Rethink Church: Mainline Denominations In TV Ads

Here's something from the Blog--- Confessions of a Recovering Pharisee:

Protestant groups use ads to lure members
Posted at 4:00 am under church, denominations

[Washington Times]

Shrinking mainline Protestant denominations are turning to marketing to help stem decades of membership losses and stay afloat.

The United Methodist Church recently released a $20 million rebranding effort aimed at attracting younger members to the large but diminishing Protestant sect. The new ads will appear over the next four years as part of the denomination’s “Rethink Church” campaign.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has invested nearly $1.2 million in the past two years launching a similar branding effort based on the theme “God’s Work, Our Hands.”

The denominations are trying to bounce back from losses that began in the mid-1960s.

Interesting stuff! I just saw the United Methodist Church one, tonight---here it is:


Here is the ELCA one:


So are these ad campaigns a necessary consequence of the imminent collapse of American Evangelism from within or what? Do you think other denominations should follow suit? Will these ads help revitalize interest in the church and church life among the younger generation? What do you think?