LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1975, Page 385

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PARISH SERVICES 385

and which added eight episodes of “This Is the Life” to the
schedule. With the success of this experiment, “This Is the Life”
went to full videotape production in the fall of 1974 for the 24th
season. The board is very pleased with the improved production
value as well as the economy achieved through videotape.

“Prime Time” Evangelism With Benji and Waldo

The television ministry reaches many more people outside
of our church than any other synodical effort. Our family ani-
mated specials graphically demonstrate this thesis.

“Christmas Is” made its TV debut in 1970. Shown five suc-
cessive seasons in prime time thus far, it has become an annual
“Christmas classic.”’ A total of 725,000 letters have already been
written to “Christmas Is.” The average audience each year for
this special exceeds 20 million people, and the total cost has
already been earned back for the Synod through rental and
sale of this very popular seasonal film through Concordia Pub-
lishing House. (We can count on a substantial profit over the
years.) In addition, “(Christmas Is” has been “‘lip synchronized”
into many languages and has been seen via major broadcasting
networks throughout the world. Benji and Waldo are as familiar
to millions in Brazil, in Hong Kong, in Australia, and in Europe
as they are here at home! And all of this extra exposure and
witness costs little additional money because the film has al-
ready been produced.

My name is Willie Jr. I’m 9 years old. I have a sister Becky. She’s

6 and a baby brother, he’s 3. We watched your Christmas special.

It just made us feel wonderful, the play that your school gave about

baby Jesus being born on Christmas Day. You are important to us

Benji. Thanks to you, Benji, we can share Christmas with lots of

people. You are very important also to everyone all over the world.

“Lutheran Television Production Brings New Attention to
Religion” “Lutherans Score Again with ‘Easter Is’”
“Easter Is Brings Deluge of Letters”

Headlines like the ones above indicate the substantial and
very positive nationwide attention which came to our church
at the debut of our second family special. ‘If ‘Easter Is’ is any-
thing like their first program on Christmas, more than 20 million
adults and youngsters will tune in during April of 1974 for this
tremendous witness,” is how nationally syndicated columnist
David Poling began his column on “Easter Is” which ran in
over 800 daily newspapers around the country. In addition,
Dr. Martin J. Neeb Jr. was interviewed on the NBC-TV network
“Today” show and a 4-minute clip from ‘Easter Is’”” was shown
nationally.

Again a gigantic evening time TV audience, very many of
them unchurched, heard the Easter Gospel through the pre-
miere of ‘Easter Is” in April 1974. Then the deluge!

A quarter million (225,000) families wrote to our church to
continue contact with Benji and Waldo and to commend the
Synod for its television work. And the witness continued with
225,000 posters of the Savior with an appropriate Easter message
sent into those homes.

Even the secular broadcast publication Advertising Age
became a witness for our church “having pulled 225,000 requests
since Easter, a picture of Jesus Christ passed out by Lutheran
Television may be the most sought after poster in the U.S. Of-
fered on Lutheran TV’s animated color holiday special ‘Easter
Is,’ the poster was titled ‘The Great Comeback,’ referring to
the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

As this 1975 report to the church goes to press, “Easter Is”
will have its second run before a world public again expected
to be above 20 million. This film can become another annual
favorite for prime time TV, amortizing its cost over multiple
runs with very high audience viewership.

“Faster Is” is also available for sale and rent through Con-
cordia Publishing House and may return its investment to the
Synod and indeed turn a profit over the years.

Over 1,600 Congregations in ‘Easter Is”
Evangelism Follow-up

The Television Board added another dimension to its Gospel
outreach in 1974 as 10 congregations were selected for an
experimental evangelism follow-up project for “Easter Is.”
Teams from these parishes visited 7,000 families.

In cooperation with the Synod’s Evangelism Department
the staff developed a fresh evangelism approach whereby the

names of those responding to “Easter Is’ would be sent im-
mediately to the local congregation closest to that family. The
“Easter Is’ giveaway was also sent to those congregations,
together with a training packet for an evangelism team made
up of both children and adults who would deliver Benji’s gift
personally to those who wrote. It was felt this would provide
a natural opening to conversation with the family which might
lead to witness and which would identify the closest Lutheran
church as very concerned and personally interested in the peo-
ple of that community. It also identified the local Lutheran
parish with the weekly program “This Is the Life” and with
the tremendous positive publicity about the special.

Our Kennedy calling group feels this is a more positive approach
and door opener rather than the ‘cold calls’ we sometimes make.
This provides us an “in” to the home. The children are thrilled to
receive the gift, and somehow that warms the hearts of the parents
too. I would say we have about 40 homes where we were invited to
come back. Some, of course, weren't so positive, but we did find
several that said, ‘We have been looking for a church!” For us it’s
a boost.

It’s another emphasis of the personal nature of the Christian
church. And I think that’s a major benefit. People have said, “I’m
really impressed that you have taken the time to come in person.”

A total of 265 parishes joined the evangelism experiment at
Christmas of 1974, and we are very pleased to report now that
a quarter of the congregations of the Synod—over 1600 parishes
—are participating for Easter of 1975!

The Television Board is very excited about tying the impact
of the specials to the local congregation and community, and also
excited about the enthusiastic response of the Evangelism Board
and staff together with the parishes and people toward making
personal calls where the door is open for a testimony to the
Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

LWML Grant

The generous women of the International LWML who made
the production of ‘Easter Is” possible with their mites deserve
the grateful thanks of the Synod. The board applauds their
confidence and their enthusiasm which carried over to all in-
volved in the ‘‘Easter Is” project.

The Double Impact of “Christmas Is” and
“The City That Forgot About Christmas”

Synod’s 125th Anniversary Thankoffering made possible
a third family special. which made its debut in December of
1974. Based on a book published earlier by CPH, “The City
That Forgot About Christmas” is the story of Matthew, an old
wood-carver who arrives unexpectedly in a town demoralized
by hate and an evil mayor. When Matthew learns that no one
remembers Christmas, he tells the children of the birth of Jesus
Christ and what the Savior does within the hearts of men.

I really enjoyed your show. I think it will bring back that Christmas

is not just presents. It's first Jesus—then presents. Jesus is the only

thing that you need to make Christmas.

That's the story carried by 234 television stations in evening
time to a nationwide audience that now recognizes Benji and
Waldo and eagerly awaits their next special.

I watch every one of your shows. I will try to keep spreading God’s

Word because I love Him. Enclosed is 15¢ so you can make more

shows.

125,000 families responded to Benji’s offer to provide a free
record, and 267 congregations made over 5,000 evangelism calls
last Christmas.

I learned that you can’t have Christmas without a baby. But you can

have Christmas without presents and a tree. All you need is that one

baby. And that one baby is Jesus.

“Freedom Is"...
Synod’s Bicentennial Gift to the Nation!

The TV Board is joining hands with the Board of Parish
Education to present this very special synodical gift during the
1976 bicentennial of the nation—a gift which proclaims the
Gospel upon which the founders of this land relied so pro-
foundly in the early years. A vehicle to proclaim the Gospel
which will be accepted publicly as a substantive and lasting
contribution to the bicentennial and to American family life,
‘Freedom Is’ will be ready to premiere in July of 1976, and can
be telecast again and again as our “summer special.”