Advertising in Small-Town Evangelism

It is well to remem­ber that our main object in advertising is to make sure that our efforts to place this message before the public are in harmony with the maj­esty of the truth which we represent, as well as to gain the attention of the people.

By J. ROBERT SPANGLER, Pastor-Evangelist, Bradenton, Florida

The messenger of God has told us, "The character and the importance of our work are judged by the efforts made to bring it before the public. When these efforts are so limited, the impression is given that the message we present is not worthy of notice."—Evange­lism, p. 128. The entire truth of this statement cannot be fully appreciated unless we carefully criticize and analyze our evangelistic advertis­ing from every standpoint. It is well to remem­ber that our main object in advertising is to make sure that our efforts to place this message before the public are in harmony with the maj­esty of the truth which we represent, as well as to gain the attention of the people.

In the evangelistic services conducted in Bradenton, Florida, we have tried to follow the counsel of the Spirit of prophecy by adver­tising our meetings in an open and representa­tive manner. A number of efforts have been held in this section previously; therefore, Ad­ventism is not new to the public. After study­ing the assigned territory, we definitely felt it was to our advantage to inform the people con­cerning our denominational affiliation from the very start of our work. As far as we know, this plan had never been tried here before. This method seemed to please the church member­ship, for many made remarks to the effect that they were so glad we were not going to keep our identity a secret.

In this section of the field, where our churches are well established, we feel we have beneted from this method of advertising. The Lord is blessing us beyond our expectations. After we had presented the Sabbath truth, our attendance did not decrease in the least but actually increased. We believe this was due to the fact that the public knew we were Seventh-day Adventists. Bradenton is a town of about 12,000 people, and our attendance for the first three or four months averaged from 350 to 45o on Sunday nights and 200 to 300 during the week. At this writing we have, been holding meetings for over twenty-two weeks, and our attendance is still excellent. Since the people knew who we were from the very beginning, our presentation of the truth and our appeals have been made stronger. The work in the homes of the people has also been greatly strengthened.

The offerings have covered all our expenses, thus making the effort entirely self-supporting. This open, frank way in advertising has also been applied in the matter of our financial budget. On Sunday evenings we prepare a slide to project on the screen, showing the people our expenses and offerings. This has a tendency to make the people feel that they are a real part of it, and must share in keeping the meet­ing going. Our methods of advertising are as follows :

I. NEWSPAPER.—We found that the best form of advertising in this town is the newspaper. Everyone reads the daily paper. Therefore they cannot help seeing our displays. We have used large advertisements consistently week by week. We used only three different handbills and felt that we could have dispensed with those, except for the first one. In our newspaper advertisements we used many cuts and always requested a twelve-point border. This made our advertisements, stand out above all other reli­gious ads.

2. POSTCARDS.—In a small town it is possible to mail printed postcards to all telephone sub­scribers. Thus we reach the better class of peo­ple. We secured a number of regular postcard headings made especially for postcards from the Cobb Shinn Cut Service, 725 Union Street, In­dianapolis, Indiana. The nominal cost of $1.50 for each cut more than pays for itself in a short time. Naturally one must adapt these cuts to evangelistic use, but this company handles many useful cuts for the evangelist's work.

3. SOUND CAR.—We converted a station wagon into an effective mobile sound unit. Two neat placards on each side gave the name of our evangelistic party, the location, and the time of meetings. This was lighted at night and made an attractive sound car. A loud-speaking system was used, between the playing of rec­ords, to announce our meetings. This was an effective and inexpensive way of advertising. In using a station wagon in this manner, it is well to install a police generator to give the battery ample charge. The music that is used must be of a high type, or the public will re­ceive the wrong impression of the meetings.

4. WINDOW CARES.—The attractive window cards that we purchased from the Religious Arts Company of Islip, New York, represented money well spent. (See advertisement in each issue.—EnrroR.) These colorful display cards, placed in central locations, helped much in at­tracting the public to our meetings.

5. SPECIAL INVITATIONS.—These invitations were printed on cards similar to those used for wedding announcements. They were sent to friends, relatives, and former Adventists before the meetings began. The cards left over were sent to doctors, lawyers. and businessmen of the city. In this small town we used five hun­dred announcements.

Other ways of advertising were used, but we found the foregoing methods to be the best for this particular compaign. Naturally, the forms of advertising must be adapted to the locality in which an evangelist is working.

It is well to keep ever in mind that after ad­vertising our meetings in various ways, the Spirit of God must work, or all methods com­bined avail little or nothing. The mechanics of our meetings must be secondary to the work of the Holy Spirit. We are to seek God's blessing above all else.


Ministry reserves the right to approve, disapprove, and delete comments at our discretion and will not be able to respond to inquiries about these comments. Please ensure that your words are respectful, courteous, and relevant.

comments powered by Disqus

By J. ROBERT SPANGLER, Pastor-Evangelist, Bradenton, Florida

August 1948

Download PDF
Ministry Cover

More Articles In This Issue

Pioneers: Do We Still Have Them?

The perils and challenges confronting our work in China.

Responsibility in Church Business Matters

It is a recognized fact in the business world today that every corporation and institution, from a vast army to a country club, from a great factory to a village church, must have a single directing head.

Church Sponsored MV. Outings

For the past several years our church has sponsored a number of M.V. outings. These are week-end trips, most of which have been held in the Government-owned camp near Tri­angle, Virginia. These trips have been primarily for older M.V. members and the young married couples of our church. About seventy have usually gone.

The Undershepherd's Work

Of first importance in the matter of shepherding the flock is the need of vital connection with the Chief Shepherd.

The Conduct of the Sabbath School

So you are going to conduct the Sabbath school! Help for what to do.

Questions to the Editors

On a singing ministry and a question on pulpits.

World Council of Churches— Amsterdam, 1948

Of mounting significance, no issue stands more to the forefront of religious world affairs than does the forthcoming Amsterdam meeting of the first constituent assem­bly of the World Council of Churches.

Ellen G. White—The Human-Interest Story

A look at Ellen G. White as a steward of means

The Minister's Wife

When a young woman accepts the proposal of a young minister, it is her respon­sibility to understand the requirements of his profession or calling before she becomes his wife, and determine to enter into his work with genuine interest and enthusiasm.

I Was Once a Franciscan Friar

Fourth in a series on how ministers of other denominations were led to accept the Advent faith.

View All Issue Contents

Digital delivery

If you're a print subscriber, we'll complement your print copy of Ministry with an electronic version.

Sign up

Recent issues

See All
Advertisement - SermonView - WideSkyscraper (160x600)