Catholics Are Coming Home

People all over the nation have seen the television ads asking  Catholics to come home. So where did the commercials come from? You may be surprised to learn, they are based right here in Roswell.

Why they were made is a question best answered by Catholics Come Home founder, Tom Peterson.

Thirteen years ago, Peterson attended a married men’s retreat. "It was a very spiritually uplifting experience that changed my life. Even though I went to mass every Sunday prior to that, I didn’t make God the center of my life until that retreat experience.”

Peterson said he learned how much more joyful, rich and happy his life and his families lives could be with God at the center of it and wanted to share that with others.

Around the same time, he was asked to help the Diocese of Phoenix invite people back to the church for the Jubilee 2000, to which he said, “Yeah, that’s exactly what I feel called to do.” 

Because of a simple radio and television campaign, 3,000 people came back to the church in a matter of a few weeks.

When Tom moved to Georgia six years ago, he decided to launch the CCH campaign again.

“We tested the ads again in Phoenix. This time, 92,000 people came back to church,” he said.

Since that time CCH has launched in 60 media markets. About 40 million people are estimated to have seen their ads.

“We know that over 200,000 people have come back to the Catholic Church in the last two years alone and that number will probably double by Easter,” said Peterson.

This is the first time the CCH campaign has aired in Georgia. It began Dec. 15 and will run until Jan 23.  Statewide they are running 9,000 ads in all the media markets. Over 4,000 of those ads are in the Atlanta area; 30 different ads run on MTV, VH1, Fox, BET, E and other stations geared toward a younger demographic.

 “We’ve had people say ‘I’ve cried and ran right to confession,' or 'I came right back to church,' or 'I really decided I’m going to be a better father.’ It reminds us that God has a plan for our life. He loves us. He wants us to do good in the world and help others,” Peterson said.

A 17 year old boy , Richie, a Polish immigrant, saw the ad on Polish television in Chicago. He reported, “Man, I was drifting into agnosticism not even caring if there was a God. Man it really convicted me and I’m back home. Thank you so much. I was so lost.”

According to Peterson, life has gotten very busy and the world offers a lot of distractions to lure people away from God and church.

“We’re hearing great things from our Protestant and Evangelical brothers and sisters. It’s really building community and probably helping people of all faiths realize how much God loves them how much Jesus has done for us and how much he wants us to be a family and to love and help others in the world. It’s had a very positive impact so far,” he said.

The ultimate answer as to why the CCH videos were created, according to Peterson, is, “We want to serve our heavenly father through the gifts he has given us in media and help millions of people around the world to know and love God and serve each other and ultimately change our world for the better.”

Besides Catholics Come Home, Peterson also runs another non-profit called Virtue Media. In one month, 22,000 pregnant teen girls called into their help line because of the Virtue Media ads and website.

Volunteers and donations are needed to help the five full time employees that run Catholics Come Home and Virtue Media. Contact Yvonne@virtuemedia.org or call 770-559-5533.

To learn more about CCH visit www.CatholicsComeHome.org or their Spanish site,  www.CatolicosRegreSen.Org.