The campaign is far from the first effort to meld media and mission to introduce or reintroduce people to the Christian faith. In the 1970s, Campus Crusade for Christ (now called Cru) distributed thousands of “I Found It” bumper stickers and featured the same slogan on billboards. The catchphrase “The family that prays together stays together” was spread by the Rev. Patrick Peyton, a Roman Catholic priest who produced the “Family Theater” weekly radio series in the mid-20th century.
Corrina Laughlin. Courtesy photo
Corrina Laughlin, author of the 2021 book “Redeem All: How Digital Life Is Changing Evangelical Culture,” said the power of advertising to convert people into buyers — of a pair of jeans, for instance — is more easily measured than converting them to religion.
“Yes, maybe 95 million people have seen a billboard,” said Laughlin, an instructor of communication at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. “Did any of those people think about it? Did any of those people, then, convert to Christianity or reaffirm their faith? It’s nearly impossible to know.”
Vanderground said the campaign is “not about recruiting or converting,” but rather to “raise the respect and personal relevancy of Jesus.”
The campaign is scheduled to continue through the end of 2022.
This article originally appeared here.
