Communications Ministry Highlights in 2005

Carry the light-giving Message into the night so that I’ll have good cause to be proud of you on the day that Christ returns. Philippians 2:14-15

Helping United Methodists Respond in Times of Crisis

Both the tsunami and hurricane Katrina tested the church’s ability to mobilize people in the face of catastrophe. Communications ministry provided critical support in the days and months following each disaster, and that support included:

A girl shares a tent with other families and children at a camp for
displaced people.

Within hours of the tsunami, donation information for the United Methodist Committee on Relief was on the web, and for a period of several weeks, the online giving link for Methodist Relief efforts received a donation every minute.
Donation information was made available immediately after Katrina also. Giving links and related information on the web were downloaded by more than 500 church communicators, bulletin inserts were provided to congregations to make it easy for people to give; a special appeal from the Bishops was initiated.
The United Methodist Church had a public presence with national advertisements inviting people to pray, to give and to volunteer.
Resources were developed to help facilitate conversations and small group study. The God, Why? DVD and training resource was designed for small groups to help Christians better understand God’s presence when natural disasters occur.

Modern-day Evangelism

Using mass media, marketing resources and grassroots training to reach out to people seeking a spiritual home. Igniting Ministry, the television and welcoming ministry of the United Methodist Church, continues in its 5th year.

Over the past five years 37,582 congregational leaders representing nearly 9,000 churches have been trained to help them improve their ability to welcome newcomers and reach out to them.
$1 million was provided to churches this year in matching grants to help them advertise and invite people to church.
In 2005 we began supporting new congregations, using the best practices from Igniting Ministry and matching grants. This assistance made a positive difference for these new congregations, and we will be expanding this support in 2006.
See the United Methodist Church ads that are offering a hopeful message in Times Square during Advent. [view ads]

Stories of Hope, Award-Winning Journalism, and Communications Resources

When Jesus spoke through parables, he wasn’t merely telling stories; he was offering a new vision for living. Today’s stories of faith offer a similar vision and, each day, United Methodist Communications works with radio, television, video, print, and religious and secular news media to preach the gospel and to offer hope to a world in need.

Photo courtesy of
Mike DuBose

In 2005 we were privileged to share more than 1200 stories about people of faith in The United Methodist Church. You have received some of them as a part of the Circle of Hope. We believe that the more we share stories of hope and faith, the more our lives are transformed by a living God.
The journalists and communicators at UMCom were recognized for their contributions and received 11 awards from the United Methodist Association of Communicators. Among them is the heart-rending series about Mozambique, which received the Award of Excellence, as well as awards in writing and Internet presentation. [view stories]
This year UMCom provided direct resources, stories, and communications training to local congregations, pastors, and conference communicators. Collectively the stories that are created reflect the work of the church around the world and are used in conference publications, magazines, web sites, church newsletters, TV reports, secular media outlets and wire services. The stories are told in the United States, and are distributed in Africa, Asia and Europe.
The Communications Resourcing Team held a historic consultation and training at Africa University in Mutare, Zimbabwe, that brought together for the first time United Methodist communicators and representatives from 13 Africa Annual Conferences. A second training that focused on basic computer literacy, email and Internet use was conducted for 25 Central Conference bishops and spouses.
We have raised funds to help build the capacity of the church in Africa tell its own stories. We are providing technology, training and vital communications infrastructure to support the church, which is vibrant and growing. We are helping establish community radio stations and purchase handheld radios that will offer life saving information to the people about diseases like malaria and HIV-AIDS.