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Missionary stories often involve answered prayers and brushes with death in foreign lands or starving children being fed. It’s easy to get an emotional response when you talk about preaching the Gospel to the uncivilized or saving the lives of children with bloated stomachs. These are vital missions, yet we can’t neglect the burden God has put on our hearts for the less-glamorous mission of the printed word.
We’re excited about written words at Lighthouse Publishing. Here’s why:
Written words let the reader live a thousand lives. Someone who reads books can learn a lot about other places, cultures, and people. Written words take us back in time and broaden our horizons far beyond what personal friendships can.
Written words never give up. A book or tract doesn’t need courage or perseverance to keep sharing it’s message. You can get angry at the message or throw it away, but written words relentlessly make their point.
Written words never change their mind. You can argue or disagree with what you read, but you can never change the “mind” of written words with debates. Through the Spirit of God working in the reader’s heart, this silent messenger can “win the argument” and bring the person to Christ or a better understanding of truth.
Written words make new impressions while the world sleeps. When you distribute a personal letter, a book, or any kind of written message, it’s hard to tell what its final destination will be. We have heard stories of how a copy of Loaves & Fishes magazine ended up under a bunk or pillow and at just the right time, another prisoner found it and was transformed. It’s likely that Loaves & Fishes is often making impressions and drawing prisoners to God in the dark hours of night while we are in bed sleeping.
Written words are accurate. How often have you been listening to a story and someone else disagrees with a few of the details? It’s hard to remember exactly what people said and did a couple weeks ago. But written words accurately preserve the message intended by the author, even under heavy use.
Written words can be duplicated. Once the editing and design of a new book or magazine is finished, it’s easy to duplicate the original a million times with 100% accuracy. Whether for good or evil, written words are influencing billions of people and shaping the coming generations.
Printing gives us leverage. This leverage multiplies the effects of our Kingdom investment. Written words cannot replace relationships and leading others to Christ on a personal level, yet personal relationships will never be able to achieve the level of massive influence the printing press and other technology have.
Even if you burn one copy of Loaves & Fishes magazine, there are likely still hundreds of thousands more copies circulating among prison bunks, libraries, drawers, and trash cans. (Yes, some people discover Loaves & Fishes for the first time in trash cans.)
There is one thing we have in common with the devil, false religions, and ungodly men: We are using printed literature and technology with strategy and vision, and successfully influencing minds and hearts. Who is winning the battle for influence? Usually those with the biggest team, the most money, and the biggest audience.
Obviously we are promoting a vastly different message. We are not looking for the biggest audience or to make the biggest splash. However, we have found an open door for using written words in the prisons and jails of the USA, and the opportunities are bigger than what we’ve been able to handle financially.
The next issue of Loaves & Fishes magazine is ready to print, and we’d really like to do it yet this fall. The printing will cost around $16,000 to make 90,000 copies. The postage should be close to $9,000.
We are deeply grateful for our faithful supporters. Some of you pray, some of you send donations, some of you have volunteered your time. I sincerely wish each of you God’s blessings and grace as you seek to work for the Father until the night comes.
For the Kingdom,
Lavern Gingerich
PS. Want to help? Click here to donate.
