On Jan. 29, the state Baptist paper of General Association of Baptists in Virginia announced receipt of a $1.5 million grant from the Texas-based Eula Mae and John Baugh Foundation. The gift, which will be paid over four years, is the largest received by the Religious Herald in its 185-year history. In fact, the gift may be the largest ever received by any state Baptist paper.
In making the announcement Editor James White said, “The gift is a true answer to prayer and an indication that the Lord has much more for the Herald to accomplish as we adjust to new circumstances and current realities.”
Adjusting to new circumstances and current realities is a task faced by every state Baptist paper editor including this one. As churches increasingly emphasize ministries of the local congregation to the detriment of cooperative causes, missions giving through the Cooperative Program (CP) is not the only thing that falls. Circulation of the state Baptist paper declines and participation in Baptist life dwindles.
Such circumstances dramatically illustrate the need for the state Baptist paper. One pastor explained it by comparing an important role of the paper to the individual in an extended family who keeps up with everyone else, who always knows what everyone is doing.
Family members trust that one to report what a distant cousin in Chicago is doing or what some uncle living down the street is up to. Take away that family member and the family drifts apart.
In Baptist life, the state Baptist paper fills a similar role. It helps keep Baptists together by providing information, inspiration and interpretation of what Baptists are about.
Political science expresses that truth in a slightly different way. The discipline teaches that volunteer groups, even Christian denominations, need a common base of trusted information in order to function effectively. That is the role of the state Baptist paper: a trusted voice; a welcomed friend.
Like the Virginia paper, The Alabama Baptist attempts to respond to “new circumstances and current realities” with exciting and innovative ideas. The print edition of The Alabama Baptist is commonly recognized as one of the leading publications in America. Four times in the last eight years, The Alabama Baptist has been judged the best regional Christian newspaper in the nation by Associated Church Press. The other four years the Alabama publication finished second. The Evangelical Press Association (EPA) has twice called The Alabama Baptist the best Christian newspaper in America and twice awarded the paper second place in that category. The Religion Communicators Council has similarly feted the paper.
In 2009, The Alabama Baptist (TAB) rolled out its Resource Center and Archives, a website housing every story published by the paper since 2000. There stories can be accessed by 50 different topics from most recent to oldest. Its value was not lost on the judges of EPA which gave the site first place among new websites that year.
In 2010, TAB introduced its e-edition. The “e” could stand for electronic since the edition is distributed over the internet or the “e” could stand for enhanced since the edition has features not available in the print version. Each week the e-edition features add-ons such as videos, audio interviews, slide shows and links to additional information about stories.
A special feature is the ability to update a story as news develops. This assures the latest news on important topics.
More recently the paper initiated a Breaking News website. (See alert.thealabamabaptist.com.) At least once each day, news from the world of religion is posted for all who subscribe to this free service. Through Tweets and Facebook postings, the paper attempts to interact with readers because the old adage “an informed Baptists is the best Baptist” is still true.
The new circumstances and current realities make the communications ministry ever more challenging. Five years ago a network of more than 100 correspondents helped provide news and information published in The Alabama Baptist. Today an ever-tightening budget reduced that network to a handful of correspondents. But still, 2012 marked the seventh-consecutive year that at least two news stories from every one of the 75 Baptist associations in the state were published in The Alabama Baptist.
With a reduced full-time staff the paper still devotes more than 70 percent of editorial space to original content and Alabama-related stories. In the first weeks of 2013 the paper provided an in-depth look at Southern Baptist medical missions, a project done by the International Mission Board in cooperation with The Alabama Baptist. An examination of human trafficking provided an excellent resource for churches. “Sharing Jesus with Jews” looked at the latest trends in Jewish evangelism. Also, a five-part January Bible study series was only available in TAB.
All appeared first in TAB as original material and some were later distributed nationwide through Baptist Press news service.
The January–March edition of Baptist World, a publication of Baptist World Alliance, reprinted an editorial from The Alabama Baptist and reprint of another editorial is in the works. Several state papers reprinted TAB editorials during 2012, some more than once. This took the influence of The Alabama Baptist to leaders worldwide.
Providing this quality resource to Alabama Baptists is becoming more and more challenging with declining CP support and tightening church budgets. Thankfully, TAB has accumulated some reserves since its founding in 1843. Income from those reserves help keep the paper affordable for churches. But even that is not enough.
Like the Religious Herald, The Alabama Baptist needs the affirmation that “the Lord has much more for the paper to accomplish.” That affirmation comes from prayer. It also comes from subscriptions. And like with the Virginia paper, it can come from significant financial gifts to help underwrite the work of Alabama Baptists’ state paper.
The opportunities are many — encouraging faithfulness to Baptist principles by endowing the editorship; assuring the quality of Baptist journalism by underwriting the executive editor position; financing an intern program to train God-called young people for the ministry of communications; providing subscription support for church plants. The list goes on.
The ministry of the state Baptist paper is vital to the welfare of Baptists in Alabama. The link between the two has been convincingly demonstrated through 170 years of partnership. If God places support of The Alabama Baptist through a financial gift on your heart, all of us connected with the ministry would be glad to work with you to accomplish your goals for the gift. Certainly, we will appreciate any support you can provide.
Please pray that God will raise up people who will join us in the conviction that “The Lord has much more for the paper to accomplish” and are willing to help make that happen.
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