Home for Christmas ads
run on TV, radio, in papers

Southwest Texas residents should see and hear lots of United Methodist media messages in coming weeks.
Advertising to support the Home for Christmas outreach and public witness campaign is running on 18 cable TV networks, on seven Southwest Texas radio stations and in nine Southwest Texas newspapers this month.
The General Commission on Communication in Nashville, Tenn., is now running 30-second commercials daily through Dec. 24 on nationwide cable TV networks.
The commercials, which began appearing Dec. 5, talk about how people can share their God-given gifts with others and what United Methodists believe. The ads end with the line: “Open hearts, open minds, open doors—the people of The United Methodist Church.”
The denomination is also sponsoring 17 holiday specials on various cable TV networks. The list includes A Christmas Carol at 8 p.m. Dec. 14 on TNT.
The Southwest Texas Conference Communication and Public Witness Office is buying radio commercials Dec. 12 to 23 on stations in Falfurrias, Fredericksburg, Liberty, LaGrange, San Antonio, Schulenburg and Yoakum.
The radio ads, produced by the Nashville-based communications commission, say that “if you’re searching for meaning in life at Christmas, meet us at The United Methodist Church.”
The commercial closes by directing radio listeners to www.umcswtx.org to find a United Methodist congregation near them.
The Communications and Public Witness Office is also placing ads in nine Southwest Texas daily newspapers.
Those messages, running Dec. 23 or Dec. 24, list times for Christmas Eve candlelight worship services at 139 United Methodist congregations.
The ads are to run in the Austin American-Statesman, Brownsville Herald, Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Valley Morning Star (Harlingen), Kerrville Daily Times, McAllen Monitor, San Angelo Standard-Times, San Antonio Express-News and Victoria Advocate.
A grant from the Southwest Texas Conference Program Priority Fund is paying for the newspaper advertising.
The multimedia advertising campaign supports the annual confer-encewide Home for Christmas effort. The eight-week campaign, which kicked off Oct. 30, is designed to motivate United Methodists to invite friends and neighbors who don’t normally go to church to Dec. 24 candlelight services.
Church members then continue the disciple-making process with those who come.
The outreach campaign, built on prayer, follows a step-by-step plan of invitation and follow-up. Publicity, advertising and other promotional activities support the invitation effort.
The Board of Discipleship is supporting the Home for Christmas outreach campaign for the sixth straight year.
The 15 congregations that submitted follow-up information last year reported a 33 percent increase in Christmas Eve worship attendance—despite a surprise snowstorm in many Southwest Texas communities.
Home for Christmas is one way the conference tries to empower ministries in local congregations so they can offer Christ to all.
Congregations in the North Texas Conference are also involved in Home for Christmas outreach activities this month. The North Texas Conference pioneered the outreach effort in 1998.