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As we enter the new year, we want to acknowledge your support and participation in this work of reaching prisoners through the printed page. With your help, we were able to distribute 206,000 copies of Loaves & Fishes magazine, 30,000 Lighthouse calendars, and 3,000 miscellaneous tracts, booklets, and bookmarks in 2014.
Now that Jimmy Weaver is retired, he’s able to devote more time to Lighthouse. Things are going smoothly and he’s staying current with data entry and orders. He is also learning more about subscription management and how to troubleshoot undeliverable mail to prisoners who happened to provide a name the prison mail room doesn’t recognize.
My dad (Darold) works part-time from his office in Iowa. His experience and assistance as circulation manager is invaluable as we transition to more books going out in bulk and build connections with our vital distributors. He also enjoys helping to prepare new issues of Loaves & Fishes.
Issue 25 is being printed now and is scheduled to arrive next week; volunteers will then come to prepare all the packages for mailing.
Donations increased dramatically in December, and we have plenty of funds to mail issue 25. In fact, we will likely soon have enough for the printing of issue 26!
Our goal is to publish four issues of Loaves & Fishes this year. Please remember us in prayer for energy and inspiration to prepare the new issues and for the funds to cover the costs of this project. Most of all that the light of Jesus Christ would penetrate more prison cells in 2015 than ever before.
For the Kingdom,
Lavern Gingerich
Loaves & Fishes totals we mailed in 2014.
| Item | Count |
|---|---|
| Loaves & Fishes 01/01 | 1 |
| Loaves & Fishes 02/01 | 6 |
| Loaves & Fishes 03/01 | 3 |
| Loaves & Fishes 08/01 | 75 |
| Loaves & Fishes 08/02 | 2 |
| Loaves & Fishes 09/01 | 4 |
| Loaves & Fishes 10/01 | 811 |
| Loaves & Fishes 11/01 | 1,748 |
| Loaves & Fishes 11/02 | 1,682 |
| Loaves & Fishes 11/03 | 1,890 |
| Loaves & Fishes Issue 23 | 91,179 |
| Loaves & Fishes Issue 24 | 108,890 |
| Total Pieces: | 206,291 |
“I was so touched that I read every article in the book two or three times… I would love to have more of your Loaves and Fishes issues. The only one I have is the summer 2004… I just absolutely love Loaves and Fishes!”
Kay Hutson, Childress, TX
My responsibility at Lighthouse Publishing is primarily database-related, staying connected with the 400+ chaplains and prison workers across the US who get Loaves & Fishes in bulk. We like to make phone contact with the larger distributors at least every two years to not only make sure they are actually using what we send, but also have enough to meet their needs.
It is always a blessing to hear firsthand how enthused these chaplains are to receive Loaves & Fishes and how quickly the booklets disappear.
As mentioned in a recent newsletter, we have made some changes to curb new single subscriptions to prisoners and are now doing most of our distribution through bulk subscriptions. I am encouraged with the support and cooperation of the chaplains I’ve talked with.
I also have the opportunity to review all of the testimonies and poems that are sent to us from those in prison, and type the best ones for future issues. The hard part is to decide which ones to use in each issue as we always have more then we can use. We use about ten or twelve writings from prisoners in each issue.
Another specialty I really enjoy is getting a few puzzles ready for each issue. Most prisoners really enjoy a good puzzle, and I like to use puzzles that involve Bible verses to get them thinking about the Bible.
Besides taking care of the emails and phone calls, it seems there is never a dull moment.
Darold Gingerich
Assistant Manager
Just an ordinary day at Lighthouse Publishing brings with it extraordinary fulfillment because the Word of God is going to the incarcerated who want to hear the truth.
My work at Lighthouse involves opening and processing inmate mail and helping to pack outgoing orders. We get many letters of appreciation, poetry and article submissions, requests for Loaves & Fishes and other literature, and pleas for spiritual help, etc.
I type subscriptions and one-time orders into the database where invoices and address labels are generated. Once or twice a week, invoices are taken to the mailroom where a supply of literature is kept. The orders are pulled and packed in the appropriate packaging, postage is applied, and outgoing mail is placed in postal bins and taken to the post office where the “gospel message” is sent on its way to searching and thirsty souls, anxiously awaiting to receive it. Yes, it is an ordinary day made extraordinary by you—the generous supporters of this ministry. Thank you!
Jimmy Weaver
Mailroom
