Outreach Materials

As an example, the website meetup.com has been used to effectively advertise a Urantia Book introductory workshop. It's so simple to set up and maintain. Once you've done an introductory session, a Urantia Book study group can be easily formed or new readers can be added to an existing group.

One of the sheets is called "Workshop Process for Facilitators." This is not intended for distribution to the participants unless you're training others to conduct the workshop. Use it to familiarize yourself with the process. The instructions are only intended as guidelines, so feel free to adapt the workshop to suit yourself.

The two sheets, "Dialogue and Debate" and "The Use of Language" are used for preliminary instruction in how to conduct a dialogue among people from different religious backgrounds, which will hopefully be the case with your participants. Use these when there's time for such an orientation before launching into the topics. Notice that the workshop is designed as an interfaith dialogue, using materials from The Urantia Book as a starting point for discussion. This allows participants to be actively involved and express their own understanding of the topics while being exposed to these basic concepts from the book. People who have taken the workshop have been grateful for that approach.

The sheets are coded alphabetically since the order of topics is intentional. Of course you can change the order, but try to see why it is set up that way.

• Workshop Process for Facilitators.pdf
• Dialogue and Debate.pdf
• The Use of Language.pdf
  
• Introduction.pdf
  
• Truth.pdf
  
• The Creator.pdf
  
• Good and Evil.pdf
  
• Free Will.pdf
  
• The Purpose of life.pdf
  
• Personal Evolution.pdf
  
• Death.pdf
  
• The Universe.pdf
  
• Creation and Evolution.pdf
  
• Personal Religion.pdf
  
• The Urantia Book.pdf
  

Outreach Using Craigslist or Facebook

In seeking interesting, non-threatening ways to introduce The Urantia Book to thousands of hungry truth seekers who are yearning for such a beautiful revelation, I have come up with an idea that we can all participate in.

It's an idea that started twenty-five years ago when I had an extra phone line put in my house and bought an answering machine so that people could call in and hear a recorded two-minute message about The Urantia Book. Over the years hundreds, if not thousands, of people listened to that message because of a simple ad I would run every week in a local newspaper. I would have little ads that said things like:

• Atheists! Challenge your beliefs!
• A truth seeker's papadise!
• Religion, Science, and Philosophy can be harmonized!
• Free yourself from fear!
• You can survive death!
• Are you spiritually hungry and still searching?
• Jesus, a fresh new look 2,000 years later.

Mo Siegel and Paula Thompson picked this up and ran with it creating a campaign in the Denver/Boulder area that was seen by thousands. 

Today we have so many new tools at our fingertips and it occurred to me that this method could be morphed into something different but powerful.

So, what I have done is listed an ad on Craigslist in the "General" section which is under "Community." It's very, very simple to place an ad on Craigslist.org. If you would like to try this in your area, and need any help, please contact me. In the subject line of the ad I simply say "You can survive death!" 

Then I put in the Body of the ad the following:

For a free taped message about The Urantia Book call 800-288-3772 or read it here:

The Urantia Book's contents are staggering in their scope and diversity. The Urantia Book has thousands of readers the world over. If you haven't heard of it it's probably because it hasn't been publicized or commercialized. It's not a cult with any strange rules or practices. There are no dues to pay and no human being to exalt in connection with the book.

The Urantia Book is to be used, as a springboard for developing a personal relationship with God. Jesus said, "In preaching the gospel of the kingdom, you are simply teaching friendship with God." Nothing is more important than a firsthand experience of God, and realizing that we can have a loving relationship with God, for ourselves and in our own lives. The Urantia Book fosters tolerance for all sincere efforts to find God, and is true to the teaching of acceptance, forgiveness and love which Jesus so graciously lived 2000 years ago.

The book offers a very straightforward, commonsense approach to God, the universe, our planet and mankind. It plausibly answers the seemingly unanswerable questions like; What happens when we die? How will we ever all learn to get along? Are we the only intelligent beings in the universe? Can religion, science, and philosophy be unified and harmonized? Who are we and where are we going? What is the purpose of life? Why do bad things happen to good people? You will find The Urantia Book's answers to be a revelation beyond imagination. The answers are logical and unequivocal.

The Urantia Book doesn't dull life, it sharpens it. It doesn't attempt to set you apart as a saint in an Godless world. No matter what religion you are, or even if you have no religion, The Urantia Book will intrigue and inspire you.

Go ahead, be skeptical! Get the book for yourself and read it. If it brings an unexplained smile to your face and rings the chord of truth in your heart, you may decide, as so many have, that it's true. The Urantia Book removes fear and doubt and restores faith. It opens hearts to the reality of God's love and to the fact that we live in friendly and well-ordered universe. It offers humanity a wonderful new perspective on our world. That's why we want to share it.

