Renewed Vision
120 Years of Ministry Remembering Our Past,
Moving Forward for the Future On May 26, 1902, the newlyformed Southwestern Union published its first edition of the Southwestern Union Record, a weekly journal and the official organ of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Southwest. This inaugural edition was eight pages of handset type, which was mailed to 1,800 households across the five states of the territory. The paper merged the Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas conference newsletters, as well as the Keene Industrial Educator, into a single edition with the purpose of sharing news with Adventist members who would find hope in reading a robust collection of news, testimonies and activities of fellow members from across the territory. The managing editor of this new publication, G. G. Rupert, wrote, “The printed page should fall like autumn leaves. There is no line of work so encouraging as this. It brings the truth directly to the people.” From the beginning, the publication relied on members to share what was happening within their local communities with their broader Adventist family, and they did this through testimonies and news of
4
RECORD MAGAZINE
