El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-02-15
Of
CHURCHES PAYS
Newspapers Are Best Me
diums For Advertising Of
Churches; Tell Truth.

OHurCHeS; lei 1IuCu'
Churches should be advertised the
same as department stores and the
daily newspaper is the best medium
for doing this advertising.
This is what Rev. Charles L. Over
street of the First Presbyterian church
told the Adclub convention Tuesday at
the second days session of the state
convention
why Don't Men Go to Church.
"A few years ago one of the favorite
themes Of the pulpit was. Why men
do not go to church and the religious
and secular magazines were full Of dis
cussiOns along similar lines" he said.
Religious leaders in the church be-
gan to- ask: Shall we allow all these
other institutions to forge ahead while
the church with any kind Of an excuse,
Lays behind? Did not the master say,
GO out and compel them to come in@
Was the apostle Paul satisfied with
just preaching a blunt or kindly Cos
pei? On the contrary, wherever he
went he started either riot or revival
In other words he let people know
that he was in town, and that he had
something for them worth while.
The Lord Advertised.
The Lord himself refused to let his
cause be buried. He kept it before the
public. He drove thieves out OF the
temple; he preached to multitudes from
boat; he held outdoor services, and
fed great thrOngs of people. Yes, tho
Lord and his disciples believed in and
prac.iced publicity. Why nOt2 They
had something to publish. The gospel
is good news. The church has the
goods but does not know how to dis
pose Of them it has been charged.
There is no question about il, the
church has the goods, better than
much goods-of the earth-laid up for
many years But it is up to the church,
so TO display her goods that the public
VIII stop in the mad rush OF today and
take notice.
Publicity a Necessity.
Church publicity is a necessity. We
have come to the point where we see
the need and wisdom of such pub
LEFTY: that dignified, definite and per-
sistent advertising is as fruitful Of re-
suits in religious as in commercial life
Aggressive, wide-awake churches rec
ognize this fact and are providing for
it accordingly. Some OF our larger
churches are spending thousands Of
dollars annually just for publicity
work. They say, in substance, that it
Is bad business and poor religion to
have two or three hundred thousands
dollars tied up in a religious plant
and to spend nothing toward letting
people know where you are and what
a number of churches where provision
is made for publicity work, and some
or t9em are neither rich financially nor
strong numerically. As a matter of
fact. much in the way Of publicity can
be done on comparatively little in the
way Of money outlay. Some churches
and these in small country commune
ties-have achieved splendid results on
less than s10O n year
Not Matter OF Money.
"ChurcI DuOuclty is not altogether
a matter Of money. As in other de-
partments, so in the church, much
money can be spent and that to no
particular effect. Advertising is
business-or shall I say, a profession
and requires the greatest study and
care. l read recently OF q meeting at
tended by some Of the leading adver-
Using men Of the country These men
spent five hours going over and dis
cussing the subject Of church adver-
Using. and the unanimous conclusion
reached that day was that the time
was at hand for the church to push
tself to the front. since men in their
ieepest hearts needed il.
Not until a comparatively recent |
late has much attention been paid to
his subject, but within the last few /
ears many volumes and articles have !
leen written by some Of the foremost !
'eligious leaders Of the country. In |
On1e cases men are deVOIing their en- I
ire time to church publicity work |
churches are designating. or employ /
ng, men just to push pub -ity Great !,
conventions and efficiency |
given liberal place on their /
Programs for the discussion Of the sub !
ect. and, in some cases. theological /
eminaries are including a course on /
publicity in the curriculum.
Idea Opposed.
at first there was much opposition 1
o the idea of church advertising. II 1
vas felt that such a thing was be- |
Ieath the dignity Of so sacred an in
titution.
AS a rule. churches are too much |
fraid Of getting out Of beaten paths.
'hurch officials are for the most part
~ath to spend money on church pub
icity but at the same time thew de-
.snd results, and are frequently first
o complain II the people, as well as
he members, do not seem to appreciate
he church, and lend to it their pres
nee
BRymen Are Learning.
But the laymen OF the church arr
to the many laynen's
and conventions OF recent /
ears-and are leading out in this mat
er of church publicity. In some of
ur cities some Of the leading Iavmen
( the churches are spending time and
honey in advertising-not one. but an
he churches.
Must Deliver Goods
As TO the kinds or methods of church
dvertiStng much NAV he gafd E-frgt |