''The Forerunner'' is a print publication (1981-1994) and website (1996-present) that emphasizes reformation of society and biblical worldview. Contributing editors and correspondents from
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
,
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
,
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
and many other countries have contributed many of the articles. Students are encouraged to reprint the articles in student newspapers with the online version functioning as a "model publication."
In 1993, The Forerunner International was founded by Jay Rogers and versions of ''The Forerunner'' were published in nations such as South Africa, Russia, Ukraine, China and
America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. The Forerunner exists today as a grass-roots organization which is dedicated to the training of student interns to produce media. The stated goal to help fulfill the
Great Commission
In Christianity, the Great Commission is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples to spread the gospel to all the nations of the world. The Great Commission is outlined in Matthew 28:16– 20, where on a mountain i ...
(Matthew 28:18–20) through the arts.
History
''The Forerunner'' was founded by Bob Weiner and Rose Weiner and
Maranatha Campus Ministries
Maranatha Campus Ministries was a Charismatic/Pentecostal-oriented Christian ministry founded by Bob Weiner which existed from 1971 to 1990. Its primary outreach was to college and university campuses.
Beginnings
Maranatha began in 1971 in Padu ...
in 1981. It was conceived as a publication which would reach young people with the message of the Christian faith and especially
conservativism
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
as a counterpoint to
liberalism
Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...
. The method was calculated: to influence the thinking of students with biblical principles through the distribution of newspapers on the university campuses of America.
By 1983, thirty-five conservative newspapers had been started on major secular campuses and the number doubled by 1985. Even at the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
campus, which had long carried the reputation of being the most liberal of academic institutions in the U.S., students were following that trend: One survey proved that twice as many Berkeley students considered themselves conservative as did those in 1971. Today there are hundreds of conservative and Christian newspapers on otherwise liberal university campuses.
''The Forerunner'' addressed issues which were at the center of campus debate. The newspaper presented biblical alternatives to
Marxism
Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
,
feminism
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
and
welfare
Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...
statism. ''The Forerunner'' challenged the student audience to re-evaluate the liberal bias taught in the classroom.
Foreign language editions
By 1988, foreign language versions of ''The Forerunner'' were published by
Maranatha Campus Ministries
Maranatha Campus Ministries was a Charismatic/Pentecostal-oriented Christian ministry founded by Bob Weiner which existed from 1971 to 1990. Its primary outreach was to college and university campuses.
Beginnings
Maranatha began in 1971 in Padu ...
in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
and
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
.
The Russian ''Predvestnik'
was produced in
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
, Ukraine. This student-run publication was founded in July 1991.
The Chinese ''The Mandate'
is produced by Churches Serving Internationals (CSI) to produce a Chinese publication, in English and Chinese, which reached Chinese students studying in the United States. The on-line version has made an impact on students and intellectuals throughout China.
The Spanish ''El Campeón'
a Spanish newspaper, was produced in cooperation with
Champions for Christ (Campeones para Cristo) for Latin America. The goal was to distribute the newspaper in the high school and college campuses during evangelism outreaches in countries such as Peru, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Panama and Colombia. Some copies were also distributed in Cuba.
External links
*
1981 establishments in Florida
1994 disestablishments in Florida
Conservative magazines published in the United States
Christian magazines
Defunct political magazines published in the United States
Forerunner
Forerunner may refer to:
Religion
* A holy person announcing the approaching appearance of a prophet, see precursor (religion).
** As a title, used in particular for John the Baptist within Christianity, and especially within the Eastern Orthodox ...
Forerunner
Forerunner may refer to:
Religion
* A holy person announcing the approaching appearance of a prophet, see precursor (religion).
** As a title, used in particular for John the Baptist within Christianity, and especially within the Eastern Orthodox ...
Magazines published in Florida
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