Engage and Mission Catalyst are just two of a number of BMS publications. Each of our publications has its place within our communication strategy. Each has different audiences in mind and different purposes to fulfil. None is more important than the other because we need the interest, prayers, giving and desire to serve from every part of our Baptist community, and beyond.
Engage and Mission Catalyst have had a makeover this month. The new look Engage has been winging its way to people in the last week and, I trust, will be well received. The last time we changed Engage we got a lot of stick – mainly because the shape went from A4 size to a small Guardian-esque newspaper format. As a result a not-inconsiderable number of Baptists complained that they could no longer read it in bed!
Well, amongst many changes, we've gone back to A4 and I trust harmony will be reinstated in the Baptist bedrooms of the UK. You can view the online edition by clicking http://www.bmsworldmission.org/engage and clicking on the magazine image but do sign up if you want a free copy through the post.
Catalyst hasn't changed shape but it does have a fresh new look as we continue to build on what is proving to be a strong brand. It has always been for ministers, but a recent subtle change has been to broaden its reach to anyone in church leadership. That's the audience we write for but of course its available to anyone.
Producing Catalyst is great fun! It begins with a bunch of us in a room brainstorming about future subject areas. Gradually we focus in on one theme and begin to consider how we can develop it. Lots of ideas emerge, along with possible contributors. Almost always the meeting overruns as we start debating the issues themselves but actually this is a way of exploring what it is we think we would want to say on the subject. The debate can be animated!
Eventually we break, exhausted but stimulated – everyone agrees we really enjoy these occasions. Through a further series of meetings, commissioning of articles, proof-reading and design Catalyst eventually comes off the press, by which time we're already into the process for the next edition.
But the end result is what matters. Each edition, we hope, contributes just a little to helping Christian men and women apply their faith to complex areas of today's world. In the last year we've looked at issues of sexuality, the rise of Islam, what we mean when we say the bible is true, and the southward shift in global Christianity.
This week we've just published The Science Issue and again, you can see it by clicking http://www.bmsworldmission.org/catalyst and click on the magazine image.
But do forward the link to others and encourage them to follow the subscribe link to receive a copy, through the post, for free.