The Forerunner - History

History

The Forerunner was founded by Bob Weiner and Rose Weiner and Maranatha Campus Ministries in 1981. It was conceived as a publication which would reach young people with the message of the Christian faith and especially conservativism as a counterpoint to liberalism. 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 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, feminism and welfare statism. The Forerunner challenged the student audience to re-evaluate the liberal bias taught in the classroom.