The next time you ask God for a sign...
Billboard campaign gets its message out to interstate drivers
By HELEN T. GRAY
The Kansas City Star
There amid the gaudy highway billboards is a stark black sign with bold white lettering that asks a simple question:
"What would you attempt for Me if you knew you could not fail?" - Jesus.
The sign appeared Oct. 1 on Interstate 70 just west of Paseo. It includes a phone number that rings to a phone bank in a church and he letters "SOS".
The "Jesus speaks" sign is the brainchild of Kansas City real - estate agent Frank Moseley.
"We all ask God to meet our needs, But I've never heard anybody get to the point of offering to meet Jesus' needs," Moseley Said, explaining that the purpose of the campaign is to introduce people to Jesus and give them a chance to join Jesus' family.
In The 1980's there was a very successful slogan which said, 'When E.F. Hutton speaks, people listen,'"Moseley said. "I got to thinking how much more important it is when Jesus speaks that we should listen."
The new Billboard is not one of the "God Speaks" billboards that have appeared all over the country. Those use a variety of pithy sayings like "What part of 'thou shalt not' don't you understand?" and signed "God." Moseley, an enthusiastic Christian, wanted to emphasize Jesus.
"The 'God' signs provoke people's thinking about God, but ones I have seen have no way of contacting anybody. On the 'Jesus Speaks' signs, there is a phone number (432-2767) where callers can call for help.
The Sign on the back of the 'Jesus Speaks' billboards carries a message form the Missouri Lottery, which until last month had both sides of the billboard.
"People driving into the city couldn't help but see that lottery billboard," Moseley said. It's been there for years. Now look at what they'll see," he said with a chuckle.
Between 70,000 and 75,000 people pass the sign on weekdays, said Dave Odegard of Lamar advertising, which owns the billboard.
Using billboards for such a religious message is "probably not a bad idea," said Shelly Burrus,media buyer at the advertising agency Kuhn & Whittenborn. If the objective is to generate interest and calls, it is a cost - effective medium.
"You have a pretty captive audience, people stuck in rush hour on a main artery, and a lot of them have car phones. It definitely would get my attention. There's the whole visual appeal, a short message that piques your curiosity."
Moseley thinks the sign will attract three types of people: Christians who will be challenged to do more for Jesus, non-Christians and those who question their spirituality.
The Rev. Randy Burns, an associate Pastor at Sheffield where the phone bank is, said the more one thinks about the question on the billboard, the more it makes an impact.
"Most people don't think about what are God's needs, what does He want from us," Burns said. "It's a co-mission. We have the privilege of working with God to carry out His mission to reach as many people as possible."
Moseley hopes churches and religious groups across the country will become a part of the "Jesus Speaks" campaign and sponsor a sign. Moseley started with His church, Sheffield, to launch the project, after getting approval from Senior Pastor, the Rev. George Westlake Jr.
Twenty-five to 30 Sheffield members have taken training to answer the phones and to present the SOS soul-winning plan. The volunteers answer the phones from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and return the calls of those who call at other times.
Even with training, David Kerns of Parksville was nervous when the phones started to ring earlier this week. One caller was a woman who said she was glad to see the sign, Kerns said. A man said he liked the sign but wanted the name of Jesus taken down and replaced with "In God We Trust."
"He said we need this and talked about how far the country has fallen," Kerns said. "He said he had a hard time believing the Jesus story but believes God is in Him."
Many callers simply have been curious about the sign, Burns said.
Marilyn Kerns, David's wife, said she wants to see more churches get involved so that more billboards can go up.
"The sign is speaking to people," she said. "It's a wake-up call to our city and a great outreach. I think it's an exciting thing."
To reach Helen T. Gray, religion editor at the Star, call (816) 234-4446 or send e-mail to hgray@kcstar.com
