Churches are being invited to sponsor a bus shelter advertising campaign in the run up to Christmas.

ChurchAds.net plans to put posters in bus shelters across the UK carrying the message 'Christmas Starts with Christ' and depicting the nativity.

Churches are being asked to sponsor a bus shelter carrying one of the posters and airtime for an accompanying radio advertisement for the campaign, which will run in the last three weeks of December.

Mike Elms, of ChurchAds.net, said: "If churches all over the country buy 2,000 bus shelters and fund 2,500 airplays of the radio commercials, the campaign would be seen or heard by around 60 per cent of the UK population.

"Imagine the impact that will be created by this powerful Gospel proclamation," he added.

A poll by Theos think tank last year found that more than a third of the British public believed that the virgin birth really happened, while more than half agreed that the birth of Jesus was "significant".

Further research by Theos also found that only 12 per cent of adults know the facts of the Christmas story.

Visit www.ChurchAds.net to download free posters.'