Success in Church Publicity

It is always heartening to learn of pastors who are closely co-operating with their church press secretaries in preparing material for the newspa­pers.

By J. R. FERREN, Secretary, General Conference Bureau of Publicity

It is always heartening to learn of pastors who  are closely co-operating with their church press secretaries in preparing material for the newspa­pers.

A letter has just come from a recently appointed press secretary in a large Seventh-day Adventist church on the Pacific Coast. She sends fifteen clippings from two daily papers, the majority of which are either announcements or reports of local church services. They are all good, and give evi­dence that a new day for church publicity has dawned in that city.

This secretary has made it a point to get ac­quainted with city editors, church editors, and club editors. She knows now exactly how to route her various types of items. She has arranged for regular advertisements to appear among the other classified notices on the church pages each week. She has provided large printed copies of a church announcement card, and placed them on the bulle­tin boards in every USO, Hospitality House, Army and Navy hospital, Army and Navy head­quarters, Blue Jacket Haven, in the Elks Dormi­tory, and other places where servicemen stay or visit. This gives the place and time of meetings, with the pastor's name and phone number.

The enthusiasm and effort this press secretary is putting into her church publicity endeavor is yielding excellent results. But this story is in­spired by a paragraph in her letter revealing that one big contributing factor in her success is the loyal co-operation given by the church pastor. She says, "I phone the minister on Tuesday morn­ing, and get a selection from the sermon he will preach, write it up, and send it in Wednesday morning. I write it regularly and send it early, so the editor knows he can depend on me." No one can better appreciate than those who gather news and have deadlines to meet, what this kind of co-operation on the part of the pastor means.

I know how busy this pastor is, and am sure it may be a sacrifice at times to stop and give the nec­essary advance information. Naturally, he must plan ahead to be able to do so. But, with the vision of the vast newspaper audience to whom some seeds of truth can be given, he outlines his next sermon and gives items regarding announcements and coming church events. Thus it is possible to get the copy into proper shape and to the editor on time. Then the printing facilities carry this church information through without a cent of ex­pense, and deliver it to the paper's many thousands of subscribers. In the city referred to, the leading paper publishing these items has a daily circula­tion of more than 131,000 copies.

A good church publicity secretary, well assisted by the pastor and by heads of departments, be­comes a great asset to the church organization. We are in touch with many of them and have much satisfaction in noting their success, and their personal growth and development in experi­ence. A word to the press secretary when he is in need of encouragement or a creative idea may mean the difference between success and failure. The pastor's active and sympathetic assistance Jae ans everything.

In other church departments the form of pro­cedure is well established by the several leaders. Interest is frequently stimulated by group activi­ties. The one handling publicity, however, may be working quite alone and is largely dependent for success on his own vision, initiative, and crea­tive ability. His inspiration comes from the con­viction that the multitudes outside the church cir­cle should have opportunity to know more about Seventh-day Adventists and what they are doing. A constant quest for news, careful preparation of copy, and frequent calls on editors are the neces­sary means for getting informational material into the newspapers to enlarge people's understanding of our church and impress them favorably. This all calls for enthusiasm, tact, patience, and hours of endeavor.

With this in mind we are always encouraged when faithful press secretaries reveal in their let­ters that they are enjoying the hearty co-operation of pastors, elders, and church associates. It indi­cates a rising tide of news consciousness, leader­ship, and teamwork, and gives hope for the building of a denominational press work that will become a mighty factor in advancing the cause of truth.


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By J. R. FERREN, Secretary, General Conference Bureau of Publicity

June 1945

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