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Gene Jackson, a former printing executive and seller of character bears, has a big vision. He hopes to transform a local West Coast monthly newspaper into "the nation's faith newspaper" for Christians and Christian outreach. But first he'll have to overcome the fallout from multiple failed business partnerships.

In February, Kingdom Ventures, Inc., Jackson's publicly traded firm in Minden, Nevada, near Lake Tahoe, launched Christian Times Today. The publishers of this monthly broadsheet hope to circulate it in 70 cities through a network of 10,000 churches and retail outlets. According to the company's website, the circulation of the paper is 500,000. (Kingdom Ventures, Inc., is not associated with a charity of the same name in Massachusetts.)

"We're spending the money and making the effort to have the look and feel of a USA Today, but with a Christian voice," said Susan Caliger, national operations director. The paper includes news articles, features, advertising, and commentary by David Limbaugh, John Maxwell, and Dave Ramsey.

About 100 newspapers in North America belong to the Christian Newspaper Association (CNA). Most of them are small in circulation, budget, and staff. Christian Times Today is not a CNA member. CNA reports its members have a monthly total circulation of 2.7 million, up about 50 percent from 1994. By comparison, total daily newspaper circulation has declined about 7 percent since 1994. Most Christian newspapers are distributed free through churches locally, but they collaborate for nationwide ad campaigns.

The promise of an American newspaper that advocates Christian values dates to the 18th century. But journalism historian Michael Smith, chair of the Department of Mass Communication at Campbell University, told Christianity Today, "The history of Christian newspaper publishing is fraught with peril." Many Christian newspaper owners come from a ministry background, Smith says, suggesting they have less experience in running a business.

Christian newspapers that have survived maintain a local focus. Doug Trouten, executive director of the Evangelical Press Association, understands the contemporary appeal of community-based Christian journalism. "Christian newspapering is one of the fastest growing segments of the Christian publishing industry," he told ct. "A local Christian newspaper serves a unique role. It covers local news in a way that national Christian magazines can't and covers religious news in a way that local secular newspapers won't. It can be very close to its readers."

But Kingdom Ventures hopes to do more than newspapering to support its bottom line. Jackson says Christian consumers are the "largest untapped affinity group" in America. Kingdom Ventures targets Christians with specific products and services.

In 2003, Kingdom Ventures reached two milestones: First, by going public in January, the firm sold stock to investors at 30 cents each. (There are 20 million shares outstanding.) Second, due to higher trading, the stock price shot up to $1 per share, nearly tripling the firm's value in a period of weeks and giving the firm significant market visibility.

But in July, troubling developments emerged. The federal Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) subpoenaed documents related to Kingdom's public offering. Later, Gene Jackson told CT he suspected the firm that helped Kingdom go public had pumped up the stock price to its own benefit. (Stock-price manipulation is a federal offense.) Jackson declined to provide evidence of stock-price pumping to CT. Also, he said neither he nor Kingdom profited from it. By August, the firm's stock price had plunged back to around 30 cents. According to recent investment analysis from Reuters-owned Multex Fundamentals, Kingdom had net losses of $3.1 million over the nine months ending October 31, 2003, despite reporting significant revenue growth.

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June 2004, Vol. 48, No. 6