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, attempts to communicate the basics of the Christian faith to a society that has, for the most part, written it off as a relic from its past. The Evangelical Alliance spent three years planning with key leaders and agencies across the United Kingdom to develop materials that would best connect with local churches and communities. A marketing agency helped the Evangelical Alliance develop the media campaign.

Part national branding campaign, part local church ministry outreach, facevalues aims to raise awareness of evangelicals nationally and equip local churches with tools to respond to local needs-both evangelistic and social in nature. The program also employs advertising and marketing to create a visual identity that links local churches and Christians with a God who knows and cares about peoples’ lives and communities.

With images of domestic abuse, poverty, crime and even a UK ballot box, the facevalues advertisements all point people to the God who is deeply concerned about every aspect of life. Media activity began in spring, and has been building monthly. Coverage includes national and local press, radio and billboards. The national campaign includes posters at local churches and an emblem Christians can place in their cars’ windshields. A national media campaign began its roll-out in September, focusing on the God who freely forgives what many might deem unforgivable.

“Facevalues has grown into a partnership of over eighty mission organizations,” says Colin Saunders, executive director of the Evangelical Alliance UK, “and is helping thousands of churches across the UK to reach out to their communities with a positive message about Christian values such as love, trust, community and respect. This autumn facevalues will provide a challenge to us all through a high profile media and advertising campaign focusing on a restorative message of forgiveness and reconciliation.”

North America hasn’t seen anything close to this since the “Here’s Life” campaigns of the ’70s, where “I found it!” messages were targeted in specific regions and “it” turned out to be a relationship with Jesus Christ. But facevalues has greater breadth than the old “Here’s Life” efforts. It runs several months, is owned by local churches, and focuses on human needs and questions people are asking. It also is a cooperative ministry with denominational and organizational sponsors, and its local dynamics are geared to meet needs of varied locations and people.

Key elements to the program include a church pack and a survey, both of which are available to participating churches nationwide. The church pack provides local churches with strategies for training their people; seed-sowing ideas for reaching out to local communities, schools and families; and a networking guide that directs churches to organizations able to help in specific ministry areas. The facevalues survey is designed for Christians to use in small groups, one-on-one meetings or door-to-door. The survey engages local Christians and churches with individuals in their community around issues of personal behavior, social values and forgiveness.

In addition to the national media and advertising exposure, facevalues encourages churches and Christian networks to develop local ministries and events geared toward their communities. In Ipswich, for example, the following facevalues events have been scheduled:

o “Equipping and Envisioning” Christians to more effectively speak to contemporary concerns and share faith one-on-one;

o “Events and Evangelism” focuses on witnessing in the workplace, reaching children and young people, family issues, sports ministry;

o “Social Action,” includes a traveling roadshow to help Christians take practical social action within the Ipswich community;

o “Work with Refugees and Asylum Seekers” that encourage local churches to reach out to the displaced people in their area.

Evangelicals have responded positively to facevalues. Jim Purves, from the Bristo Baptist Church in Edinburgh, wrote to the facevalues London office recently: The CD software is among the best ‘user friendly’ material I have seen; and the ‘Prayer Points Starter Pack’ dovetails exactly what the Lord has lead us into in terms of mission. Be encouraged. The method you’re drawing on is new. But the principles are exactly what is required for the development into the future.”

Major Melvyn Ackroyd of the Salvation Army comments, “Thank you for helping to make our window on the world relevant.”

The outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, endorsed the facevalues program, calling it “a valuable resource that will help churches engage with their local communities, and enable them to make known the good news of Jesus and his kingdom in word and action. facevalues will also help stimulate a climate in which people are encouraged to reflect on their values and priorities, and to consider where Christian faith and insights help to make sense of the deepest issues of life.”

If the departing archbishop is correct in his assessment of facevalues, the incoming archbishop could find himself facing a nation with a growing church spilling across denominational lines and engaging in issues of society’s primary concerns. The mission world at large might also consider this multi-layered mix of media, church and personal ministry and its potential application in other parts of the world.

Wil Triggs serves the WEA in communications and development in Wheaton, Ill.