by Keith Bassham
You never know where your ministry goes. A pastor and Tribune contributor sent me a reminder a few days ago demonstrating the truth of what founding editor Noel Smith said so long ago: “They read the Tribune.”
What this pastor showed me was a church visitor’s card that asked, “How did you hear about us?” The answer: “Article in Baptist Bible Tribune by pastor.”
The Tribune really does belong to the Baptist Bible Fellowship, and, though not every pastor or missionary will write a feature article for the magazine, a little news about a big day, or a new building, or a new ministry, or a ministry transition can catch the eye of a reader. And when you consider that about 10,000 churches receive at least one copy of the Tribune, and Tribunes have been known to show up in doctor’s offices and truck stops, you never can tell what might happen.
When you help support the Tribune you are extending your ministry reach as well. You see, the Tribune is not like most magazines you may receive in your church or home. It tells the unique story of the Baptist Bible Fellowship — the story that takes place among our pastors, our missionaries, our churches. No other magazine in the world does that. Our mission has long been to tell the good news of what God is doing among the preachers and churches of the Baptist Bible Fellowship. We are friendly to other groups, but we have an explicit agenda to promote the ministries associated with the Fellowship.
But that agenda means our funding is different as well. I learn about publications closing their doors or leaving the print media all the time. It even happens among the large publications like Newsweek, which ceased their print editions altogether last year. What keeps us in the business of doing Fellowship work is the Fellowship itself. We do have individual subscriptions and advertising, of course, but this represents a relatively small part of our budget. The bulk of our budget comes from monthly support and bundle subscriptions (churches send us money in exchange for a bundle of magazines monthly), and the annual February Tribune Offering. That explains our focus on the Fellowship, for those are the entities who pay the bills.
The annual February Tribune Offering is given above the regular monthly support, much like the May college offerings. In the past, the offering was a great help to us for doing the extras, but the past few years it has become a vital part of our finances. Frankly, I need your help more than ever.
These are challenging times for all of us financially. Let’s face it; because we depend so much on the churches of our Fellowship, the Tribune’s financial condition is always going to be a reflection of how well our churches do. Admittedly, we have carefully managed our budgets in the past, so we do have some funds that help us to operate even in lean times. That means we can manage a short-term downturn without incurring any debt, but we cannot do that for very long.
As long as we are able, we will continue to provide news and information for and about our Fellowship. We will continue to provide Tribunes to new churches, retired ministers and widows of ministers, our Bible college students, our missionaries, and a large number of churches outside our Fellowship to keep everyone informed. We will continue to provide news and other content to help churches and believers grow and prosper. We will continue to produce a quality publication that reflects well on all of us. We will carefully manage our finances and bring good value to the Baptist Bible Fellowship. That is my commitment.
Pastors may contact us personally with an offering commitment, or the information can be passed on to your state fellowship’s chairman or director. He wants to know about your commitment anyway.
How much should you give? For some of our supporters, this is a major investment running into the thousands. Most gifts are much smaller. If this is your first time, a gift of $15 is what it takes to cover the cost of an annual subscription, and all gifts are appreciated. As a starting point, why not pay for the subscription your church already receives, and perhaps one more?
Whatever you decide, we at the Tribune will appreciate your participation in the February Tribune Offering. All commitments and gifts should be sent so they arrive at our office in early February so I can include them in the total announced at the fellowship meeting in Austin, TX. If you have questions or need more information, please email me at editors@tribune.org or call (417) 831-3996.