One of the most difficult aspects of starting a social movement is finding ways to advertise your group to the public; initially, it is hard to figure who you should be targeting.  Through the use of preexisting social organizations and networks, it becomes much easier to recruit  new members and advertise  your cause.  The Fundamentalist Christian movement has an advantage in that they have two large and well established groups, the Christian Coalition (CC) and the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), which can act as a base to develop the rest of the movement.  Both groups provide a venue for much needed national exposure, as well as adding to the legitimacy of their cause, because they are both entrenched in American culture and politics.  Although these groups do not share all of the same beliefs as the Fundamentalist movement, sects of them would be more willing to accept the beliefs of the Fundamentalist movement.  Because the CC and the SBC are well established organizations, they would provide the sort of financial support that would be necessary to mobilize a national movement, such as the Fundamentalist movement.  Money is one of the most important resources when trying to start a movement because it attracts leaders to your cause, and provides more exposure than would otherwise be possible.  The Fundamentalist movement would hope to gain the support of the CC and SBC when it becomes apparent that they are fighting against many of the same evils.  For instance, one of the main goals of the Fundamentalist movement right now is to ban all readers in public schools that expose their children to ideas that are contrary to the basic tenets of Fundamentalism.
 
                                     
 

    In addition to the resources that such structured organizations as the CC and SBA would provide, more informal groups such as the Christian groups on college campuses, and youth groups would allow us to be exposed to an entirely different demographic, the younger generation. Many participants in the Fundamentalist Movement are already members of these Christian groups and organizations on campuses and thus provide a great pathway for Fundamentalists to pass on their beliefs. Most of these meetings are relatively open which provides the opportunity to make announcements or hand out fliers about the basic ideas of Fundamentalism and encourage the Christian youth to consider Fundamentalism.  Younger people are impressionable because at this point in their lives they are still searching for their beliefs, thus they may be more open to hearing and possibly accepting the beliefs of the Fundamentalist Christian movement.  Bible Churches, which is the name that many Fundamentalist groups use to refer to their churches, would be an especially good place to find new recruits.  People attending churches such as these are already fairly conservative and would empathize with the goals and beliefs of the Fundamentalist movement.  Because Bible churches are structured around the fact that people are there at least once a week, these churches serve a dual function of being a good source of information for prospective members as well as a base of creating interpersonal networks, which are often the key to recruiting and retaining new members.

    It would not only be helpful to work through the congregation and groups established through the church, it would be also useful to use the ministers and leaders in the church. Fundamentalist hope that by getting the floor at the CC and SBC, they would have easy access to the ministers who run these Bible churches because they are the ones in the church that are looked to by the congregation, especially by the youth, as a source of information about what to believe.  If it is possible to get leaders of the church to believe in the Fundamentalist Christian movement then it would increase the number of people who know about the movement, and would probably greatly increase the number of people who would join.  All of these organizations provide a solid base from which the Fundamentalist movement can work to build a stronger coalition.

    The advantage of working from diverse groups such as the CC, SBC, college campus groups, youth groups, and Bible churches, is that it combines the two most ideal ways of recruiting members; it allows for both face to face interaction as well as  the ability to spread the word of God on a much broader scale. The Christian Coalition has access to resources like the media: TV, radio, the Internet, all of which allow for further dissemination of information.  But, it is not enough to just get information out to the general public, you also need interpersonal contact which allows individuals to see the ways in which the beliefs of Fundamentalism positively affect lives on an individual basis.  Tools such as daily witnessing to friends and acquaintances would provide the constant exposure that is needed to convince people that your beliefs are right for them.  In relation to this is the idea of submerged networks, which serve an important function in the development of a collective identity.

    Because the Fundamentalist Christian movement, like any movement, has different levels of adherence to their beliefs, it can be difficult at times to present a united front.  But by showing individuals how they are like others in the movement, it is possible to forge a collective identity, which would aid in the recruitment of new members.  If a group has too many varying stances on issues, then it can be hard to get a grasp on the beliefs of that movement, and no one joins a movement that they cannot understand. Fundamentalists hope that by being in contact with the SBC, CC and college campus groups that individuals will come to realize how similar they are to each other, and also how similar they are to the people involved in the Fundamentalist movement.  Thus, by forming a collective identity, it enables recruitment and unites a movement.

    Obviously, preexisting organizations would provide important resources to the Fundamentalist Christian movement.  They aid in the distribution of information and the recruitment of new members, but we cannot neglect the importance of face to face interactions, which may be the best way to recruit members and get them to stay in the movement.

Link to Participation and Framing