General Info:
As followers of Christ, South Carolina Baptists should have a knowledge of denominational news and events occurring across the state, nation and world. The Baptist Courier provides a vital link to the work of Southern Baptists who labor in His Name, encouraging all to be doers and not just hearers of the Word.Established in 1869 and adopted as the official newspaper of the South Carolina Baptist Convention in 1920, the The Baptist Courier is in the news business, of course. But it also is in the good news business, telling the story of how South Carolina Baptists are working together to carry out the requirements of the Great Commission and serving as a tool for assisting church members along their individual journeys of faith as well as the collective faith journey shared by all members of the convention's more than 2, 070 churches.The methods by which people receive and process information are constantly evolving. The explosive growth of online information technology over the past two decades is rivaled only by the invention of television more than half a century ago. An increasing number of people prefer to get their news online; arguably, the trend will only accelerate in the next decade. The Baptist Courier is committed to utilizing the Internet, email and emerging information technologies to fulfill our mission to make our stories available to every South Carolina Baptist.To that end, we now include all the news content of our printed edition in our online edition. In addition, because we are not bound by space limitations online, we regularly post content to our online edition that doesn't appear in our printed edition. We update our online edition with fresh stories, in essence publishing a "daily" edition of The Baptist Courier to complement our traditional printed edition, which is mailed every two weeks directly to the homes of subscribing South Carolina Baptists. Some features of our online edition include instant email news alerts, a Spanish-language section (through our partnership with Baptist Press ), instant polling, searchable archives and, because we are not bound by the space limitations of the printed edition, the ability to publish an unlimited number of stories from our churches. Nearly two of every three South Carolina Baptist churches have a paid subscriber relationship with the Courier. The remaining churches receive complimentary subscriptions for their pastors and key leaders. (If you know of a pastor who is not receiving a paid or complimentary subscription, please contact us at 1-888-667-4693 or subs@baptistcourier.com. ) Through our printed edition, The Baptist Courier reaches into the homes of more than 69, 000 families. Through our online edition, the Courier is available to every single South Carolina Baptist. More than 86 percent of Courier readers receive the newspaper through the Church Family Plan, which is among the lowest priced subscription plans of our state Baptist papers. Any South Carolina Baptist church, regardless of size, qualifies for our lowest rate ($6.75 per family ) by sending the Courier to every active family. Through the trial subscription plan, any church can send the Courier free to every family for three months. To sign up, or to request information, visit our sign-up page or call 1-888-667-4693.The Baptist Courier cherishes its relationship with the South Carolina Baptist Convention and the Southern Baptist Convention. Like them, the Courier has a restlessness to reach the world with the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ and to be an ally of both the SCBC and the SBC in Great Commission ministry. Courier editor Don Kirkland, a former president of the Association of State Baptist Papers of the Southern Baptist Convention and a veteran of 35 years on the editorial staff of the Courier, has said, "It must always be our aim to inform the minds of our readers, but we also must influence their hearts in the ways that are available to us both traditional and innov