Meeting People Where They Are 

Many years ago, Need Him Global was recognized for going somewhere no one thought God would show up. That campaign brought the Gospel to MTV. Much has changed since then. How people view television and movies is completely different. Technology now allows us to watch on demand, skip commercials and stream content to other devices. The average millennial now watches 10 hours less of television each week than just 5 years ago. This dynamic obviously changes how effective television is for advertising the Gospel or anything else.

Streaming options have also changed the music industry and how we incorporate music into our everyday lives. According to Nielsen Music, on average, Americans now spend just slightly more than 32 hours a week listening to music. That’s an increase of over 9 hours per week from just two years ago. And this most often happens through someone’s mobile device.

This is the backdrop for why Pandora satellite radio has become a regular part of our advertising strategy to invite people to have a conversation about Jesus. We buy commercial time on Pandora on secular channels only and often the most extreme music you can imagine. The commercial is only 25 seconds and starts with a question asking if you wonder whether God exists or cares. The beauty of this is we simply ask them to touch their phone and it automatically opens a text message to the ministry starting a conversation without any need to remember a number or go to a web site. It is very common to have people respond and share that this message was so unexpected that it made them stop and want to talk.

Need Him Global ran a campaign on Pandora this summer and has another running right now. Volunteers tell us how much they enjoy these conversations because they are so real and organic. They literally come from someone stopping what they are doing and wanting to talk with a stranger about God.  We have many examples of people sharing that they were seriously contemplating suicide and heard the commercial and stopped in their tracks. Not every conversation is that dramatic, but they are all opportunities to share biblical truth and tell someone that is alone and hurting that God loves them.