.
A very useful form of advertisement is an attractive card about the size of the regulation visiting-card, neatly printed, inviting people to the chuich service, and reading, in the corner, “Presented by,” with a blank space for the name of the person immediately responsible for the invitation. Members of the church should be encouraged to carry these cards in their pockets, signed by their own hand, and to give them out to people whom they meet in business, socially, on the train or in any other way.
In villages and cities where members of the church have stores and business-houses, a plain window bulletin-board, from twenty-four to thirty inches wide, with black letters announcing the church, its pastor and when the services are held, keeps before the eyes of the passers-by the fact that the church is at least wide-awake and has something to offer. Experience has shown that passers-by are attracted by these things and remark upon the activity of the church and are drawn to attend it. Why should not the church be as zealous and wide-awake in the business for which it stands as is the business man for the dollars and cents that he may make while here? In one case it is things temporal; in the other, things eternal.
Small window-cards, twelve by eighteen inches, printed so that they can be read from the street, are very useful for special meetings — not only in revival services, but at Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving or other special occasions. These should be handed around among the members of the church and their friends to hang up in their windows. During a presidential campaign the majority of us are quite willing to wear the emblem of the party with which we intend to cast our vote, or to hang our candidate’s picture in the front window, or some other conspicuous place, and politicians say that much good is accomplished in this way. We know that much good is accomplished by these window-cards in advertising religious meetings. A man who had placed one of these cards in his window sat behind the curtain at another window and watched the people passing by. Men, women and children of all classes stopped and read the sign through. Much good is accomplished by placing a pointed text in the window where people may read it. Many have been blessed by these texts. A recent appeal from the pastor of the church with which I am connected brought the hearty co-operation of the members to put these cards in their windows, and this one church gave out several hundred of them. When a large number of these cards are noticed on different streets, they at once awaken comment on the part of the passers-by. They wonder what is going on, and go to the church to find out. The great object is to set the people to thinking about the meetings and about Christ.
In cities, the advertisements in our surface and elevated cars, and on the platforms of elevated lines, are read by thousands of persons.
We have found transparencies very useful. They consist of a wooden frame from eighteen to twenty-four inches in length and about twelve inches high, with white linen around the four sides, on which are printed in black letters the announcements of the meetings. To the wooden bottom tallow candles are secured. When these are carried about in the evening they do more to attract people than the most artistic printed matter. Perhaps the novelty of the thing is the strongest point in its favor. As many as possible of these transparencies should be sent out every evening. Sometimes it is well to organize the whole corps of transparency-bearers into a procession and send it through the more thickly populated part of the city.
In connection with special evangelistic meetings recently held in the city of Chicago, a van eighteen feet long and ten feet high was covered with black cloth, on which was painted in white letters the announcement of the meetings and speaker. This was driven up and down the main thoroughfares of the city and was read by thousands. Many say these things are undignified; but they fill the churches and result in bringing men to Christ. Not a few churches are dying from dignity. The up-to-date business-house sacrifices dignity in order to achieve results. The writer has been greatly impressed with the fact that the average church or religious institution falls far below the high standard established and maintained by successful business-houses.
A thorough canvass of the locality where a church is located is very effective. The names of all non-church goers should be secured. There should be a well-organized corps from some of the organizations of the church to do the work, and it should be done in as short a time as possible. An invitation should be left at every house and, later, after all the names are secured, a postal-card announcing the services of the church, with a kind invitation from the executive committee or the pastor, should be sent to each person. These should be followed up by a personal letter. What fails to reach one will reach another. Here again a lesson may well be drawn from the business man, who is all the time gathering the names of prospective customers and, if he or his agent is unable to call in person, he sends a letter soliciting an order, or in some way puts his work before the desired customer. Certainly a church should be as zealous and aggressive in winning men to Christ as a business-house is in winning customers. I have recently sent out many letters of this kind and not one has been returned.
The great question is, How can an interest be aroused in the church? — and every possibility of reaching those who do not want to be reached should be * ’ pushed for all there is in it.” A wise advertising committee of not more than two — better still one — which prayerfully considers each and every step to be taken before any printed matter is issued, and the hearty co-operation of those who assist in getting out such printed matter, is certain to accomplish large results in reaching those for whom the church of Christ was established.
In all our advertising we should not forget nor neglect the newspapers. Most newspapers are willing to assist to the utmost of their ability in pushing the work of any church that shows itself alive and aggressive. If notices and descriptions of meetings, and outlines of sermons and othes: interesting matter is sent to them, they will publish it. They will even send reporters to the meetings ir there is anything worth reporting; but it is not fair to leave it to the papers to find out what is going on, when it is our interest more than theirs that is in hand. Many ministers and churches complain of not getting satisfactory reports in the newspapers, but they are more to blame than the newspapers. They think that the newspapers ought to know that they are alive and important; but newspaper men are very busy men and, though quite ubiquitous, they are not omnipresent. Not a few abuse the newspapers and then wonder why the newspapers do not support them. It is well sometimes to utilize the advertising columns of the newspapers. If this is done, an attractive advertisement should be put in the amusement column, for that is the column of advertisements read by people looking for some place to go, by travelers and commercial men, the very class which the church wishes to reach and oftentimes fails to reach. A very large church that we know, whose audiences usually filled the lower floor only, advertised a special evening service, with the subject, in the amusement columns of the papers. The next Sunday evening the church was filled upstairs and downstairs. Perhaps 800 or 1,000 additional people were present. The church did not keep up this special advertising for more than a week or so, but it has kept full from that day to this, though five years have passed.
The best kind of advertising of all is done by getting individuals to go after individuals. They should be encouraged to be persistent, going after the same persons time and time again, at least until they come.
Of course no kind of advertising-, no matter how expensive or thorough, will do permanent good unless there is something in the meeting to which people are invited that is worth going for. Furthermore, the people who are brought in by the advertising should be given a hearty welcome by the church. This is a matter that needs constant watchfulness, care and prayer.