A Magazine Made for Giving Away: Signs of the Times Turns 140

Some church magazines are written for church members. Signs of the Times in Australia was started for the neighbors.

On October 24, past and present contributors gathered at Avondale University Church for an anniversary service called "140 Years of Hope." Adventist Record, the church's regional news magazine, reported on the event on November 2. Original copies of early issues were on display, and the program included a look back at Adventist publishing history and a keynote by one of the magazine's longest-serving editors.

The story behind those early copies is a modest one. According to Adventist Record, the first issue came out in Melbourne in January 1886, seven months after the first Adventist missionaries arrived in Australia. It was called Bible Echo and Signs of the Times, ran 16 pages, and had a print run of 8,000. The type was set in a bedroom in North Fitzroy before being carried to a nearby printer. The magazine took its current name in 1905.

Sharing remains central to how its editors describe the magazine. According to Adventist Record, the former editor who gave the keynote, who held the job for about 16 years, explained the difference: Adventist Record mainly serves church members, while Signs is written for readers outside the church. It mixes health, family life and everyday topics with a Christian outlook. "It can have a strong message with an entertaining approach," he said. Looking back, he described the goal: "to help people understand that there is a God, and that He's actually on our side."

The current editor was just as direct: "Signs ultimately is for sharing." She hopes members and congregations will sponsor subscriptions for people they meet. Adventist Media's page for the magazine describes the same practice. It offers bulk discounts for readers who want to share copies, and sponsored copies that go to "community members at locations where they're needed most." The page says 11 issues are printed each year in a small A5 format.

Sharing has also meant adapting. Adventist Record reports that the magazine has produced special editions for communities across the South Pacific, with Pacific authors and local topics. A former editor said the aim was to give them "contextualised sharing resources they could use." Church leaders also expect Signs to play a part in OneVoice27, an upcoming outreach initiative.

The anniversary had a lighter side too. The Adventist Heritage Centre made the magazine the theme of its October Heritage Month. It posted throwback covers and set out to recreate recipes from Signs that are more than 100 years old. "Some are definitely worth bringing back," the centre wrote. "Others… you'll have to see for yourself."

For a church that has long believed good news is meant to travel, the magazine's 140th year was a reminder of a simple practice: one reader buys a copy so someone else can read it.