CHURCH MUST ADVERTISE

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 28 March 1925, Page 4

CHURCH MUST ADVERTISE

A MINISTER’S DECLARATION

THE WAY TO REACH THE PEOPLE

Church-goers received something of a surprise in Palmerston North on Monday night, when the Rev. M. A. Rugby Pratt, - giving an address under the auspices of the Councif of Christian* Congregations, declared that the failure of the churches to-day was due to lack of big advertising. Drapers, be pointed out, spend thousands of pounds in page advertisements, and the Church has never considered the question of employing the same means lb put thousands of people in an interesting and pxthv way, their duty to. God. Air. Pratt went Oil to say that at one time the Church was the chief forum and social entertainer, and the peal of the bell lmd been as commanding as the dinner gong. But this day had gone for ever, and the Church was no longer in touch with the vital phase of the community. in order to retrieve some of .the ground that had.. been lost the Gospel of Christ would have to be advertised. The Church must make people realise that she had something to give to them, and having brought home this • realisation, she had to serve the community in the best possible manner by dispensing hope, cheer and light, it was unfortunate that the man in the street had the impression that all the Church did was to censor everything that interested him. This illusion had to .be destroyed, and the spirit of Christ infused-into the commercial and political interests of the community. Thousands of pounds were spent every year by business firms in interesting advertising, and. the same should be done for the spread of faith. The best advertising experts should be engaged to carry out the work, and the public would wake up to see that the Church was in deadly earnest. This would do more in Christianising the commercial, political, industrial and j social activities of the community than all the preaching of years. To-day was the day of advertising, and if a man did not advertise he would not prosper. On the other hand, it in moral welfare the Church and the pax>ers stopd side by side they could raise the moral tone »>f the community. i It was only goods of merit that warranted an advertising campaign, and therefore the Church must have something worth while, to place before the people —a service worth having, a welcome worth receiving, and a warmth worth imparting, Alore could he done if business men would employ ihe same efficient methods in running their church and commending the gospel as they ■did in running their business and commending their commodities. An empty pew was a most wasteful thing about a church and meant wasted money. Various forms of church advertising were being practised in America, all ot which were bent upon arresting the community and bringing it within the influence of the Church. Over one million new members bad beien added to the organised Christian church in America as a result. ' The speaker was inclined to the belief that the present humdrum methods of the Church did not convey the impres- ! sion of earnestness that they should. It had not been organised on principles of fight. Until was executed the Church would be weak and ineffective. In order to accomplish this an active campaign of advertising would have to be undertaken. The Church had a panacea for the ills which blighted many lives to-day, • and it was worth while spending more money on printers’ ink than they did. It was worth while adopting an active policy ox publicity i in spreading the Gospel. The chairman said although they ; could hardly arrive at an immediate ; decision the matter could be, brought before the respective church courts. The Rev. "W, Fancourt said he i thought'.the matter was more for laymen i than for the preachers themselves, and he questioned whether the church courts i would, payi the money required. With > this question was involved that of com- ! fort in accommodation. “Why not • have *plush tip-up seats?” he asked. ■ At present we seat the people on hard, cold benches. I see no ecclesiastical objection to tip-up seats. A man will go to the pictures and sit in a comfortable seat for two hours and enjoy himself. We have to give the people something. The various representatives were urged- to carry? the important question raised by Air. Pratt to their respective church courts.

“SOMETHING IN IT. ’ ’

HAWERA MINISTERS’ VIEWS

OH UR OH HAS. WHAT THE PEOPLE

WANT.

Tho 1 repo-nt of Mr. Rugby Pratt s address was referred to some of the Hawera. ministers by a Star reporter, and their, comments go to show that there is a considerable body of opinion behind, the opinions expressed by the Palmerston, Nontib speaker. “The Rev. M. A. Rugby Pratt declaredi that ‘the failure of the churches to-clay was due to - the lack of big advertisements,’” said. the Rev. R. E. Evans. of the Presbyterian Church. “While one ig not prepared to. go as far a,s v Mr. Pratt in this connection,” he added, “vet there is an element of truth: in his contention. A general perusa? .of the church advertisements in Saturday’s issue of the press _ from week to week reveals the same picture with practically no, variation, arid one lays down the paper with the feeling that formality ancl even ' ‘humdrum predominate. The Church of Jesus Christs stands for the very highest spiritual and ethical ideals, and I take it that the 'press ai-.iis at assisting the community to the highest good. Therefore, these two strong, perhaps strongest, forces of the community ought to act in close co-operation for the country’s good TJie press shou)d stand shoulder to sbmilder with the Church, and the Church ought to use her best, powers to assist, the, press, and thus both ought to exercise a. strong; united influence, each, in its own capacity, for the moulding of the thought and activity of the community. Such a condition of affairs would naturally react on the- community generally, and on the press and Church in particular. For when once the Church realises that the. press is her strong ally, she will spare no pains to. use its pages, even to the extent of big advertisements and frequent, reports.” Rev. W. J. Oxbrow, of the Methodist Church, was most emphatic in liis approval of a method somewhat on the lines suggested, and said he believed in doing anything in reason to attract the people, fio that then the minister could talk and appeal to them. He considered it :a means of getting the ear of people who otherwise would not be reached. Laughingly, he said he would even go so far as the “plush velvet seats.” But/ seriously, he believed the churches were 'in many cases behind the times, and that much more might be done to let the people know what the churches were doing. . Rev. E. N. Gorivg (Baptist Church) said he recognised the value of pub-

licity, especially in the lax-ge towns, and believed that much good could bo done by this means. He considered it an effective way of getting the attention of people whom otherwise the churches would often fail to reach; and for that a reasonable amount of system such as a business man would use was quite right and legitimate. He emphasised that while trying to attract people it was necessary to avoid any a ppea ranee of\ “cheapness.” The churches, he believed, should use publicity to get the ear of the people to let them know “we do really want them, and can give them something worth while when they do come.” Prominent laymen, when asked, approved the idea of giving more publicity generally, but did not hold with American schemes of publicity at all. They thought, however, that much moi-e use should he made of , the me-, diums of publicity. . While approving in a general way of the need of publicity to reach people who perhaps are not regular attendants, Bev. H. W. Monaghan, of St. Mary’s Anglican Chinch, said he thought it could easily be ovei-done, and he would not appx-ove at all of much, of the American type of advertising. But, he added, for special efforts, say, for missions and endeavours to reach the usually non-going members of the community, it is most effective and is indeed necessary. If the ministers have to depend, he said, on catchy, perhaps sensational, notices to fill the churches, he did not consider they would get very far. He l-eferred to one of. the meet famous old churches in' "London, St. Martin’s in the Fields, and said that great use had been made there of publicity, and, their chui-ch magazine, had a very wicle circulation. A certain amount of publicity in the daily papers was necessary for the ordinary work of the church, hut he was emphatie in opinion that for the special efforts that from time to time were made by all church bodies too much publicity of the right type could hardly be used.