The JAAL ads are now on TV, and I suspect I’m not the only one who is pleasantly surprised by how good they are. They’ve certainly caught the attention of secular media, and there has been plenty written and said about the relationship between advertising and Christianity. Many within the church have found this a vexing topic, and are uncomfortable with the use of marketing language and techniques. But the issue really boils down to this - what is the best way to spread the message of Jesus?

In his classic book, “Know and Tell the Gospel”, John Chapman shares the following story:

Several years ago in the Department of Evangelism for which I worked, we considered making some television programs. The cost of the proposal was so high that our budget for the whole year would have been used in the first month.

We sought the advice of a specialist in marketing, and were told: “No-one who had the manpower which you have available would ever spend money on television advertising. They would use the money to train people to talk to other people about the product.”

So we did - and so should your church, fellowship or Christian group.

I suspect that TV advertising has been on the nose in our church ever since. Now, evangelism has always involved one person telling the gospel to another, so it’s true that individual training must have first priority. But I reckon JAAL is showing us that a well executed mass-media campaign can be useful and effective as well. It puts Jesus and Christianity back on the popular radar, making it a little easier for Joe-Average-Christian to talk about.

The world of today is unimaginably different to the world of 30 years ago. Things that used to work may now need to be thrown out. And some old and discarded ideas may need to be looked at again.