United Methodist Communications Annual Report 2019

2019:

Nurturing Global Connections

At United Methodist Communications, we believe that effective communication is the key to creating and sustaining powerful, life-changing connections.

The most compelling way to speak and connect is through storytelling.

We tell the stories of the people of The United Methodist Church to amplify their voices and share how they are doing God’s work to transform the world. We also empower leaders in local United Methodist churches by providing the resources they need to tell their own stories and communicate all the good they can in their contexts and communities.

Keep reading to discover how 2019 was a year of expanding our global reach and nurturing meaningful connections around the world.

TABLE OF CONTENTS Connection through: News 4 Global Advertising

5

Commonality 6 Understanding 7 Digital Media

8

Resources 9 Mapping 10 Local Church Services

11

Learning 12 Technology 13 HAM Radio

14

Disaster Response

15

Giving 16 General Conference

For more information about United Methodist Communications’ 2019 financials, read the audited report.

17

CONNECTION THROUGH NEWS Approximately 2 million readers in 219 countries stay informed each year through United Methodist News content. One-third of readers are from the Central Conferences, located outside of the U.S. In fact, UM News is now working full-time in five languages!

In 2019, UM News produced 499 stories, including multilingual coverage of the Special Session of General Conference, the church’s response to the immigration crisis, natural disasters, the Ebola outbreak in the Congo, the opioid crisis in the U.S. and empowerment of women in Africa.

UMNews.org

499 news stories

4

3

Nigerian cities have billboards

CONNECTION THROUGH GLOBAL ADVERTISING For nearly 20 years, United Methodist Communications has led national advertising efforts in the U.S. In 2019, for the first time, we were able to expand this work to Africa. A customized billboard campaign was developed to reflect the unique identity of United Methodists in Nigeria. The billboards are delivering broad-scale evangelism and outreach messages in three Nigerian cities.

5

CONNECTION THROUGH COMMONALITY Recognizing that nearly half of Americans feel alone or left out, we launched the “Not the Only One� national U.S. advertising campaign to offer encouragement through community. We reached potential churchgoers with messages of invitation through television, billboards, digital platforms and experiential events, creating nearly 90 million impressions.

UMC.org/RethinkChurch

90 million impressions

6

CONNECTING WITH SEEKERS IN YOUR COSPIRITUAL MMUNITY 42 of U.S. see %

kers are willing to visi

t a local United Metho

dist church

WHO ARE THESE SE

EKERS?

43% 39%

Male Female

44% 38% 34%

Married Never married All single

WHERE DO SEEKERS FIND NEWS?

44% 38%

have children under 18 no children under 18

47% 38% 34%

WHICH SOCIAL MEDI A PLATFORMS DO SEEKERS USE MOST ?

40% Fox News 37% CNN 34% ABC

84% Facebook 73% YouTube 58% Instagram

Urban Suburban Small town/ rural

South West Midwest Northeast

44% 41% 40

%

Black alone White alone Hispanic any

47%

College graduate High school or less 37% Some college

40%

WHAT IS MEANINGFUL TO SEEKERS?

of U.S. seekers are willing to visit a local UMC

50% daily/weekly prayer 48% quiet reflection 46% time in nature

SEEKERS AWARENESS “OPEN HEARTS. OPEN OF OUR TAGLINE, MINDS. OPEN DOORS.,” HAS GROWN

SEEKERS CHOOSE CONS IDER ATTENDING A CHRISTIAN CHURCH BECAUSE THEY WAN T:

Awareness of the tagline has grown over time, from 43% in 2017 to 52% in 2019

77% find it personally releva nt 89% found it appealing

49% 43% 35% 33%

42%

34% to develop spiritually 31% to reconnect with Christ ian roots 28% their children to learn

good values

SEEKERS CONSIDER

VISITING A SPECIFIC

47% it seemed like they wo uld fit in 46% they heard good things

CHURCH BECAUSE:

about it

SEEKERS ARE MORE LIKELY TO ATTEND A LOCAL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH WHEN THEY : 70%

WHY DO SEEKERS CONTINUE TO ATTEND?

First impressions matter ! Seekers continue to attend a church becau se they feel:

58% accepted 52% welcomed during thei

r first visit

80%

are personally invited have heard the music

is good

United Methodist Communications offers tools and resources to help your church connect with spiritual seekers.

Discover them at ResourceUMC.or g/UMCom.

The Barna Group fielded this biennial study August 30 through September 11, 2019, using an online panel. The data is nationally representative of 458 U.S. adults aged 25-49 screened to make sure they met the definition of a “spiritual seeker” by identifying with at least five of nine statements.

CONNECTION THROUGH UNDERSTANDING A new research study conducted in 2019 indicated that willingness to visit a United Methodist church rose to 42% among U.S. adult spiritual seekers who are aware of the denomination. That’s up from 28% in 2017.

Overall, awareness of The United Methodist Church was widespread among respondents. Despite ongoing conflict within the denomination, favorability ratings among the seeker population remain stable.

This research helps us better understand spiritual seekers and heavily influences our approach to advertising campaigns and resources for local churches, such as training courses, articles and other web content.

