Family Car Journey on a Saturday Afternoon

Rev. Paul Thompson, the minister of Mount Merrion Free Presbyterian Church, Belfast, sent an email with a few photo attachments to me this evening.

He explained, "Out driving this afternoon, our young lad shouts out from the back seat, 'Mummy there's one of those posters the same as ours at the Church!'

This happened twice on this afternoon ... so we took pics for you."

The first billboard is on Skipton street, off the Albertbridge Road, Belfast.

The other one is outside Antrim Police station, Antrim town.

'Shoplites' on Display

Most newspaper reporters to whom I have been speaking immediately ask, "What are those?" when I mention the fact that we are advertising our 'Consider Christ' Campaign on 60 x Shoplites across the country.

They are known as '6–sheets' in the advertising world ... basically 6 times the size of A4 adverts that usually fit behind a perspex covering.

The locations that have 'Consider Christ' Shoplites are:

Belfast
Great Victoria Street Bus Station
Hi Park Centre (Car Park)
Great Northern Station
Dunnes, Cornmarket, High Street Entrance
305 Holywood Road, Russell Cellars
2 Castlereagh Road (Coffee Shop)
QE1, 32-49 Castlereagh Road
Dunnes Stores, Annadale
Forestside @ Ormeau Road Car Park Exit
Forestside @ M&S
Forestside @ Sainsburys (x2)
Orpen Centre (x2)
Westwood Shopping Centre
Michael’s Place, 270 Donegall Road
Park Centre (x2)
Asda, Shore Road
Tesco, Antrim Road
York Street Station
Yorkgate
Kings Road Shopping Centre (x2)

Co Antrim
Northcott Shopping Centre, Glengormley (x2)
Tesco, Cammoney Road
Tramways Shopping Centre, Glengormley
Decourcey Centre, Carrickfergus (x2)
High Street Car Park, Ballymena
Tesco, Dunmurry (x2)
Tesco, Lisburn (x2)

Co Down
Dundonald Ice Bowl
Asda, Dundonald
Tesco, Holywood
Bloomfields, Bangor
Berkshire Centre, Donaghadee Road
Hardford Link, Newtownards
Supervalu, Comber

Asda, Downpatrick
Supervalu, Banbridge
Tesco, Banbridge (x2)
Tesco, Newcastle (x2)
Asda, Kilkeel
Buttercrane Shopping Centre, Newry
Dunnes, Newry (x2)

Co Londonderry
Foyleside Bus Depot, Londonderry
Dunnes Stores, Coleraine (x2)

Co Armagh
High Street Mall, Portadown
Rushmere Shopping Centre

Co Tyrone
Tesco, Dungannon
Asda, Cookstown

Co Fermanagh
Dunnes, Enniskillen

If anyone can provide photographs of the Shoplites at these locations, I would be delighted to have them.

Campaign Featured in the 'Irish News'

More publicity for the 'Consider Christ' Campaign in the form of an article in the 'Irish News.'

The street cred of this paper?

To quote Wikipedia:

"The Irish News is a compact-sized daily newspaper based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is perceived as being broadly Irish nationalist in outlook.

It focuses primarily on Ulster content, though it is also available throughout Ireland.

It is the second most read newspaper in Northern Ireland and it is also widely read in County Donegal."

It has a daily circulation of almost 50,000.

Some Tremendous Reactions

Today seemed to be, 'Reaction To The Campaign Day.'

I rejoiced in this reaction too!

The responses included:

• One of the ladies from our church in Londonderry was standing at a bus stop outside the church. A friend came along, holding her 3-year-old nephew by the hand. This aunt pointed at our church banner and then said about the wee guy, "He's just said that we got one of those in the post"!

Not bad recognition skills (to tie in our church banner with the tract that was delivered by his postman) for a wee guy who's just started playschool a few days ago!

• During a 15-minute phone call from the 'Irish News,' where the female journalist was asking me for all kinds of details about our 'Consider Christ' Campaign, she stated that it was "very impressive," "on a huge scale," and wished us every success. She plans to write an article on it (watch this space!).

