Why I recommend The Alabama Baptist

Why I recommend The Alabama Baptist

My relationship with The Alabama Baptist goes all the way back to my childhood. As one who was born into and raised in an Alabama Baptist church, I cannot recall a time in my younger life when The Alabama Baptist was not present in our home. I didn’t really pay any attention to it, but it was there. 

It was not until my college years, when I became a youth minister, that I actually began to read The Alabama Baptist, first for the purpose of keeping up with the goings-on of our state convention, but later for the broader news about Christians around the world that opened my eyes to things I had never before noticed. 

Soon afterward, however, I went away to seminary, spending eight years in two other states, subscribing to two other state Baptist newspapers. During that time I began to realize what I had taken for granted in The Alabama Baptist: the depth of reporting, the breadth of the news that was included and, above all, the commitment to the gospel. 

When my family and I later relocated to Alabama, I was overjoyed to renew my relationship with The Alabama Baptist and to find that it was as good — if not better — than I remembered. The quality and the commitment were all there, just as I expected. Now, as the pastor of Liberty Park Baptist Church, Vestavia Hills, I highly value The Alabama Baptist, knowing that it not only informs and inspires me, but that it also does the same for my congregation, all of whom are provided with a subscription through the church, receiving with it our weekly newsletter. 

I am confident that The Alabama Baptist is helping to broaden the horizons of my church members, much as it did for me as a young youth minister. That’s important to me because our church places a strong emphasis on missions involvement both at home and abroad. As our people participate in missions, they read in The Alabama Baptist about missions work around the world, inspiring them to do more. For that reason and many more, I consider The Alabama Baptist to be a great blessing and a tremendous partner in ministry.