A simply strategy for any church and every believer to take the good news beyond the four walls of the church.
The un-churched need more than a good reason to come visit your church…they need relationships! I am Second with its billboards, relevant stories and simple small groups can help you build those rela- tionships and connect those relationships to Christ and the church.
Welcome to I am Second KC! You have probably seen the billboards around town proclaiming a simple and curious message…I am Second. Hopefully you have been out to the website (iamsecond.com) and seen one or more of the 60 plus videos of people sharing their story of how Christ has radically changed their life. If not I encourage you to go to the website and hear the story of local tattoo artist “Whispering Danny” or former KU basketball star Wayne Simien for starters.
In March of 2011 a group of 800 people from over 100 churches across the area gathered together at Union Station to officially launch the three-year I am Second campaign here in our city. For the next six weeks 35 billboards and hundreds of TV and radio commercials bearing the simple message I am Second, appeared across our city creating curiosity for seekers and oppor- tunity for believers to share their faith.
Like the city-wide crusades of old, I am Second is meant to be a tool that a city uses collectively to share the gospel. Unlike crusades, I am Second is designed to be an ongoing effort rather than a one-time event. Its uniqueness is that any church and every believer across an entire city over an extended period of time can participate through a simple strategy: Sponsor a Billboard, Share the Stories and Start a Group.
Here’s How I am Second Works
Sponsor a Billboard
Before the first billboards in April 2011 about 6,500 people from the region visited the website per month. While the billboards were up we saw over 45,000 visits. People spent an average of 7 minutes on the site and the average length of a video is 7 minutes. Get them to the website and they hear the gospel! Billboards reach the 80% of the city that never darken the doors of our churches and they only cost $1,500 each. Running 35-50 of them four times a year will keep the curiosity factor high for at least 3 years. This is not an event it’s a long-term campaign. You, your church, small group or busi- ness can sponsor a specific billboard 1-4 times a year. Do what you can and together the Body of Christ will keep this going in our city. Click Here to learn more about Sponsor a Billboard
Share the Stories!
That’s the whole point of the billboards. They’re meant to give us a platform to share the stories. All you have to do is wear one of the IAS bracelets or a t-shirt and someone’s going to say, “I saw the billboards, what does it mean?” Tell them it’s a website with some amazing stories of real people in real life who have found help and hope through some amazing circumstances and invite them to check it out. You can also paste the link of various videos into emails to friends and family you know could use the hope and inspiration. People from all walks of life love the videos…share them! The people of your church are the key link from the billboards to your church. Click here for resources to help you Share the Stories.
Start a Group!
Why not take story sharing to the next level? Start an I am Second group with friends, neighbors and co-workers. There are small group lessons on the website that use the videos and an incredibly simple small group approach that anyone can learn and lead. The beauty of an I am Second group is that it’s simple and, because of the billboards and online videos, it’s intriguing to the un-churched. The idea is to start IAS Small Groups outside the church and use them as a bridge into the church. Click here to learn how to start an IAS Small Group
That’s I am Second in a nutshell! Billboards…Stories…Small Groups. It’s about reaching the un-churched where they live through billboards that create curiosity, stories that relate and then building a RELATIONAL bridge back to your church through small groups.