The Baptist Message, Louisiana Baptists’ news service, will continue publishing a print edition through December 2026, then begin digital-only operations in January 2027.
The transition from a print product has been studied since 2024, according to Will Hall, the Baptist Message executive editor.
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“I conducted a Nehemiah Walk of our operations as well as looked at other Baptist newspapers around the country to better understand how to move forward with our ministry,” Hall said, noting that he also looked at generational trends in how individuals prefer to receive their news.
“I also looked at various ways to structure a financial model that works for continuing the Baptist Message into the future,” Hall said.
Financial factor
Finances are a considerable factor in the decision because the news service expects a $100,000 drop in revenue after 2026.
Hall said the shortfall would have forced the Baptist Message to increase subscriptions by at least $5 per customer, adding that “prudence would dictate an increase of up to $10 per subscriber so that we would not be chasing funding all the time.”
“I do not, and our trustees do not believe this is a cost our churches and individual subscribers can absorb,” he explained. Baptist Message trustees approved the 2027 move to a digital-only format during their Sept. 9, 2025, board meeting.
Hall also said that all news services are increasingly moving toward digital only formats, due to an increasing preference for online delivery over print. He cited the example of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a 150-year-old newspaper that announced in August of last year that it would end printing operations on Dec. 31, 2025, and publish exclusively via a digital format starting on New Year’s Day, 2026.
“During 2026, the Baptist Message will begin to encourage readers to depend more and more on the online edition of our news,” Hall said. “We are confident we can draw readers to BaptistMessage.com for the news that we now publish in print and to access even more features that are available only online.”
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Will Hall and originally published by the Baptist Message.
