Meet the Man Putting Jesus Quotes On London Busses

QUOTE JESUS
Howard Conder is the founder of Revelation TV and the creative force behind the “Quote Jesus” campaign. The goal of the campaign is to use London buses to advertise the words of Jesus. With around 10 million people who live and or work in the London area, six million travelling on the London buses each day, and 17 million tourists visiting London every year, the scriptures have the potential to reach many people. So far, Howard and his team have run bus ads during early 2017, Easter 2017 and May / June 2017. The scriptures have reached six and a half million people.

The spiritual climate in England is a tumultuous one. Only 3.25 million people attend church regularly. Many have not read the Bible or ever heard the words of Jesus. Many people have turned to self-harm to deal with difficult emotions, and the suicide rate is increasing rapidly. Against this backdrop, “Quote Jesus” seeks to bring Jesus’s words of hope to many people struggling in this generation. The inspiration for “Quote Jesus” came from Howard's personal experience. “Growing up in the sixties and being involved in the music scene I was exposed to many influences, but the words of Jesus made sense and had the biggest impression. I want people to experience what I did and understand that there is hope, both for ourselves and for a better world.” Howard believes the campaign can influence hearts, minds and perceptions, and offer people today a glimpse of hope and belief for a better future. He said, “In the wake of the Westminster attacks it is clear that hope, or to be precise the lack of hope, is becoming an issue in this generation. We think the Bible has a lot say about ‘hope’, and our vision for this campaign is to influence the hearts, minds and perceptions of this generation, to offer them hope and faith for a better future.”
    
Quotes used in the campaign include, “Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die,” “In my Father’s house there are many mansions” and “I am the way, the truth and the life,” and five others. Howard believes this generation is missing out because it has little knowledge of what the Bible has to say. He said, “It was second nature to attend church when I was growing up, but today how many people know that Jesus said, ‘Do not worry for each day has enough worry of its own’ or ‘Come to me all that are weary and burdened and I will give you rest’?”

News of the pilot campaign has spread quickly and endorsements have been received from Christians in America, Australia and many parts of the UK. Howard plans to expand the campaign to other locations, both in the UK and around the world, utilizing buses and other advertising media. In addition to bus advertising, the campaign will also run online at www.QuoteJesus.com and via social media [#QuoteJesus] providing more examples of the words of hope that Jesus spoke.

FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS TO TV HOST
Howard was born with severe pneumonia during the bitter winter of 1945-46. It left him physically weak for years. After his father was semi-paralyzed at age 39, Howard and his three siblings looked after themselves. His mother found it hard to cope and the children were often neglected. It was particularly hard for Howard, who had adored his father but now found himself virtually ignored.

Young Howard was often bullied at school, and turned to music and sports for relief.  His hobby of drumming led to him being asked to join a group called the Barron Knights, and at 15, he left home to tour with the band. Unfortunately, the physical demands of touring and emotional isolation led to exhaustion and depression. Howard also found the music industry to be cut throat and immoral. He eventually left the group. Howard stayed in the music business and became record producer for Robert Stigwood and Brian Epstein (NEMS Enterprises, the Beatles and the Bee Gees Management Company). He eventually opened a musical equipment rental business where he supplied many of the top recording artists with any instruments or kit they required for making their records, including The Rolling Stones, The Moody Blues, Johnny Nash, Bob Marley and many others circa late 60’s to early 70’s. He had his first Rolls Royce and Aston Martin by the age of 23.

Howard believes he was blessed because of applying biblical principles as he had started to read the Bible for himself from beginning to the end. When a client invited him to church, both he and his wife, former teacher Lesley, became committed Christians. In 1991, his pastor invited him to set up a media team. Howard taught himself the technical aspects of TV. Soon Howard began to work with God TV and put his own program, ‘Revelation’ on their Christian Channel Europe. In 2003, Howard and Lesley started their own station, “Revelation TV.”

Today, the channel broadcasts to millions of households in the UK and Europe via SKY, FreeSAT and FreeView; and worldwide via the Internet and various apps, with viewers stretching as far as Australia and New Zealand. As of 2012, Revelation TV broadcasts from studio base in Spain. An underground parking garage was converted into a new state-of-the art television studio, where a large number of programs now transmits from, such as Voice in the Wilderness, Late Show, and Q & A show.