MESSENGER traces its beginnings to 1851, when Henry Kurtz published the first issue of The Gospel Visitor. The next 30 years saw 33 more periodicals begun. Numerous consolidations and name changes occurred in the years leading up to 1883, when the first issue of The Gospel Messenger was published. It was considered the official church paper, though it was not actually owned by the church until 1897, when the church assumed ownership of the Brethren Publishing House.

In 1883 James Quinter, formerly editor of The Primitive Christian, served as chief editor. J. H. Moore of The Brethren at Work was office editor. H. J. Brumbaugh, formerly editor of The Pilgrim, was eastern editor. Joseph Amick, formerly with The Brethren at Work, was business manager. In 1885, D. L. Miller, who had been instrumental in the consolidation of the papers that formed the new Gospel Messenger, was appointed office editor.

After the death of Quinter in 1888, the team of Miller and Moore became the dominant figures on the MESSENGER staff. Both men wielded influence far beyond their official charge. Their writings virtually amounted to Annual Meeting statements of policy and belief.

Edward Frantz succeeded Moore as office editor in 1915. In 1921 Miller died and Frantz became editor. The Frantz years provided the paper its longest period of consistent format and content.

In 1924 Harry A. Brandt joined The Gospel Messenger as assistant editor. While he was never given the title of editor, in the latter Frantz years Brandt carried heavy editorial responsibilities.

A former Nigeria missionary and McPherson College professor, Desmond W. Bittinger, became editor in 1944, signaling a change from the shape of The Gospel Messenger as molded by Frantz and Brandt. The new editor stirred Brethren with his strong pacifist stance in the years during which World War II ended, the United Nations was formed, and the Brethren Service Commission came into its own.

Called to the presidency of McPherson College in 1950, Bittinger was succeeded by Kenneth I. Morse, who for the previous seven years had been youth editor for Church of the Brethren publications. For some 15 years Morse continued the familiar Bittinger format, but in 1965 he brought dramatic changes. The paper became a biweekly magazine, took on a completely new look, and shortened its name—to simply MESSENGER. Reader reaction to the new name and look was mixed with reaction to the explosive issues of the 1960s, particularly civil rights, campus unrest, and the Vietnam War.

After 21 years as editor, Morse stepped down in 1972, and served thereafter, until 1978, as associate editor. He was succeeded by Howard E. Royer, who, like Morse, had edited youth publications for a number of years. He kept MESSENGER on the course charted by Morse. As magazine publishing became increasingly expensive, MESSENGER became a monthly magazine in 1973. Kermon Thomasson, a former Nigeria missionary and, since 1974, managing editor, became acting editor in 1977. He succeeded Royer as editor in 1979, serving until 1997.

Fletcher Farrar, of Springfield, Ill., who had for 20 years been owner and publisher of the Illinois Times served as editor from 1997 through the end of 2003. Walt Wiltschek, previously news director, took over as editor on Jan 1, 2004. The publisher is Wendy McFadden, who served as managing editor from 1981 to 1992, when she became publisher of Brethren Press.

MESSENGER continues to be the official magazine of the Church of the Brethren and is published in Elgin, Ill., by the Church of the Brethren General Board.

[adapted from The Brethren Encyclopedia]

MESSENGER's current logotype premiered in July 2000, on the eve of the magazine's 150th anniversary.

The previous logotype changed exactly 10 years earlier, to the month. The one before that was developed in 1971, though it was not radically different from the one generated in a major redesign of the magazine in 1965. Most of the logotypes have lasted a much shorter time than that one—one of them no more than four years. Maybe 10 years is a pretty long time, especially in this era of rapid change.

The first logo pictured here is from 1883, when The Gospel Messenger came into being. (MESSENGER traces its lineage back to The Gospel Visitor, founded in 1851, which is why our sesquicentennial will take place in 2001.) It's interesting to see that our new logotype—with a serif typeface rendered in all caps—shares some characteristics with the classic look of 1883. That original typeface (used 47 years) has withstood the test of time better than any of the intervening ones.

Bridging the classic and the contemporary, the traditional and the forward-looking, is not a bad place for MESSENGER to be. As we move forward, we trust that the loyal readers who have always read MESSENGER will continue to do so, turning to it like a familiar friend. We also hope that new readers who don't even know what a Brethren pedigree is will find food for thought and nurture for the soul in these 150-year-old pages.

[from July 2000 MESSENGER]