ResourceUMC.org/communications-research 7

CONNECTION THROUGH DIGITAL MEDIA

With the redesign of UMC.org and the launch of the new ResourceUMC.org, we completed streamlining nearly 30 communication areas into four primary communication channels targeted to each of our main audiences: church members, leaders, spiritual seekers and news.

This has resulted in over 25% annual growth for UMC digital users, to nearly 14 million website visits. Our email subscriptions grew by 18% to nearly 430,000 email subscribers.

Our Instagram engagement doubled, our Facebook followers increased by almost 10% and we reached 64 million people through social media.

UMC.org

64 million

8

people reached via social media

531K+ website pageviews

CONNECTION THROUGH RESOURCES We developed a centralized place to find church resources through a new leader-focused website, ResourceUMC.org.

The easy-to-navigate site simplifies locating relevant and engaging content, which is aggregated from across the connection, saving clergy and lay leaders precious time as they search, find and lead.

ResourceUMC.org

9

CONNECTION THROUGH MAPPING In our redesign of UMC.org, Find-A-Church is now international, with countries being added continually. In 2019, we completed mapping Malawi, Zimbabwe and part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

A new geolocation technology feature makes it possible to display churches near the user’s current location. Developing this central database of United Methodist churches not only helps visitors find a place of worship, but also enables quick response in times of disaster.

Find-A-Church.org

127

churches mapped 10

4,300 local churches received customized services

CONNECTION THROUGH LOCAL CHURCH SERVICES Approximately 4,300 churches received customized services in 2019, including social media consultation, graphic design, seasonal resources, website development and hosting, ad buys, and support for new church starts.

In the spring, nearly 100 local churches received advertising grants to boost community connections and grow positive awareness of their mission and ministries. In the fall, additional grants supported churches hosting Unwrap Christmas outreach events in their communities.

ResourceUMC.org/LCS 11

CONNECTION THROUGH LEARNING We provided training for 3,000+ church leaders around the world in 2019, including connectional giving training for participants from eight countries, local church communication training in the Philippines Central Conference, a two-day seminar in the Eurasia Central Conference and a workshop during Cote d’Ivoire Communication Week.

In our continued efforts to equip churches for effective ministry, we rolled out a whiteboard training video series. The initial offerings deliver important information in a captivating way and focus on the subjects of engaging seekers, recruiting volunteers and preparing Gen Z.

UMCtraining.org

3,000+ church leaders trained

12

5

central conference websites created

CONNECTION THROUGH TECHNOLOGY We’ve expanded the reach and speed of communication technology in the Central Conferences through the use of text messaging, support of the United Methodist radio network and improvements in communication infrastructure.

Five Central Conference websites were developed in 2019. We also made a two-year commitment to provide every Episcopal office with Internet connectivity, and we completed the first project in North Katanga. We continue to evaluate other areas to determine the best solutions for each.

ResourceUMC.org/GCT

13

CONNECTION THROUGH HAM RADIO The Philippines is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, and our Global Communication Technology team’s HAM radio program enables communication when other means aren’t available. In 2019, we funded and installed a HAM radio antenna in Dumaguete, held workshops on crafting makeshift antennas and provided specialized HAM radio training.

ResourceUMC.org/GCT

14

workshops in the Philippines 14

4,873

$

provided equipment and communications support

CONNECTION THROUGH DISASTER RESPONSE When the deadly tropical Cyclone Idai hit Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi in March 2019, UMCom’s Global Communications Technology team became part of the response effort. By supplying solar equipment to an emergency communication center, disaster response continued unhindered. We also provided compatible floodlights and necessary funding to send out emergency messages via text.

15

CONNECTION THROUGH GIVING New study results in 2019 provided insights into motives behind why people donate funds and how best to educate members about connectional giving opportunities. While the majority of United Methodists agree that apportionments support valuable ministries, about one-quarter are unsure of how these funds are spent. Survey respondents said that the most important factor in their decision to support The Advance is that 100% of donations go to the specified project(s).

The Connectional Giving team placed a new emphasis on member education about The Advance, Special Sundays and other year-round giving opportunities, while continuing to equip leaders, supporting disaster relief and assisting Global Ministries’ end of year campaign.

UMCgiving.org

60%

believe apportionments are valuable 16

6.8 million readership

CONNECTION THROUGH GENERAL CONFERENCE United Methodist Communications supported the February 2019 Special Session of General Conference through production, technology, news reporting, media relations, social media, advertising, Ask The UMC, livestreaming and more. News coverage of the special called General Conference boosted readership to 6.8 million for 2019.

17

NOW, MORE THAN EVER, WE NEED THE POWER OF COMMUNICATION. As the world becomes increasingly digital, our work will continue to grow and strengthen. Every day, we seek to answer God’s call to communicate all the good we can and empower others to do the same.

• • • •

Through resources and training.

Through multimedia storytelling.

Through local church services.

Through innovative technology solutions.

Be a part of this vital work in your own community!

In 2020 and beyond, join us as we transform the world through the power of communication.

ResourceUMC.org/UMCom Facebook.com/UMCom Instagram & Twitter: @UMCommunication