By ROGER ALFORD, The Christian Index
Serving as editor of The Christian Index has been an important privilege and a labor of affection. Giving that up isn’t straightforward.
I took the job three years in the past with hopes of pumping new life into the nation’s oldest non secular newspaper, now 202 years previous. With that mission achieved, it’s time for a brand new problem. So, I’ll be leaving the Index on the finish of March.
I’ll actually miss the hardworking people who’ve labored alongside me to make the Index a stronger, more healthy newspaper, together with legendary former Index editor Gerald Harris who shortly grew to become an expensive buddy, trusted adviser, and confidant to me. Gerald is a Christian gentleman, an important encourager, and an unimaginable journalist. He has performed a serious position in positioning the Index for the long run.
Henry Durand joined us to run the web site. Henry, too, is an incredible Christian brother in addition to a profession journalist who beforehand labored for the Reuters information service, The Related Press, and CNN. Henry is a consummate skilled and maybe the toughest working particular person I’ve ever recognized.
And Charles Jones, a Southern Baptist historian, retired pastor, and author, joined in. What an unimaginable useful resource he has been, protecting us rooted and grounded within the Index’s authentic mission and goal, which have been established by founding editor Luther Rice when he began the newspaper in 1822. Charles, like Gerald and Henry, is an incredible Christian brother who takes significantly his position of protecting Southern Baptists conscious of their historical past, even the ugly parts in order that they are not condemned to repeat them.
In the whole lot we now have performed, we saved the newspaper’s authentic goal in thoughts, beefing up protection of missions and ministries in Georgia and past. We additionally started offering our readers with crucial information of the day from around the globe, simply as Luther Rice did in his day and as different editors did of their days, together with through the Civil Conflict when the newspaper carried the most recent dispatches from the frontlines.
Readers responded properly to that, and our little staff has rejoiced to see clicks on the web site, which was once measured in 1000’s, rise into the hundreds of thousands.
Our readership is up dramatically. Promoting income now covers the newspaper’s operational bills. And, due to the various beneficiant Georgia Baptist church buildings, Cooperative Program presents cowl personnel prices.
Categorized and retail promoting are key indicators of the well being of a newspaper. Google analytics inform us that our classifieds part has change into the most-read part of the Index, getting barely extra visitors than even our homepage. Our readers notice categorized promoting within the Index will get outcomes. Most of these advertisements are from church buildings in search of pastors. So, we’re serving to to match pastors and congregations all around the state. What an unimaginable privilege it’s to be part of that.
You might have doubtless additionally observed the various show advertisements on the web site. So many Christian organizations acknowledge that, to get their messages to Georgia Baptists, there’s no higher automobile than the Index. In reality, I’d dare say, there’s no different automobile that may attain the 1.4 million Southern Baptists in Georgia besides the Index.
Newspapers throughout the nation have been in decline for many years. Business executives have been at a loss as to what to do about it. We had a plan to make sure the way forward for the Index, and that was to drastically enhance the variety of articles we produce concerning the Georgia Baptist neighborhood. We perceive that tales about Georgia Baptists are our bread and butter. All the time have been. All the time will likely be. And, actually, it’s a privilege to get to inform these tales.
We additionally grew to become members of The Related Press, which supplies us entry to all of the state, nationwide and worldwide information of the day. That enables us to maintain Georgia Baptists updated on the whole lot occurring on the planet. The rationale behind that’s easy: How can we count on Georgia Baptists to have interaction the world in the event that they don’t know what’s occurring on the planet? Who higher to inform Georgia Baptists what’s occurring the world than their trusted previous buddy, The Christian Index?
One of many coolest issues that occurred throughout my tenure was the creation of the Index Information Service, which permits us to offer our content material freed from cost to neighborhood newspapers throughout the state. We give these newspapers full entry to all the faith information and options that seem in The Christian Index. That’s performed as a free service, a ministry, if you’ll, to newspapers which were so closely impacted by business shifts and financial elements far past their management. In fact, the association additionally serves to let extra individuals know concerning the unimaginable issues Georgia Baptists are doing. That’s a superb factor.
What Gerald, Henry, Charles, and I’ve performed is to provide our greatest effort to give you a stronger, more healthy newspaper that may serve you not solely at this time however properly into the long run. As know-how advances, your Index is versatile sufficient to adapt to these modifications and be sure that you understand what’s occurring on the planet … so to interact the world.
I’ll take nice pleasure in watching the Index proceed to thrive within the years to come back.
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