By Grace Thornton
The Alabama Baptist
For Holly Smith, running the California Southern Baptist newsjournal was never a job — it was her ministry.
And the California Southern Baptist Convention (CSBC) building itself has been like a second home.
“My mother started working for the convention when I was 3, and I would go with her to work,” Smith said. “I’ve been roaming the halls of the building for 55 years.”
As a child, she sat for hours with a box of markers at another staff member’s drafting table and drew pictures. She kept an eye on the candy dispensers, bought bottles of Pepsi from the vending machine and explored the Baptist Book Store.
And as the years went on, she found a calling.
“I was looking for a job, and I found out they were hiring someone to work Saturdays in the Baptist Book Store,” Smith said. “I did that for six or seven years.”
It became a full-time job, then after another year, she got hired into a word processing role, typing up dictated letters and reports for department directors.
“They hired me because I knew the terms,” she said. “That was my toe in the door.”
That toe became a foot, and the next thing Smith knew, more than three decades had passed with her walking the halls as an employee of the CSBC. Over the years, she moved from word processing to a secretarial position in the public relations department to a news role with the California Southern Baptist. The position morphed over the years until she became managing editor in 2003.
“I’m so grateful that I got to grow up there, that I got to know some incredible people — giants of the faith,” she said. “What a privilege and a blessing.”
Smith only left once. It was early on, and it was a mistake, she said.
“I left and went to work at an insurance company for about six months. I thought it would be greener pastures. I was wrong,” Smith said. “Working with the convention has not just been a job for me, it’s been my ministry. And the building itself has been my home.”
Engaging publication
And over the years, she built a publication that spoke to California Baptists.
“I am not a journalist — let’s be very clear,” she said. “I just didn’t have that hard news bent.”
But what Smith did have was a gift for writing and a heart to encourage. Over the years, she learned from others about editing and proofing, and the tagline she created — “Encourage, educate, edify” — told the story she wanted the California Southern Baptist to tell.
“I wanted small churches to be able to read stories and think, ‘Hey, they did that, and we can do that too,’” she said.
So that’s exactly what she published, and churches sometimes reached out to let her know that’s exactly what had happened — they had been encouraged, and they had gone out and done those things.
The publication changed over the years from weekly to biweekly to monthly, back and forth. It also changed from a tabloid to a magazine format.
But one thing never changed — that the California Southern Baptist was such a big part of Smith’s heart that it felt like her child. That’s why it was so hard to say goodbye when the newsjournal published its last issue in April.
‘Devoted’
Terry Barone, CSBC communications team leader, said Smith’s tenure with the newsjournal was “devoted to telling the story of Southern Baptists,” particularly those in her own state.
“Her enthusiasm for editing, layout, advertising and circulation was unwavering for the publication,” he said.
She served “with distinction and commitment,” he said. “I will always be grateful for her service as a member of the communications team.”
‘Encourager’
Jennifer Davis Rash, editor-in-chief of The Alabama Baptist and president of the Association of State Baptist Publications (ASBP), said “encourager” describes Smith well.
“She made me feel welcome the first time I walked into a Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting to assist with coverage almost 25 years ago and has never stopped encouraging me since that day,” Rash said. “She has cheered for me and encouraged me throughout my journey — and I’m not alone. Many others would say the same thing. She has a deeply compassionate heart and loves Jesus with a fierceness that I could only hope to achieve one day.”
Rash said she was excited when Smith was elected in February to serve as ASBP president-elect and will miss the opportunity to work with her now that she has to relinquish that role. But she said she’s “confident they will stay connected.”
“She’s the type of friend who will find a way to stay in touch,” Rash said.
Smith said she’ll miss relationships the most, both those inside the CSBC building and across the state of California and greater Southern Baptist Convention.
“I have been so blessed and so privileged to meet so many wonderful people in California and beyond,” she said. “It’s been such a blessing to get paid to do the ministry I love. I’ll never take that for granted.”
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