Pornography has enslaved many. Perhaps you are one of its slaves.

Throughout March, Outreach Media is embarking on a bold poster campaign to show the freedom and hope that Jesus offers. The poster will be displayed outside churches across Australia – here it is (click to enlarge):

I hesitate in describing this as a ‘bold campaign’. On one level it’s bold, because churches don’t often speak about pornography. I don’t think pastors avoid this topic – I’ve heard it preached against in sermons, and pastors regularly counsel people who struggle with this issue. But for a church to speak out about pornography, to display a poster emblazoned with the word ‘pornography’ is unusual. Have you seen this before?

However, on another level, it’s not that bold, it’s just refreshing and exciting to see churches talking about something that’s so now so big and awkward for our community. For a church to publicly make mention of the issue shows that not only are Christians aware of the current issues and struggles of our society, but we also know the source of hope in the despair these struggles bring. We shouldn’t be ashamed to speak truth and offer hope to our communities, in the form of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The campaign will have several elements:

• the poster, displayed outside over 100 churches across Australia,
• a website (pornequalsdespair.org – soon to be launched) that is promoted on the poster,
• a DVD, and
• a seminar (in Sydney, Australia)

Malcolm Williams is the Director of Outreach Media, and so I’ll let him explain the background to the campaign and what will take place during March:

Why are we doing this? Because Internet pornography is dramatically changing community behaviour and standards. What’s different about Internet pornography is the triple ‘A’ threat. More and more people are slipping into watching pornography and struggling because online pornography lacks accountability, it’s anonymous and it’s so accessible.

The sex industry is now a $100 + billion industry. But what about internet pornography? Well, there are all sorts of statistics on its scope and scale. But who really knows? Certainly its income is in the billions. However, the telling statistic comes from Google. Currently one quarter of all Google searches are now for pornography. These days Google doesn’t readily reveal total search figures. But last year a research group called comScore estimated that Google handled 235 million searches a day in July.

The latest statistics on gender usage may surprise. Internet Pornography is not an exclusively male thing. In fact, usage splits 70% male and 30% female.

And the effects of Internet pornography are being felt in churches.

The March campaign

Our March poster provides your church with a platform to raise this issue not only with your congregation but with the whole community. And this is honouring to the Lord Jesus Christ. We, of all people, should be the ones who deal truthfully and frankly with difficult topics, showing leadership in our communities.

Almost certainly there are people in your church who are struggling. And you can’t be sure who they are. It may be retirees, it may be children as young as six or seven. Remember the triple ‘A’ threat.

The DVD

We initially planned to resource the poster with a kit that had a script, some handouts and an accompanying PowerPoint? to help churches run an information night for the whole community. However the more we thought about the project it became clear that this subject demands a proper DVD presentation from relevant experts.

As we spoke to therapists and those who’ve run information nights in local schools for parents, we discovered something important. People simply don’t come to information nights on the issue. The reason is the enormous shame attached. Many people feel compromised because they’ve looked at even a little Internet pornography. Because sexuality is so core to our being, the shame is all the greater. Many people no doubt think that by attending they’re owning up to having a ‘problem’.

So, those who we’ve spoken with suggest that those churches organising a presentation strongly encourage the whole congregation to attend. This helps all those attending to feel safe and not embarrassed. The DVD we’re producing will work with all members of the community. It will include a diagnostic tool to help people determine where they’re at with their current behaviour as well as other resources that can be downloaded and printed.

How do I get the DVD?
Because of the importance of the issue, we are relying on donations to fund the production costs. We will send it to you for $10 (which covers our postage and handling). Please just reply to this email and indicate that you’d like to have the DVD sent to you. Make sure to include your postage details.

Please let friends in other churches know about this DVD. The DVD offer and price is also available to non Outreach Poster churches.

When will it be available?
 We’re still finishing off the DVD and expect it to be ready for shipping on March 20. Please order the DVD now to help us know how many copies to print. Email Outreach Media with the number of copies required and your postal address.

Seminar

Finally, if you’re church is in striking distance of Ryde in Sydney you may prefer to come along on Wednesday 31st March to hear Derek Higgo (Psychotherapist and counsellor) and others speak about pornography. The event will be held at the Ryde Anglican Centre at 7:30pm.

Again, for the reasons mentioned above, we suggest that you strongly encourage the whole congregation to come. Please book your church in early as there are limited places. To book, please email Outreach Media and provide the numbers for your church. If you have any questions about the event, call Judith on (02) 8898 9320.