By Pat Centner, AFAJ staff writer
November-December 2001 – Rick and Pendra Lee Snyder have a God-sized goal. They want to develop their newspaper, the Christian Citizen USA, into the Christian version of USA Today. And with God’s help, and the help of others they believe He has brought their way, the couple is very satisfied with the progress they’ve made.
Christian Citizen USA is a monthly for-profit newspaper with a circulation in excess of 120,000 papers a month and a readership of approximately 350,000. Based in Dayton, Ohio, the paper serves readers and advertisers in three states: Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky.
A little over four years ago, the Snyders purchased the Christian Citizen, the oldest established Christian newspaper in their area. They added “USA” to the name, and nicknamed the newspaper “CCN-USA.” Though currently distributed primarily to churches and bookstores (6,000+), the newspaper is also read by many “seculars,” and a major goal for the future is to expand into that market.
Rick and Pendra Lee are warm, sincere people who obviously love the Lord and are following His lead as they prevail in their quest to use their publication to “raise the spiritual level” of their community and beyond. “We feel very strongly that God has given us a vision to publish a national newspaper that expresses a Christian worldview,” says Pendra Lee.
The Snyders have had many affirmations that God is behind their vision. “He has orchestrated a lot of miraculous events that have not only pushed us in the direction of a nationwide Christian newspaper, but have confirmed we’re on the right track,” comments Pendra Lee. Most affirming, she says, are the people He has brought into their lives to provide endorsements, guidance, and expertise to help them as they develop and implement a plan for achieving their dream.
CCN-USA has received endorsements from such notables as Dr. D. James Kennedy of Florida’s Coral Ridge Ministries; Dr. Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, and actor Dean Jones, who now heads up the Christian Rescue Committee. “The endorsement of secular newspaper editorial staffs such as those from The Cincinnati Enquirer, the Dayton Daily News and the Washington Times has also been very encouraging,” says Rick.
“As we get the word out, people are contacting us in amazing numbers with E-mails and phone calls, telling us they want to partner with us and create a localized edition of CCN-USA,” adds Pendra Lee. Perhaps most significantly, the couple has felt God’s leading as they’ve formed a coalition of “founders” who are supportive of the newspaper’s vision and who bring their own particular brand of expertise and advice to the table.
“Our founders represent a broad spectrum of Americans who are concerned about the moral decline in our culture, and are jumping on board to help us with the expansion of Christian Citizen USA,” explains Rick. CCN-USA currently has 14 founders, with plans for adding more. “We’ve had two meetings so far this year, and we’re thrilled with the invaluable input we’ve received from these godly, talented people,” he adds.
The business side of the newspaper has also benefited from outside expertise. Shortly after acquiring CCN-USA, Rick says, “the Lord brought a retired newspaper editor to help us, and he put us in contact with a retired research and development executive. This man worked with us for a period of six months, helping us create a strategic plan, a business plan, a mission statement and all the other elements necessary in today’s world to be successful in business. We know God sent this man, and now, miraculously, He has provided another individual who is helping us take the business to a higher level by providing his expertise in helping us put together a stock offering.”
The newspaper reached a strategic high watermark this past May when its professional design and content were recognized at the Christian Newspaper Association’s annual awards ceremony in San Diego. The Tri-State edition of Christian Citizen USA won Newspaper of the Year. The paper also received both First and Second Place awards for Best Photograph for the Central Ohio edition, and Second and Third Place awards for Best Editorial in the Tri-State edition.
"One of the competition judges (Dr. Michael Smith, professor of journalism at Regent University) told us one of the reasons we won the Newspaper of the Year award was because of our ability to cover local news, rather than using a lot of newswire content,” comments Rick. “And with localized staffs of writers and reporters, that’s our goal – to build a good strong base in cities all across the country, where people can get local news written by local journalists, in addition to the latest national and international news.”
CCN-USA’s expansion in the four years since the Snyders took it over has been phenomenal. Its format has changed from a 16-page tabloid to a 12-page broadsheet and, as a result of new advertisers and subscribers, the print run has increased from 16,000 to 120,000. The paper now serves four major markets: Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus, Ohio, and Louisville, Kentucky. As it grows, the Snyders’ goal is is for every local market containing one million or more people to publish a local edition totally devoted to local news and information based on a Judeo-Christian worldview.
When asked what some of their future goals are as they work toward their ultimate goal, the couple answered:
- For CCN-USA to become a household name;
- to increase our network of free-lance and investigative reporters nationwide;
- to put newspaper boxes on the streets and evolve from a monthly to a weekly newspaper;
- to have one million subscribers in the next five years; and
- to honor God through our work, but to also live our lives in such a way that our twin teenage girls know they are first right after our commitment to God.”