You can find the book in libraries and bookstores and read and listen to it free online, just search U-R-A-N-T-I-A Book. There are also study groups in most US cities. If you would like more information about the book or a list of study groups you can go to our website at www.urantiabook.org or leave your email address and we'll send you a list of ways to access the book for free online.

This script is very similar to the original but Paula made a few changes that, I think, make it really good. I am also including a picture of the book cover on the Craigslist post. I'm using the new cover because I like it better than the one we have now. 

When you call in you'll hear Paula speak it which is really nice to hear. She's got one of those warm, sincere, and persuasive voices that is easy to listen to.

We just happen to obtain an extra 1-800 number and this was the perfect opportunity to implement this program again. 

Please consider doing this in your area. 

Simply:
go on to www.craigslist.org
go to "Community" => "General" then in the top right corner you see "Post." Just click that and then fill in the subject line (as I've suggested here or come up with your own one-liner), then fill in the body of the thing just like an email using the above 800 number and text. You can start an account and there is no charge or big forms to fill out. Keep your ad updated monthly. 

Here are some other ideas for one-liners to put in your Craigslist.org "subject line."

• The Urantia Book: Simply the most important book on our world!
• How to Be Happy
• Synthesizing Science and Religion
• Effective Prayer
• Angels: Their Purpose and Function
• Primary Priorities in Life: The Art of Living
• Relationships are Eternal Things: Ends in and of Themselves
• The Phenomenon of Mind and its Relationship to Spirituality
• Marriage and Family: Partnering with The Opposite Sex and Partner Choosing
• Education: What Should Our Priorities Be in the Twenty-first Century and Beyond
• The Life and Teachings of Jesus: What is his REAL GOSPEL?
• The Future: What to Expect

Good luck and contact me if you need any help.
Andrea Barnes
Click here for a printable version of this outreach idea

Information on how to help with or acquire spiritual vitamins Please visit www.spiritualvitamins.us and have a look.
Put up Flyers in Your Area Wherever you go take flyers with you. Print up some of the brochures that you see listed below and keep them with you. Post them on billboards, leave them in restrooms, gas stations, in bookstores, etc.

Planning and Executing an Expo in your area Having an expo in your area with a booth set up for The Urantia Book is easy and fun. The Outreach Committee of The Urantia Book Fellowship will help you every step of the way. All you need to do is find an expo that is close by going to these websites:

• http://www.bodymindspiritdirectory.org/FindExpos.html

Then you find a few people (three to four) that want to help you run the booth, although it is not advisable to have more than two or three readers in the booth at one time. Let us know your dates and we can ship the books and materials you'll need and, if possible, come and help you with the expo.

Guidelines for running a booth
Sign-up sheet

Cosmic Cafe

The intention of a "Cosmic Café" is to provide regularly scheduled, focused discussions that enhance spiritual awareness such that all involved are uplifted and transformed by the experience. This leads to meeting your community and discussing topics where The Urantia Book can easily be brought up.

This is not a direct way to introduce the book but rather a great way to meet new friends. Many times the opportunity arises for a discussion of the book as a natural course of meeting these new, like-minded friends. So the Cosmic Café is a weekly opportunity for spiritually minded individuals to connect in a friendly, supportive, and yet neutral environment to share ideas, insights and beliefs for the betterment of the whole (each individual).

• Cosmic Café New Host Packet
• Poster for announcing the Cosmic Café
• Let us know if you need a blank poster that you can use to fill in your own info.

Interfacing with LDS Members—by Len McKee

There are so many interesting parallels between the Mormon Religion and The Urantia Book. Many believe that perhaps Joseph Smith received a revelation that paved the way for the Fifth Epochal Revelation. If you consider that the early Mormons took the blows of persecution, literally, that we do not have to endure today by espousing "another bible." Their prophecy says that they will be tested and if "they are deemed worthy" will receive another revelation.

Speak to Groups About The Urantia Book Many churches (especially Unity and many new age churches) will allow you to speak at their church and discuss The Urantia Book. Simply contact the minister to find out about when you can have the class. We've done this after the Sunday service and had up to 23 people show up for. Here is a speech that can be used and modified for your particular group.

• Speech to give to groups developed by Carol Weatherford 
• Here's what some people say when introducing the book
• Refer to the earlier article (above) on doing outreach with Craigslist. It gives some good introductory ideas.

Big Blue Book App

Did you know that the entire Urantia Book is available on your iPhone or other portable device? Just go to your app. area and type in Big Blue Book. You'll see it's available from Dandelion Applications. Todd, who created this says "Something like 1 out of every 5 people with a smartphone have an iPhone these days. Each of them has a simple-to-use, unabridged, complimentary copy of the book waiting for them, if only they knew. While a good number of people continue to find and download it every day, especially by UB distribution standards, there's plenty of more room for people to get their hands on a copy of the book through this route."
THANKS TODD!