Chris Turner
Let’s just get the bad news out of the way first. The Baptist and Reflector will increase its subscription rates beginning April 1, 2026. Unfortunately, that is not an April Fool’s joke.
No one likes price increases, especially me. I mean, does anyone else begin to hyperventilate these days at the sticker price while reaching for a gallon of milk at the grocery store?
That’s why I’ve been reluctant over the past year as Baptist and Reflector editor to make the call for raising the price of your subscriptions. The decision to finally do so has come following much prayer, a lot of discussion and a deep analysis of our financials.
However, beginning April 1, the cost of an individual subscription to the Baptist and Reflector will increase from $20 to $24.95; and the cost of bulk subscriptions (a church’s cost when purchasing two or more subscriptions) will increase from $15 to $19.95 per subscription. Both plans include 26 editions per year. Regardless of plan, that’s still less than $1 per issue. (Sidenote: Existing subscribers won’t feel the rate increase until their subscriptions renew).
The exorbitant rising cost of postage is the primary driver for the subscription increase. The United States Postal Service has increased its publication postage rates nearly 70% over the past five years — often adding two rate increases per year.
Over that same five-year period, we’ve increased your subscription rates once by only $2. It currently costs us approximately $8.70 per year, per subscription to mail you your Baptist and Reflector. There is likely another 7% postage increase scheduled for July. Unlike the USPS, we will not raise your subscription rate twice this year.
Be assured, we’ve held your subscription costs steady for as long as possible, but now we must move those rates to offset the rising expenses.
Considering the increasing postage costs, some have asked why we continue to print a paper. Great question with an easy answer. The information in the paper is too important to Tennessee Baptists not to publish. Here are three key reasons why a print version of the Baptist and Reflector offers Tennessee Baptists tremendous value.
The paper has reliably informed the faith of Tennessee pastors, ministers and laypeople for 191 years. With some fresh ideas for news and content recently received from polling younger pastors, we intend to strengthen the paper’s content to meet the escalating needs of our readers awash in a culture of secular relativity.
Another valuable benefit of the Baptist and Reflector is connection. The print version is still the best way for a church to understand how it is connected to the Tennessee Baptist Convention and more than 3,000 sister churches.
Founder and first editor R.B.C. Howell stated in the first issue in 1835 that the vision of the paper was, “To unite and invigorate the Church in this state … through which our brethren in various parts should have knowledge of each other.”
Howell recognized that if Tennessee Baptist churches were to pull together to advance Great Commission work, then they needed a news source to inform them of their collective effort. It’s a mission from which the paper has never wavered.
A third and important aspect of the Baptist and Reflector’s value is financial accountability.
We are committed to regularly reporting news and feature stories that help Tennessee Baptists understand how their Cooperative Program and Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions contributions are being invested in ministry in Tennessee and beyond. It’s your money and you deserve to know where it goes, and we are honored to tell you.
Thomas Jefferson wrote that, “An informed citizenry is at the heart of a dynamic democracy.” Likewise, I believe an informed body of Christ is at the heart of dynamic disciples advancing gospel causes.
So, while we must increase the cost of your subscription, we are also determined to increase the value of the Baptist and Reflector as it supports you and your church so that every Tennessean has an opportunity to hear the gospel.
And that’s certainly not a joke. B&R
