I love it when COG's brag about their ad campaigns and then never mention how little impact those campaigns have had. UCG placed 248 million ads and the number of new converts can be counted on one hand, if that. Jesus is mightily impressed!
UCG's impact is about as good as Bob Thiel's... negligible.
U.S. Print Advertising—April 2023
The 2022-23 fiscal year print advertising campaign of the United Church of God will draw to a close at the end of April 2023. Throughout this period, 248 million ads in Sunday newspaper coupon inserts will have made available a wide variety of Bible study aids and Beyond Today magazine subscriptions—reaching multiple millions of households in the United States.
In the campaign’s April 2023 finale, two new ads will be tested, offering a subscription to Beyond Today magazine. The headline featured on both ads will state, “Hope: When All Seems Hopeless” with the subhead declaring, “Discover where you can find real, lasting hope when trials have no end and despair threatens to leave you bitter and defeated.” One ad showing a photo of a man will reach five million households and the other ad featuring a photo of a woman will target an additional five million households. By using two different photos, we expect to determine which ad will draw the best response if we choose to advertise to larger audiences during the next fiscal year.
Finally, your vital prayers for God’s blessings on these new test ads will be greatly appreciated. Plus, we offer our thanks for your ongoing prayers for allthe Church’s efforts to reach people throughout the world with the awesome gospel of Jesus Christ and the coming Kingdom of God.
—Peter Eddington, Operation Manager, Media and Communications Services
Only very old folks get a hard copy Sunday Paper anymore. Even those that do, seldom does anyone look through the "throw away" ad section inserts, of which there are huge amounts. 248 Million inserts sounds impressive, but I would be shocked if even one in 1000 of those gets even a glance, given the above parameters.
ReplyDeleteThese type of figures are put out there to the "faithful" to cultivate the idea that a "big work" and outreach is being accomplished, and to motivate people to keep giving money to the "central planners" to perpetuate such.
Central planning DOES NOT WORK , whether it be a country, and many other human activities. It lacks the ability for local inputs, reforms, and explorations necessary in any kind of dynamic change and growth.
Oh the hypocrisy.
DeleteOur little flower girl Bob tried this one on for size about a year ago. His claim to have reached multiple millions of computers translated into the exact same number of converts. Zero.
ReplyDeleteIf only these groups had Jesus and the hope, peace and security, both now and eternally, He gives to whosoever believes. The "work" of these groups is "works religion" while the Work of God is to believe in the One Who He has sent (John 6:28). Maybe someday they will actually do the work of God, but I doubt it.
There is simply no need for the UCG. The UCG is a godless mess. People in the world can be godless right where they are. They do not need to officially join a godless mess like the UCG and financially support godless old babblers in order to be godless. Anyone can be godless on their own without the UCG teaching them to be even worse.
ReplyDeleteOur little flower girl Bob tried this one on for size about a year ago. His claim to have reached multiple millions of computers translated into the exact same number of converts. Zero.
ReplyDeleteIt's worse than that for Bob. The more he tries to do, the more he causes dissent among his tithe-slaves, and the more who go away, leaving him crying in his sandbox. Since the COGWA split, UCG has had minimal growth, but Bob has had NEGATIVE GROWTH in the last couple of years.
Our little flower girl Bob has more to worry about than that. It’s starting to leak that his African leaders are not what they seem. Trouble is brewing.
ReplyDeleteIt’s starting to leak that his African leaders are not what they seem.
ReplyDeleteThat cannot be. Not only has Bob assured us that he has done his due diligence and has full confidence in his African leaders. But not only has Bob assured us that the African leaders are legitimate; he is a Prophet whose super-ordination by Gaylyn Bonjour gave him more Prophet juice than any other prophet alive today. If Bob can be duped by his African leaders, this makes his Prophet claims effectively worthless.
Maybe Bob will now understand what was going on in that weird "round-robin" ordination where the African evangelist laid hands on Bob who laid hands on him. Bob was told one thing, while the Africans were told that Bob had come under the authority of the African evangelist.
Let's hope, though, that Bob doesn't become embittered and turn into an anti-Armstrongite. With Bob's massive ego and off-putting ways, his emergence as an anti-Armstrong cult-buster might actually push innocent people INTO the ACOGs!
Being totally honest, Armstrongism has devolved into nothing more than an illusion. It's all a nostalgia show at this point, and I'd have to guess that if one's church is that way, so are the spiritual lives of the members. Sheer muscle memory is not the key to spiritual enlightenment., and does not stimulate transformation.
ReplyDeleteAnon 2:28 is a broken record.
ReplyDeleteOOH, OOH, OOH, now talk about how UCG is broken…
Not 2:28 but nothings as broken and screwed up as you.
Delete