A request for prayer

We are in deep trouble.

For many years, the Canadian government, like other governments, has offered a subsidized mailing rate (second class mail) for Canadian magazines, as a means of promoting education, culture and the flow of ideas. To be eligible, magazines must send the majority of their magazines to people who have bought subscriptions. The MB Herald satisfied this requirement by having the Canadian MB Conference vote to buy subscriptions for its members at annual or biennial conventions.

For a variety of reasons, it seems that the government has changed the rules. On January 26, we were informed that by March 31 subscriptions must be purchased by individuals. In the simplest terms, the government is saying that no subscription will be accepted as bona fide unless it is individually purchased. One may also assume it is saying a magazine is not "bona fide" unless it is so financed. For us to comply with these new regulations, every MB member would have to sign a form saying he or she wants to receive the Herald and pay for the subscription separate from Conference norms. (The Herald is currently funded through the "$88.00 per-member norm" that congregations are asked to contribute to the Canadian MB Conference.)

Implications

This creates a huge problem for us. In order to comply, we would have to expand our promotion, circulation and accounting departments at considerable expense. Moreover, such a system would mean that the Herald would be far less effective than it is now. Inevitably, many members could not or would not subscribe. This would be particularly true of new members, resulting in a gradual decline of readership. I have been a member of other denominations which sent their magazines only to those who have paid for their subscriptions individually. They reached only 5%-10% of the membership and were thus unable to create strong ties to the work of the denomination. People won't support or work with people and programs they know little about. I am sure that among Canadian Mennonite Brethren we could achieve a higher level of subscriptions than 10%, but the level would be much lower than it is now and would inevitably decline. When I first became a member of the MB Church, I was a student with a family to support and had never heard of the Herald; I would never have subscribed. However, when I received it, I began to read it cover to cover and was greatly blessed as a result.

Moreover, because of economies of scale, the per-copy cost goes down the more copies we print (all the editorial and layout costs are the same whether we print one copy or 100,000). This means that if we would cut the number of subscribers, we would be communicating far less effectively for the same or higher cost.

Moreover, the change in procedure would require a major change in our understanding of church. As Mennonite Brethren, we place strong emphasis on the people of God as a community. We do many things for one another for which no one in particular is paid. We send the Herald free of charge to every member household, whether they can pay for it or not. The Canadian Conference is not a business selling services to individuals. We are a community deciding collectively how we will use our resources--and in this case collective decision-making is far more cost-effective than individual decision-making.

For these reasons, the Canadian Conference Board of Communications has determined that it is a priority for the Herald (or other Conference periodicals) to continue to be sent to every member household.

Alternatives

What are the alternatives?

First, we can appeal the change in regulations. The exact meaning of the regulations is not yet clear. We do not know if the government understands fully all of the implications of the regulations it has just set in place. We also don't know if there are alternatives to individual subscription buying. We will appeal.

Second, we could send the Herald in bulk to the churches. This has frequently been suggested by members as a means of "saving money". However, there are several drawbacks to this approach. First, it would probably be considerably more expensive than second class mail. (Consider the cost of shipping 300 large boxes to 200 places across the country every two weeks.) Second, it would overlook absentee members, people who are away at school or on mission trips. Third, it would create extra work for local church staff, who would have to unload the boxes and put the copies into members' mailboxes. (Alternatively, the Heralds could sit unread in a pile at the back of the church, as often happens with other material sent to churches.)

Third, we could send the Herald through the mail under another classification, such as "commercial rate". The difficulty with this is cost. Currently, it costs about $36,000 in postage to mail the Herald to every home. At the commercial rate of 40 cents, it would cost $144,000. This is a huge problem. The Herald's gross budget for 1997-98 is $456,000; after revenue for paid subscriptions and ads comes in, the Conference gives us funding of $343,000. A 30+% increase in funding is unthinkable.

There are certainly other combinations of responses. Almost all of them require cutting back the amount we publish. We have already been reducing the size of the Herald for some years, all the while trying to serve a constituency with growing needs. How can we best serve the communication needs of conference agencies and churches? How can we provide the theological teaching necessary in an increasingly diverse and biblically illiterate church?

This comes at a bad time. Due to financial difficulties and the desire to put more Conference resources into evangelism and church planting (a goal which we support), the Conference has already asked us to cut our budget by 6% over the next biennium (1998-2000), while absorbing an expected 5% increase in readership. (See news story on page ......)

Responses

Does the ministry of the Herald matter to you and/or to the Conference? What can you do to help?

First, please pray. Pray for wisdom for the board and staff, and pray for the appeal process. In the words of a Board of Communications memorandum, "If God works in all things for the good of those who love Him and who have been called according to His purpose, then we should try to discern what God is doing in this situation."

Second, please support your Conference ministries. We are not asking you to send money to the Herald, but if you have been blessed by the Herald's ministry, perhaps now would be the time to make an extra donation to Conference work. Also, when looking at your church's budget, consider whether your church is, or should be, paying its full Conference norm. We are not complaining. Many churches give the full norm and more. Some churches are small and struggling and cannot pay much. (The Conference only asks that these churches pay what they can, even if only a token amount to express gratitude for the services the Conference provides.) Yet we know that some churches could contribute more faithfully.

Third, we may need some assistance in lobbying the government on the issue, but we are not yet at the stage of making a request for your help in that area.

Finally, let us keep the matter in perspective. We at the Herald have been greatly blessed by the prayers of God's people in the past. The Conference is growing. People are coming to Christ. Christians are being discipled. Giving to Conference work is increasing, even if not as fast as the perceived need. Our conferences are working at ways to streamline their operations in order to be more efficient and effective. There is much to be thankful for.

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