The Index’s most valuable resource? You.

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When I walked in on my first day as a staff member of The Christian Index 15 years ago, things were a lot different. Not many churches had a website. No one had a social media account, since they didn’t exist. Our cameras worked with film.

Yes, so much has changed since then. New technology keeps us all connected and basically took deadlines for the paper from every two weeks in 2004 to daily, as demanded by the digital world we all inhabit in 2019.

The newspaper I received in the morning back then, for all intents and purposes, contained the news I needed to know for the day. Now, I’m accustomed to checking a news app or Twitter to see the latest headlines. When I go on Facebook or Instagram, I’m curious as to what’s going on in the lives of family and friends. Like anything else this can be taken to unhealthy extremes. However, without them I wouldn’t be able to celebrate their getting a new job. Recently, I would have probably missed the news that a friend in another state lost his dad. I wouldn’t have been able to give my condolences and share how his father impacted my life.

Although The Christian Index provides stories from across the Southern Baptist Convention, our focus is unapologetically on what is happening in the Peach State. However, Georgia’s place as the largest state east of the Mississippi can make that a challenge. (Note: Others have argued against this, but Georgia is still big.)

Often, stories from our Georgia Baptist churches find their way to The Index. But we also go looking for those stories. I have a theory that – contrary to what we may think about narcissism run amok today – a lot of people don’t go looking for attention. They see something that needs to be done, then they do it. That’s all.

 I’m talking about stories like a group of girls in a small church helping retirees, a 70-year-old paddling Georgia’s rivers to the ocean, pastors ministering to police officers, or a senior adult being a six-decade presence for a youth group.

You, our readers, can help us make sure we don’t miss these stories. Is there a ministry in your church others would enjoy hearing about? Is there someone involved in that ministry with an interesting testimony on how he or she got there? Does anyone in your church have a unique way they share the Gospel and work in the community?

If you post about an event at your church, be sure to tag The Christian Index (@christianindex) to let us know about it. If we’re overlooking an article idea, don’t hesitate to let me know at sbarkley@gabaptist.org. Ignore thinking your church doesn’t have a story. It does. We want to help tell it.

I count my opportunity to work at The Christian Index as not just a tremendous blessing, but a responsibility. It’s a responsibility to effectively and honestly tell how Georgia Baptists are taking steps to preach and show Christ in their communities. But it becomes tougher to do if we don’t hear from you.

Talk to us. We’re listening.

Baptist News, Georgia news, The Christian Index