On what flat screen do you read your paper?” the speaker asked. His point was that the front page of a newspaper is about as flat as a computer screen, touch-screen tablet or smartphone. All are ways people get their newspaper today. While people may choose different delivery systems, most still turn to the same source when they really want to know what is going on with an issue.
Alabama Baptists still turn to their state Baptist paper when they want to know the facts about an issue. Most Alabama Baptists still use the printed page. But a growing number read computer screens as they access the online edition of the paper, which is enhanced with videos and other electronic pluses. The paper also can be accessed from some popular tablets and smartphones. Even greater access from these devices is in the works.
But it is not the mode of delivery that keeps people coming back to The Alabama Baptist. It is the fact that the state Baptist paper continues to be a vital part of readers’ spiritual lives. Readers count on the paper to keep them informed about important events and issues. For example, the Feb. 13 issue of Newsweek Magazine contained an article about the suffering of Christians in the Muslim world.
Persecution of Christians was a new story for Newsweek. But readers of The Alabama Baptist have been reading about the suffering of Christians for years. From Pakistan to Saudi Arabia to Sudan to Nigeria, this publication has shared the gruesome details of efforts that seem bent on killing and banishing Christians from Muslim dominated areas.
Closer to home, writers have doggedly reported gambling barons’ efforts to spread their vice across the state. Many winked at the reports until the problem became too big to ignore. Then secular media began following the story and printing information this publication had released months earlier.
A few years ago when tensions marked the relationship between the Alabama Baptist State Convention (ABSC) and one of its colleges, the state Baptist paper delved into financial concerns and relationship issues to provide reliable information on which Alabama Baptists could make decisions. Some protested the stories but subsequent events proved them accurate.
Over a history dating back almost 170 years, the paper has earned the respect of Alabamians and Baptists around the world. The Alabama Baptist draws from a variety of news sources, including contacts in nations around the world, to provide readers reliable reports about events, issues and people impacting the kingdom of God.
Correspondents spread across the state provide news and feature stories about every Alabama Baptist association on a regular basis, and the paper documents major events in the lives of cooperating churches.
The state Baptist paper tells the missions story like no other. Each week, the paper highlights ways Baptists work together to share the good news of Jesus. With heart-warming details, the stories tell of church starts in North America, witnessing opportunities in a rural village of some distant land or ministry opportunities that demonstrate God’s love through human touch.
Readers can be alerted to breaking news through the paper’s Facebook page and Twitter messages, which direct them to the breaking news section of the paper’s website. But the website is not a reproduction of the paper. It is a resource center where stories dating back to 2000 are archived by subject. Here readers have a valuable tool to follow stories about a topic printed over a period of years.
Through news stories, features, Bible studies, editorials, photos and more, The Alabama Baptist teaches what Baptists believe and how Baptists work together. Each week, the paper celebrates what God is doing among and through Baptists and inspires readers to faithful service.
Readers pick up an issue of their state Baptist paper with confidence the publication is concerned about advancing the kingdom of God. A board of directors elected by the ABSC sets the policies and oversees the work of the paper. Directors keep it focused on the cause of Christ, the Bible as the Word of God, the work of the churches and the general welfare of the convention. There is no room for private agendas, rabble rousing or muckraking.
The Alabama Baptist avoids the sensational and flamboyant in order to maintain relationships with readers across the years. That is why the paper remains a trusted voice and a welcome friend for more than 200,000 readers.
Alabama Baptists know their state Baptist paper provides high quality journalism with integrity earned through years of experience. In the past decade, writers have garnered more than 100 national awards for news stories, in-depth coverage, best evangelism article, feature writing, editorial courage and more.
For three of the last four years, Associated Church Press, the nation’s oldest religious press organization, has named The Alabama Baptist the best regional Christian newspaper in the country.
Writing staff members also stand with Alabama Baptists as believers in Jesus Christ as personal Savior and are active in Alabama Baptist churches. All of that contributes to the value of Alabama’s state Baptist paper.
So whether your flat screen is a sheet of newsprint, a computer screen, a tablet or a smartphone, The Alabama Baptist is still the place to turn when you want to know what God is doing among and through Baptists at home and around the world. The state Baptist paper is still an essential ingredient for spiritual growth.
That is why studies show that regular readers of the paper participate more in Baptist life, provide more pocketbook support for Baptist causes and pray more specifically for needs of Baptists around the world than Baptists who don’t read the paper.
This week, spend time with The Alabama Baptist.
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