While researching in preparation for our television documentary “Asia: The Great Wall and Beyond,” I discovered that legendary missionary William Carey really understood the power of a creative tagline.
Carey, who many consider the father of the missionary movement, organized a missionary society in 1792 and launched an evangelistic meeting with the line: “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God!”
That line so inspired the people of his time that in spite of widespread skepticism of missions, within a year, he was on a ship traveling to India to begin his ministry. A book that addresses his influence and that simple but powerful line goes on to say the following:
“His greatest legacy was in the worldwide missionary movement of the nineteenth century that he inspired. Missionaries like Adoniram Judson, Hudson Taylor, and David Livingstone, among thousands of others, were impressed not only by Carey’s example, but by his words ‘Expect great things; attempt great things.’ The history of nineteenth-century Protestant missions is in many ways an extended commentary on the phrase.”
Corporations use tag lines all the time to great success. All the way back to “The Pause That Refreshes” (Coca-Cola 1927), taglines have made a dramatic difference in capturing the attention of consumers with a well crafted line. Here’s a good list of the 50 Greatest Taglines of all time.
So the next time you need a great line to launch a product, sermon series, fundraising campaign, or to change your perception in the marketplace, remember missionary William Carey.
Although he started his career as a businessman making shoes, he didn’t have any training in advertising. And yet his one single line inspired one of the greatest missionary movements in history.
Will your next tagline have that much power?
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Phil Cooke, a writer, television producer and media consultant, and originally published at philcooke.com.
