Howard Conder, the Man Behind the "Quote Jesus" Campaign on London's City Buses
Have you been walking or riding around London and seen quotes of Jesus on the side of the city's bright red buses? When I saw the first "Quote Jesus" on the side of a bus I was mesmerized, thinking, "how did the person behind this manage to pull off putting quotes of Jesus on public transport?" And I started digging to find out the person behind this campaign.
It's Howard Conder, the founder of Revelation TV, which first started broadcasting programs on secular and Christian channels back in the mid 90’s. Howard has a loving family and lives in Surbiton, England. He has chosen to dedicate his life to sharing the word of God in the hope it will bring light to people’s lives.
How has Howard been able to pull off putting the words of Jesus on a city's public buses in a major city of the world? Well, while the quotes do come from Bible verses, they are quotes and no one can stop someone from putting quotes on an advert, even if they do come from Jesus.
Sit back and enjoy my interview with Howard Conder. And a special thanks for Kate Fairhurst for making this happen.
Seele Magazine: Howard, how did you come to know Jesus?
Howard Conder: A Jehovah’s Witness knocked on my door, as they normally do. I was about 20 years old and it was a time in my life where I was asking questions. I wanted the answers to come from my dad but my dad was dead. I found myself praying to God and I said, “if you are real I want some help.”
There was a knock on my door and someone asked me, “What part does God play in your life?” And I said “No role but I wouldn’t mind knowing about him.” And that’s how it started. I started to read the Bible for myself, not just the New World Translation, which is different (if I can put it politely). I started with Genesis and it took me 2 ¼ years to read the whole Bible because I’m dyslexic. When I started to read the New Testament and came to the person of Jesus Christ, he struck me as someone with authority, that was gentle, that was caring, and he wept with people at a time they needed it the most. For example, he wept with the widow who buried her son.
And then there were times that Jesus always had an answer for people who were trying to trick him with their questions. But he would respond with a question and say “I’ll tell you if you tell me this.” And the person would run away, unless they were trying to get to know deeper spiritual things.
So the more I read and got to know who Jesus is the more I loved the man.
You know, it’s hard to relate to the Heavenly Father if you haven’t got an earthly father. So, coming to know Jesus has been brilliant.
When I’m faced with challenges I often ask myself “what would Jesus say or think?” And that helps temper the nasty side of my character. Everyone has a good and nasty side of their character- let’s be honest. So, I want to be more like him.
SM: What led you to do the Quote Jesus campaign?
HC: I was sitting at my computer and asking God what he wanted me to do for 2017. I usually pray like that at the end of each year. It was a few weeks before Christmas.
It was a supernatural experience and I heard a clear voice that said, “Here is what I want you to do.” And the whole idea of the Quote Jesus campaign came within a matter of minutes. It was a short conversation but it included the strategies, and the website name (and that was amazing because that was the only one available less than £10, as the others were several thousand Pounds for the domain name). I was so excited and it a matter of 4 weeks we were on the buses with the quotes.
I mean, if I had to go through a committee I’d probably still be going through the approval stages. And here we are 6 months later.
SM: Have you been challenged by groups or individuals who want the quotes on buses taken down?
HC: No, but one person did say to me the quote “Look, I am coming again soon”- is not true. He was quite aggressive and I understood where he was coming from. So, I wrote back to him and shared with him the Scripture in 2 Peter 3:8 that says “one day is like a thousand years.” And Jesus said “Look I am coming again soon” (Revelation 22:12)- so Jesus is coming in a couple of days in God’s sight. But time is relative.
It is Jesus who said the actual quote if you look in Revelation. If we look at the first chapter it is Jesus who is the actual instigator of the quotes that are in there.
But yeah, he was the only one I’ve come across that has been negative. But all good stuff because it means that he was challenged.
SM: How much does it cost to keep the Quote Jesus campaign up and running per month?
HC: I can’t discuss that because I am under a nondisclosure agreement. But, I go through an advertising agency.
Take 25 of the London “Boris Buses” as they call it- the new and beautiful buses. The book rate is about £40,000 and it lasts two weeks per 25 buses. They are on a specific route, the Boris Buses.
And the last campaign I did have 75 buses. There are only 250 of those specific buses but they’re continually going around Westminster and the central London area- and that’s what I wanted. I have included.
I also have recently done a campaign where I had buses going across London and the Home Counties. That campaign was around the same sort of price (booking rate).
It is a lot of money, even with the discount- haha.
SM: Have there been any other success stories of people coming to know Jesus by seeing the quotes?
HC: The most profound one I remember reading was written by a friend of a friend who had been trying to share Jesus with a friend. The non believing friend had seen the quote: “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). He was struggling with alcoholism and was working in the Holborn area. And the friend, who had been trying to lead him to Christ, had been trying for 10 years. The struggling friend, during his lunchtime would sit in a church in Holborn. He wanted to be alone with God because He was asking God for some sort of sign.
He walked out of the church and sees the bus with the Jesus quote “Today you will be with me in paradise.” It connected with him in such a way and it lifted his spirit. He stopped drinking and turned his life around, but he is struggling to tell his wife and friends that he has given his life to Jesus.
You know, I often think, “I don’t know how many people are going to read and see these adverts.” But you know, that’s not my problem. My job is to do what the Lord asked me to do and get the quotes up on the London buses. Because I believe that the Word of God is alive and sharper than any two-edge sword, it divides spirit and soul, and it even discerns the intentions of the heart. God said he would send his Holy Spirit to bring his people to a place of truth, and if and when someone reads the Jesus Quotes that is between God and that individual. My job is done.
SM: Is the Quote Jesus campaign working on any other initiatives?
HC: I’ve got this idea and I’ve already started speaking to an agency to place television adverts with quotes of Jesus. Initially, the Advertising Standards Agency said they'll entertain the idea but they need a clear plan. So, I've got some thoughts on having a commercial with Jesus quotes- one that's acceptable for the Advertising Standards Agency, and also, one that will appeal to people watching the advert and soften their hearts.
I thought of the Beatitudes because it's so beautiful. The idea is to get people from all different walks of life and different races, and they all say a different part of the Beatitudes.
The advertising agency needs a pilot so I'm going to do one.
SM: Are there any other cities doing the campaign?
HC: I really feel the Lord would be happy if this initiative would go into other parts of the world. I'd like to encourage people to start to do something similar in any country of the world.
We've had inquiries from America, Australia and Bulgaria where they want to do the same. So we're going to come up with some sort of strategy that would enable the people who have the heart to do this. The challenge is that people don't have the finances to pull a campaign like this off, so we're trying to think of a way that people would be able still do this.
SM: Howard, when you hear the name Jesus what comes to mind?
HC: The perfect answer and solution to today's problems. All of them. Simply put.