The Wesleyan Christian Advocate has proudly served the entire state of Georgia for more than 170 years. Over these many decades the paper has reported on the news that impacts United Methodists while strengthening our connection. Today we are preparing for a new day in this ministry.
Although the Wesleyan Christian Advocate (WCA) served the North and South Georgia Annual Conferences and received subsidies from both conferences, it was governed by its own board whose members were elected by the respective conferences. After many years of struggling with “increasing costs and decreasing revenue” the WCA board decided on January 15 to “cease publication prior to the 2009 (North and South) Annual Conferences.”
Upon this announcement a transition team composed of members from both Annual Conferences began efforts to ensure a seamless transition to a publication produced in partnership with the United Methodist Reporter (UMR), a national newspaper of the United Methodist Church.
Between now and June small changes will occur as UMR takes over the administrative functions of the Wesleyan Christian Advocate. Issues received between now and June 5 will continue to hold news related to the North and South Georgia Conferences, however the paper will be printed on a different paper stock and will have a new layout.
The April 3 issue will provide the first look of the new format of an 8 page front wrap around the national edition of the United Methodist Reporter. Beginning June 5, each Annual Conference will write, edit, and layout a print publication for their own editions. This transition to the North Georgia Advocate will provide a deeper connection to the news important to our Conference as well as the broader news of our denomination.
The partnership with UMR will reduce staff, consolidate administrative functions, eliminate equipment cost, increase subscriptions, and provide other cost-saving measures. This will enable us to continue a ministry of information and inspiration that will be fully self-supported by 2011.
The plan for the future is to provide a “two-for-one” news source. This new venture will preserve the primary (print) source of information for the current 5100 subscribers and enable an online edition of the North Georgia Advocate on the conference website beginning this summer at no additional cost.
We are grateful to God and to the many faithful editors, contributors, and board members who were stewards of the Wesleyan Christian Advocate. It is our goal to retain the features that have been meaningful to the people of the North Georgia Conference and to discover new avenues of effective communication.
This is an exciting opportunity to build on our past while remaining connected to the larger church through a strong partnership with the United Methodist Reporter. As we step into the future with this new expression of a historic newspaper, we seek your support by subscribing to the North Georgia Advocate and by keeping us informed of news that needs to be shared. If you have any questions or suggestions that will help us in this transition, please contact me (jjenkins@ngumc.org) or our staff in the Office of Communications - Tim McDaniel (tmcdaniel@ngumc.org), or Sybil Davidson (sybil@ngumc.org).
Mail your check payable to the "North Georgia Advocate" to P.O. Box 660275, Dallas, TX 75266-0275. You can also pay by credit card by calling 1.877.465.1685. A one year subscription is $25 and $23 for subscribers 65 and older.