May 25, 2010
Written by Jeff Woodard

The much-publicized, initial splash of the UCC Stillspeaking Ministry's "The Language of God" video message continues to make waves across the internet.

Launched in a coordinated campaign of supporters on April 16, the video message now has been disseminated by hundreds of thousands in more than 100 countries, with the potential to still be viewed by millions more given the tens of thousands of uploads of the video on blogs, news sites and social networks.

More than six weeks into its launch, the video still generates 500 to 1,000 daily views combined on YouTube and Vimeo. As of May 24, those two sites alone had drawn nearly 250,000 views and generated more than 2,500 comments. Hundreds of churches, Associations and Conferences also posted the ad on their websites, and about 140 churches have purchased DVD copies for viewings in worship and small groups.

"This is one of the most dynamic and inclusive words coming out of any church today," says the Rev. Felix Carrion, coordinator of the UCC's Stillspeaking Ministry. "Viral marketing is one of the important new directions for Stillspeaking, an opportunity for us to merge our evangelistic invitation and our justice commitments.

"We want to tell all of our people – our pastors, our churches, our national leadership – to keep the ad alive and achieve a greater scope of impact. There's no timeframe here. Don't stop. Keep it going."

Due to the sudden, large rush of traffic driven by UCC members on April 16, YouTube tagged the ad as spam within 20 minutes of its launch, counting no views for much of that first day. By the next morning, it was apparent that the traffic was organic and not manufactured, so the spam tag was lifted. Despite being frozen for several hours, the ad was promoted briefly by YouTube later on April 17 as one of the site's most popular videos.

"The message of the video and the Stillspeaking campaigns are the best representations of the kingdom of heaven I have experienced in my 25 years in ministry," says Chaplain PJ Banks-Anderson, a Gulf War veteran and military chaplain. "Through my continuing work with military families, I am able to use ‘The Language of God' ad and the ‘God is Still Speaking' campaign in a number of ways."

A retired Navy Chaplain, Banks-Anderson is a volunteer chaplain in the Civil Air Patrol, an auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force. Currently completing a yearlong Clinical Pastoral Education residency in Metairie, La., Banks-Anderson is the founder of the National Restoration to Military Families Team.

The video and the Stillspeaking campaign create safe environments for individuals "to seek, explore and define themselves as God has defined them," says Banks-Anderson. "Everyone has a place at God's table, in God's house, and within God's heart without condition. It is a message of love that saves minds and lives from the torment of secrecy and fear of rejection."

The Rev. Milton Dudley was caught up in the ad's panorama of diversity. "I was drawn to the wonderful series of scenes from the diverse lives in our churches," says Dudley, pastor of Keene Valley (N.Y.) Congregational UCC.

As many others have attested, Dudley says all of the elements of the video's powerful message cannot be absorbed in one viewing.

"The pacing is good – fast, but not too fast," says Dudley. "I found myself watching again to see what I missed. The second time I watched it, I thought it had an overabundance of people of color. The third time I watched, I counted Caucasians and found, to my embarrassment and delight, that it was my Caucasian-centric eyes that were at fault. It was nicely balanced after all."

Milton said the ad's pace prompted surprise among his congregants when they learned the run time was 1 minute, 45 seconds. "They thought it was shorter than that, and that is good."

Lynne Wise, communications coordinator of the Southern Ohio Northern Kentucky Association (SONKA), says she emailed the link to the ad to more than 580 people on her Association's emailnewsletter list, as well as to the SONKA web site. "The younger people and the middle-aged loved it," says Wise. "Personally, it made me feel proud of our denomination."

Video viewer Mick Bradley wrote in an email that, prior to viewing "The Language of God" he was "80 percent certain" that he was going to re-commit his 20-year-old call to Christian ministry and pursue it as a vocation. "This ad is a solid confirmation. And I'm pretty sure I want to do it through the UCC. It will take years, but it's time to become the person I believe I am intended to be."

A study guide is available to facilitate discussions of "The Language of God" in your family or congregation

United Church of Christ News Service