• One of the members of our Facebook Group, 'Doing Something More For God,' sent me a photo from his mobile phone of one of our 'mini-posters' at Great Victoria Street train station. He commented that, "a few hundred people would be passing this every day and it's in the line of sight for those coming straight off the train."

The same contact later told me that people in his workplace have been discussing the contents of the billboards and tracts.

• On the way home from school my daughter heard a 15-year-old boy sitting on the seat in front of her on the bus turn to his friend as the bus drew alongside one of the 'Consider Christ' billboards in Londonderry, "Did you get one of those Consider Christ things through your door?"

• From Taleen Thomassian: "I just seen one of the leaflets come through my friends door in Ballymoney ... . I was so happy when I seen it!!!!!! Fab work!!!!"

• Andrew Fitton passed on the following message re another of our shoplite adverts:

"Dad said to drop you a message about the shoplite sign at Tesco Dungannon. It was up sometime yesterday. Everyone going in should be able to see it, stands over whole carpark."

• And ... as the reaction continues to pour in, I have not deliberately been saving the 'best wine to the last,' although this is how it has turned out!

I have just received this message (6:06pm, Thursday 10/9/2009):

"Amen. The Campaign is going well. Already I've heard of ones saved through the Leaflets and the Billboards in Comber and Ards areas. I hope and pray that many more precious souls get saved and even beat the number of people that were saved in the 1859 Revival. God Bless."

Let Your Light So Shine!

I checked out the effectiveness of this billboard by night.

Coming on 12 midnight – and the light is still shining!

It's wonderful to witness the truth of the Gospel displayed in this fashion on such a major route out of the city.

Reminds me of the little chorus we sing in our Children's Meeting:

Let it shine over Londonderry, I'm gonna let it shine ... .

May God be pleased to illuminate some darkened hearts by means of this Board!

'Consider Christ' Prismatic Board @ Londonderry

I'm still not up to speed with the system operated by the billboard companies.

I expected all the billboards to appear on Monday, but, contacts from across the country and a few fruitless trips to the Cityside, Londonderry over the past couple of days later, this is obviously not the case.

Some appeared on Monday as scheduled, others on Tuesday, and still more on Wednesday.

However, I can report that the 2 x billboards in this City are up – and I have been assured that all boards will be up for the complete length of their two-week cycle.

Sorted ... .

Looking very well, too!

Novel Way To Display Our Banner!

They've found a novel way to display the 'Consider Christ' banner @ Cloughmills FPC.

As the photo shows, they've constructed a wooden display on the grass mound outside the church ... an excellent site from which to announce this biblical message!

Billboard @ Ballyclose Street, LIMAVADY

In addition to the billboard I photographed @ Chapel Hill, Lisburn, I received info that other billboards had been erected, at ...

• Newry,

• The Oval, Belfast,

• Church Square, Banbridge,

Plus the above photo was taken tonight @ Ballyclose Street, Limavady.

www.considerchrist.info

After several weeks of work, our Campaign website is now "live"!

Articles / details / etc., are still to be added; the site is to be streamlined ..... but we're up and running on the first day of the Campaign!

Initial reaction is very positive too ... .

www.considerchrist.info

Some Billboards Are 'Go'! More To Come!

On the way to another sub-Committee meeting for the 'Consider Christ' Campaign in Lisburn today, I performed a few mini-detours to check if our billboards were in place.

Nothing on either site in Londonderry .....

Nothing in Antrim .....

With 4 minutes to go to the meeting - and persuaded in my mind that the billboards were not going to be put up until the afternoon, I approached one of the Lisburn sites .........

..... and saw it!!!

..... with people looking at it too!!

A quick spin of a roundabout and my car came to a halt in a 'loading bay only.' Within 30 seconds a couple of snaps were taken – and I was off to the meeting, able to report that I had seen my first 'Consider Christ' billboard on Chapel Road, Lisburn!

First 'Consider Christ' Tracts Received in Comber!

I have received reports of the first of our Campaign Tracts ('The Alphabet of Salvation') being delivered in Comber, Co. Down.

These were delivered by the Royal Mail on Saturday, 5 September ... 2 days before their 'due date.'

Top marks to the local sorting office for getting the distribution under way well before time!