SUMMIT, N.J. -- Leaders of Fountain Baptist Church are trying to capitalize on the largely male audience of the NBA playoff games to draw men to church, according to a Star-Ledger news report.

The church has spent about $10,000 on 30-second commercials on TNT and ESPN that feature men sharing their faith, inviting others to join a church.

In one of six commercials, words across the screen ask, "What can you say about Jesus?"

Eight men then appear on the screen, one at a time, saying, "I tried him. You can trust him." The words, "Try Jesus. You can trust him," appear on the screen, along with contact information for the church.

Mike Williams, who designed the ads, said the idea to advertise came to him as he thought about the reach of Super Bowl commercials, the newspaper reported.

"Knowing that the Super Bowl attracts more viewers than any other sports event on television, I said, ‘What if a church were to have an advertisement there to feature to millions around the world?'" Williams said.

The church could not afford a Super Bowl ad, but the Rev. J. Michael Sanders liked the idea of zoned advertising during sports programming, the newspaper reported. Commercials running in Union County homes cost the church about $120 per airing. Ads running in other counties have cost more, according to the news report.

"These commercials get (men) where we know they are -- on sports channels," Betty Adams of Fountain Baptist Church told the newspaper. "Men in this society are socialized into believing that spiritual growth and development is not masculine. What we are trying to do in our fellowship is… say to men, ‘There is a place for you within the community of believers.'"

In other ads, Sanders is seen delivering an excited sermon amid cheers from the congregation.

"There's somebody who can pick you up! There's somebody who can turn you around! There's somebody who can give you joy! There's somebody who can give you peace! There's somebody who can give you power!" Sanders says in an ad.

Another features the church men's choir singing with one empty blue seat in their midst. "We saved this seat for you," is the message flashed on the screen.

The newspaper reported that a few dozen men have joined the 2,000-member church since March, but whether the ads are reaching their target is uncertain because the commercials are less than three months old.

"We did not expect a tremendous up tick in our membership here," said Phil Sell, a church trustee. "We were hoping for an up tick in churches period. ... We have a Web site, and a lot of people contact us to say they saw the commercial and thought it was awesome."