LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1973, Page 337

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334 CHURCH LITERATURE AND COMMUNICATIONS

cussion by lay people at the community level discussing the
issues which face the church and society today.

Thousands of letters like the following pour into the TV
office each week testifying to the work of the Gospel.

Sir:

The family and I really enjoy your program, This Is the
Life. I’m 30 years old and have watched it with my mother and
father since I was about ten (10). I hope my kids can say the
same when they're my age.

Please send me Hope for Modern Man. (April 1973)

Dear Sirs:

I like your series very much. I'm only 11 years old but I try
to watch it every Sunday morning. Our family doesn't go to
church so I try to learn about God in as many ways as I can.
Could you please send me your booklet to my address. (April
1973)

Dear Sir:

Would you please send me the book My Hand in His.

I watch your program every chance I get.

Since the last time I wrote, my husband, daughter. and
I joined the Lutheran Church here and enjoy it very much.
The date to be exact was November 26, 1972. (February 1973)
Dear Sir:

Please send me a copy of Hope for Modern Man as offered
on This Is the Life.

Your program concerning vengeance and forgiveness on the
part of a surgeon made me reconsider studving the teachings
of Christ, which I had stopped doing. (March 1973)

“Christmas Is” — Effective

Our initial family special, “Christmas Is,” was also a leap
of faith into the unknown. We didn’t have the necessary
dollars to produce it (Concordia Publishing House took a
chance on us). The rest is history now: under the blessing
hand of God, “Christmas Is’ turned out to be one of the
proud moments in the Synod’s 125 year history!

Synod’s Christmas Special has been telecast in almost
every American TV city 3 years running; and through a
cooperative arrangement with the Mission Board, the pro-
gram is a runaway hit everywhere overseas, gaining network
exposure in Australia, Canada, and Brazil, and other coun-
tries.

In a 3-year run to date, well over 100 million people
worldwide have heard and seen the Missouri Synod version
of the Luke 2 Christmas story at a cost below $150,000 and
in the long run, we expect the entire original cost to be re-
covered through Concordia Publishing House rentals and
sales. Rarely can so many people be reached effectively with
the Gospel and at such low cost!

The cartoon book version of “Christmas Is” has already
been printed in five languages: English, Korean, Mandarin,
Portuguese, and Spanish in almost a million copies. Benji
now hears from over 100,000 friends a year, many of them
unchurched, and he regularly sends his friends Christian
literature.

Dear Sirs:

I got this address from a girl at school and she told about
the letter vou sent her.

I saw your Christmas show on TV. It was very good. My
little sister loved it. I hope you do another one with your dog
Waldo. vou and the other people. Since I've seen your play,
I have been going to Sunday School and Church every Sunday.

PS: Could I have an extra thing of stickers. My little sister
would like some to stick on her clothes, desks, and all those
other things. Despre

Dear BENJI AND WALDO:

I received your letter and Patches vesterday. I want to
thank you very much for them. I'm reallv looking forward to
seeing your Christmas show this vear again. Christmas Is was
really a great show. You know Waldo is right. Jesus is really
something to look forward to. I learned about Jesus three years
ago and I'm really stuck on Him. Kim

Dear BEensT AND YOUR CREATOR:

At 72, I hardly think I am eligible for your free gift offer.
so this is not a request letter — only one to tell you I enjoyed
your show. Many of us never tire of the story of the Christ
Child and your animated version was so beautifully simple and
clear. (November 27)

Dear BENJyY:

I received your package of stickers today and I'd like to
know if vou could send me the address of the nearest Lutheran
Church in County. Please rush them back. I am a regu-
lar watcher of This Is the Life and would like to know where
a church is so I can go. I live in —————. I asked for the
stickers for a wall plaque.

Ranpy

Dear BENJI:

Thank you very much for sending me more of your stickers.

I put them on a card and made a storyboard.

My favorite sticker is the one that says ‘‘Jesus Lives” be-
cause that’s what makes our world such a wonderful place to

be. Thank you again. Ju.

Dear BENJI:

Hi there Benji. How have you been? Ask Waldo how did
he enjoy his trip around the world. I know it was hard to talk
in Chinese, wasn't it. . . . It was hard to twist your tongue
to make the sounds, but I know it was fun. Tell Waldo I wish
I could hear him bark in Chinese. I am glad the neatest thing
about your trip was to tell everybody about Jesus. Benji, do
you know that Jesus is our father and he always will be.
I want to thank Jesus for taking good care of you and Waldo
while you were taking the trip around the world.

ANNETTE

A new and fresh approach to child and family evangelism
is being developed by Television through Synod’s Evangelism
Board whereby continuing contact with homes where Benji
is welcome is cultivated through correspondence, with fol-
low up almost immediately through computer contact with
local congregations according to zip code.

A great swell of goodwill and respect for our Synod was
generated wherever Benji and “Christmas Is” appeared, and
the 125th Anniversary Thankoffering Committee has adopted
the characters from “Christmas Is” as a unifying theme after
a professional research firm revealed Benji and Waldo to
be known and loved by many in the Synod.

Children’s TV Spots

A very gracious grant from the women of,the LWML
has provided the impetus for the development of children’s
television “commercials” which we hope will be tied to the
local evangelism programs of our congregations. We are
currently working on thirty-second announcements which
can be tied by local television to an evangelism Sunday, a
Thanksgiving service, vacation Bible schools or other evan-
gelism projects which have maximum outreach into the
community. The project may include purchased and public
service television spots combined with newspaper, billboard,
and bus ads, using the same theme to call attention to what
the congregation is doing. Lutheran Television would pro-
vide the production with the congregations purchasing the
time and the space for the ads. Our “Christmas Is” charac-
ters, Benji and Waldo, will probably be an important part
of this campaign and if the initial experiment is successful,
we will wish to carry the program forward within our
budget.

Tension Point

The board is in the process of releasing the Tension Point
series (mentioned above) for Bible Class discussion and for
television. Tension Point is a half-hour panel program using
people selected in each community to bring a Christian im-
pact to bear on the burning community issues of the day.

Other Television Work

In addition to national programming through This Is the
Life and Specials, the TV Board is concerned about the
opportunities our local pastors and lay people have for utiliz-
ing television and cable time. As media usage grows, more
and more pastors are being approached bv television sta-
tions and cable systems with available free and sponsored
time.

The Television office continues to be a clearing house for
local television and cable efforts, and the staff has been asked
to increase service in this area as need grows. Beside the
Tension Point series, the staff is ready to assist pastors
and laymen in planning and developing programs for local
public access cable as well as television use. Being in touch
with those who are using television locally in various ways
to proclaim the Gospel will provide the TV staff additional
new ideas and projects which in turn can be recommended
to others with opportunity.

Cassette, cartridge. and cable television will also afford
the Synod fresh avenues for presenting the Gospel and the
witness of the church. Very soon programs currently seen
on television will be available in cassette form through li-
braries. They will be “borrowed” on film much as a library
book currently is taken out and returned. Cassettes will
make This Is the Life available at the viewer's choice of