Communicators help change, save lives, said UMCom General Secretary

 

Helping the church have a conversation with itself and the culture about the meaning and relevance of the Christian faith in the 21^st century, is something church communicators must do, said the Rev. Larry Hollon, chief executive of United Methodist Communications, during his address at the annual meeting of the United Methodist Association of Communicators (UMAC).

 

“We must encourage the conversation of communication,” Hollon said. “(The church) must engage in the culture and regain our voice in public conversation.”

 

According to Hollon, the church’s failure to understand communication as a strategic asset that helps us to engage the world and to engage other people is a contributor to the decline of the denomination. The church must communicate a relevant message and tell the story.

 

In a time when budgets are being cut, when colleagues have lost their jobs and the relevance of communication positions is being challenged, communicators must press on and continue to tell the story as part of the ministry of the church, he said.

 

“What we do matters. What we do is ministry,” Hollon said. “Communication is empowering ministry…Communication is a strategic element of the church.

 

“What you do changes lives. What you do saves lives. This work matters regardless of the economy and regardless of the staff challenges and regardless of the bottom line in the budget.”

 

Hollon told communicators gathered in San Francisco for the 2010 UMAC annual meeting to remember four things – you and your work are strategic assets to the church; you engage in ministry that is transformational; we do this together in a community of faith and, by doing those things we participate in God’s transformation of the world.

 

A prime example of how communicators make a difference in ministry is the Nothing But Nets campaign.

 

A vision to provide life saving bed nets for children in Africa was cast at the 2004 UMAC meeting in Indianapolis, Ind. Communicators caught the vision and began spreading the word, telling the story. Today, more than $9 million has been given by the United Methodist Church for bed nets and to eradicate malaria.

 

“Now, a child dies of malaria every 45 seconds, not every 30 seconds,” Hollon said. “That is several thousand lives saved.

 

“The success of Nothing But Nets is laid at the feet of communications. You took the story, framed it and laid it at the feet of the people of the United Methodist Church. You didn’t tell them they had to it, but you showed what they could do,” he said. For that, Hollon believes that UMAC and communicators of the United Methodist Church have conducted the best communication effort the church has seen in modern history.

 

Combining strengths across the denomination and involving others like Sports Illustrated put combating malaria on a grand scale and will lead to the end of malaria. That same effort and approach will bring an end to poverty believes Hollon.

 

“Be the storytellers of the church in an age of startling transition,” Hollon said. “Invite us into new forms of conversation and new ways of being together.”

 

Along with Hollon, Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton of the Pittsburgh Episcopal Area asked UMAC members to get on board the next phase and Imagine No Malaria.

 

“This is an opportunity to end the wrath of killer disease and do it right now with help of our global partners,” Bickerton said.

 

According to Bickerton, the world is looking to the United Methodist Church to lead the effort in ridding the world of malaria and he is looking to communicators to put the message at the front of people’s minds.

 

A new media campaign is being launched, new activities are planned, house parties will be held and relationships are being built to help achieve the ultimate goal of no malaria.

 

“We need you,” the bishop said. “Energize your annual conferences, use the passion you have for those in need…Together, let’s Imagine No Malaria.”

 

Information is available at www.imaginenomalaria.org.