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Gone are the days when word of mouth and fliers were enough to attract people to a church.
Mainstream denominations--the United Methodist Church, the United Church of Christ, Presbyterians and Episcopalians--are now or will soon be advertising on cable television.
The campaigns, some of which are scheduled to run this month in the Fredericksburg area, are in response to decreasing membership nationally.
Reaching the unchurched is the main purpose, said the Rev. Larry Lenow, senior pastor at Fredericksburg United Methodist Church.
"The thrust of all of this is that there are large segments of the population who are searching for something," he said. "What we are trying to get across is that the answers they are seeking are closer than they think."
The 2,000-member church on Hanover Street recently received $600 from its denomination to help pay for commercials, he said.
The three ads, which will begin running on Cox Cable on Monday, are part of the denomination's "Open Hearts. Open Minds. Open Doors" promotion.
The campaign, which began in 2001, marks the first time the United Methodist Church has ever advertised on radio, cable and billboards.
The ads are a combination of the denomination's national and local church commercials. Fredericksburg United Methodist Church will advertise its new 5:30 p.m. Saturday worship service, which begins Sept. 11, the anniversary of the terrorist attacks in Virginia, New York City and Pennsylvania.
Phrases such as "I believe it's good to question" or "None of us are qualified to judge the life of others" or "When you truly embrace diversity, you embrace God" are used to attract seekers to the church, said Jackie Vaughan, spokeswoman for the United Methodist Church's denominational headquarters in Nashville, Tenn.
"We want people to feel that they have a connection to us," she said. "That they can feel comfortable when they walk into our church."
There has already been a 7 percent increase in attendance based on statistics from its five test markets, she said.
The United Methodist Church's $20 million campaign has inspired other denominations to start their own promotions.
Fredericksburg Congregational Church, which is part of the United Church of Christ, expects to run commercials with Cox Cable this month. They plan to begin advertising in Spotsylvania County next month with Adelphia.
But the denomination's "God Is Still Speaking" campaign, which began running in other states in March, is more controversial than the Methodists' ads.
One commercial shows two bouncers standing in front of a church, determining who is worthy to enter. White, affluent people are allowed in, but a gay couple and people of ethnicity are pushed aside.
"Jesus didn't turn people away. Neither do we," the ad says.
Cathie Fisher Braman, pastor of Fredericksburg Congregational Church, said she is pleased with the campaign.
"I'm hoping the commercials can get the message across that the United Church of Christ accepts everyone, not a selected few," she said. "We have a lot of people who have been damaged at church and are afraid to go back to church because of their past experiences."
The 25-member congregation meets at 10 a.m. Sundays at Tickers Coffee on State Route 3.
The Episcopal Church also expects to begin its first national ad campaign.
Some advertising is planned for November, but the major launch is scheduled to begin next spring, said spokesman Robert Williams.
The Presbyterian Church (USA) began running its "Here and Now" campaign during its general assembly in June, said the Rev. Doug Wilson, coordinator of the Presbyterian evangelism office in Louisville, Ky.
Unlike some denominations, the Presbyterian Church has experience advertising. It ran its "Stop In & Find Out" ads in 1997, which focused on the baby-boomer generation.
The new ads are aimed at 25- to 45-year-olds--particularly people who aren't active at any church--and racial minorities, Wilson said.
"People are more apt to be responsive to spiritual or church involvement at transition points of life," Wilson said.
Images representing these life changes, such as marriage, child-bearing and career shifts, are reflected in the ads, which end with the slogan: "When you are ready we are here. The Presbyterian Church. Here and now."
The commercial material, which is available to congregations, will not run nationally at this time because of the expense, Wilson said.
The Rev. Jim Bethany, senior pastor at Richland Baptist Church in Stafford County, said he can relate.
He advertised with Cox Cable for two years, but stopped because it was too expensive, he said. Nonetheless, the commercials were effective in attracting people to the church, he said.
"I still have people comment about them today and it has been quite a while since we ran them," he said. "I think we are a very visual culture and TV has a huge impact on us."
Some religious groups have long used TV to get their messages into people's homes, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' family-oriented paid programming, and Sunday morning services such as Robert Schuller's "Hour of Power."
Still, church marketing hasn't changed dramatically.
"Locally, although we do have a couple of churches advertising with us, a lot of them tend to use the newspaper's religious section to reach their audience," said Munzer Qaddourah, sales manager for Cox media in Fairfax.
In the Fredericksburg area, dozens of churches advertise each week in The Free Lance-Star.
--Staff librarians Sandy Mahaffey and Craig Schulin contributed to this story.
To reach JESSICA ALLEN: 540/368-5036 jiallen@freelancestar.com