October 21, 2024
Jesus said, “The harvest is truly great, but the labors are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send fourth labors into the field.” (Luke 10:2)
In the early 1800’s as Baptists began sending missionaries to the far corners of the world, the need for sustaining mission support was established. This generated the need for telling the story of missions to help supply the needs of the growing missions movement. The Christian Index and other papers were established to fill that need.
The testimony of E.A. Stevens, Georgia’s first Baptist foreign missionary illustrates the role to Baptist newspapers. Commissioned by the Triennial Baptist Convention, they sailed for Burma in 1837. He and his wife Elizabeth, a native of Massachusetts, were interviewed years later about what had influenced their call to missions. Their response, “missionary intelligence,” which in the context of their day meant newspaper articles about missionary work.
One of their primary sources for “missionary intelligence” was “The Christian Index.” The pages of the Index printed reports and correspondence sharing what God was doing. It was a call for Baptists for sustaining support of missions. Sustaining support was three-fold; spiritual (prayer), financial (offerings) and missionary recruitment (personnel).
When Luther Rice established the paper in 1822, it was to support Baptists missions and the newly established (Baptist) Columbian College in Washington D.C. The college was established to train pastors and missionaries. The Index, first named “The Columbian Star,” was begun as a national Baptist paper located in offices on E Street, Washington, D.C. The first issue was published on February 2, 1822.
The Index provided news, information, and inspiration. Denominational news, which in 1837 included Stevens’ speaking schedule in churches across Georgia. Later in the year it was the account of their sailing to Burma on the ship the Rosabella from the Salem, MA. The Index included the words of a song which had been composed for the occasion of their departure.
The need to share the work of missions and education may have been the primary role of papers, but other roles quickly emerged. They became channels of information about the revivals taking place during the Second Great Awakening (1787-1830’s). A few years later, newspapers were considered a prime factor in the spread of the Layman’s Revival of 1857-1858 which swept America, and Georgia, prior to the Civil War.
Papers became a forum for debates on Baptist polity and doctrine. Before Baptist colleges and seminaries existed, local associations and “associational circular letters” had been the forum to discuss and share Baptist doctrine and polity. Newspapers and increasingly religious publication houses added a new forum to discuss and disseminate Baptist beliefs and polity. In 1918 during the Fundamentalist/Modernist controversy, the Index published, “Ten Fundamental Doctrines.” Originally intended to be a series of articles by SBC writers, because of interest and demand was published in a book format. The Index was taking the lead in the debates.
From its inception the Index has often included “secular” news on its pages. During the Civil War, this on occasion included a full page dedicated to “War News.” The Index was provided to soldiers in the field as a ministry. It included a “Soldiers Column” which provided devotional materials and evangelistic tracks reproduced on its pages.
Many other features have come and gone through the years. Poetry, Women’s features, a Children’s Corner, and after the establishment of the Georgia Baptist State Mission Board in 1877 a weekly column on State Missions. Another regular feature during the late 19th century were sermons by Georgia Baptist pastors from across the state. Sunday School features and lessons have also filled the pages of the Index.
In 1891 the Women’s Missionary Union began a feature column written by Miss M.E. Wright. Beginning in the 1920’s one issue a month included a “program” for use in local WMU Circles. Special “Mission Editions” were published focusing on foreign, state and home missions.
Through the years articles on Baptist history and biographies have been featured. One series published in the 1890’s was reprinted as a book in 1902 titled, “Reminisces of Georgia Baptists.” The tome is an interesting look back by an elderly Baptist minister/educator/writer spanning 70 years of his personal “reminisces.”
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries stewardship features became more prominent as cooperative methods of mission funding were developing and a new emphasis on tithing as the Biblical model of stewardship was adopted by the SBC in 1895. The Georgia Baptist “Half Million Campaign” (1915-1918) and the SBC “Seventy-Five Million Campaign” (1919-1924) were both heavily promoted by the Index. It’s inconceivable that the Cooperative Program (1925) would have been adopted without the voice of Baptist state papers.
Circulation of the Index and other state papers grew rapidly in the post WWII era as more churches adopted a budget plan to include subscriptions to the Index. In 1900 the Index circulation was 11,000, by 1924 it had reached 30,000 before declining during the Great Depression. In 1947 it was up to 40,000 and continued to grow to a peak of 138,000 in 1968.
In 2016 the Index went to a digital format, changing times and changing technology demanded a changing format. Yet, the need for mission support, telling the story, inspiring, and calling Baptists to pray, give and go has not diminished in 200 years . . . it has only increased. The role of the denominational press to share the story today is vital as resources in recent years have decreased.
Missions continue to need sustaining support. The harvest is still plentiful, the need for workers is still great. Staying open and informed allows God to speak into the lives of His people . . . generating sustaining support for missions and calling out a new generation of those who will like Isaiah and Edward Stevens respond, “here am I Lord, send me.”
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Charles Jones is a retired Georgia Baptist pastor, church historian, and newspaper columnist.
