About Us

A Brief History of the Religious Herald

Theodore Adams, former pastor of First Baptist in Richmond and president of the Baptist World Alliance, once referred to the Religious Herald as "an assistant pastor." "What pastor," he asked, "could possibly hope to tell his people from week to week as much as the Herald conveys to them on news about the Christian world?"

The immediate forerunner of the Herald was a monthly publication called the Evangelical Inquirer, produced by editor Henry Keeling in 1827. The 32-page, pamphlet-sized magazine covered many topics but produced only 12 issues before ceasing operation. Keeling wanted to move to a weekly newspaper format which would be printed on a large "blanket sheet." The first issues of the Religious Herald rolled off the press on January 11, 1828, in downtown Richmond, somewhere on Main Street between 11th and 12th streets.

Eli Ball became editor in 1831. Two years later, William Sands, who was then the publisher/proprietor, assumed editorship when Ball resigned because of the press of duties with other Baptist entities. Sands served the new paper for 37 years during times of turbulent religious controversies and doctrinal disputes.

During the American Civil War, the paper struggled but managed to maintain publishing, although it was reduced from four pages to two in 1864. On April 3, 1865, retreating Confederates set fire to Richmond's business district and the Herald's offices were destroyed. What little that was left of the paper was sold to Jeremiah B. Jeter and Alfred Dickinson in October 1865.

Jeter served as editor until his death in 1880, then Dickinson assumed leadership of the paper until 1906. Associate editor Robert H. Pitt then became editor and served until 1937, when he died at the age of 84. Each editor brought his own distinctive style to the editor's chair. In September of 1937, the paper was purchased by an experienced Virginia Baptist pastor, Reuben Alley. Circulation grew from 2,500 to almost 35,000 as a result of Alley's hard word and innovations.

From the beginning, the paper was owned by its editor. In 1950 the Religious Herald Publishing Association, Inc. was formed as the paper became an agency of the Baptist General Association of Virginia.

When Alley retired in 1969, Julian Pentecost was called to be editor. Thomas Miller joined the staff as associate editor in 1970 and served until 1986, when he became vice president for communications at the Southern Baptist Convention's Annuity Board (now GuideStone Financial Services). Robert Dilday then became associate editor. In 1990, Pentecost announced his retirement, and the trustees turned to a Virginia Baptist pastor, Michael Clingenpeel, who became editor in 1992. Clingenpeel served until 2004, when he became pastor of River Road Church, Baptist, in Richmond. The next year, another Virginia Baptist pastor, James White, became editor.