Category Archives for "News"

Keeping You in the Loop

News

Loaves & Fishes Magazine

We are beginning to prepare the next issue of Loaves & Fishes. I had hoped to start before this, but have been very busy this year working on our “Resource Kit,” a packet of literature and resources for new or potential donors.

Now my mind and schedule is more clear to move ahead with the new issue, and just yesterday I sensed the Lord giving me another confirmation for the theme I was inspired to use earlier.

Please pray for Anthony and me as we seek the Lord’s direction and move ahead in this project.

Resource Kit

We’ve had some takers for our literature packets, which we have renamed to “Resource Kit.” If you can help us spread the word, we will be glad to send you either complete kits or individual pieces in the amount you can use.

We have the ministry presentation booklet, 3 Marks of an Effective Missionary, Loaves & Fishes samples, inspirational bookmarks, and more. These resources are available free of charge for the glory of God.

To order these resources, just send us an email and let us know what you can use.

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Loaves & Fishes , News

Literature Packets

For the past six months, except for the work in the mailroom, we’ve been mostly working on 1) raising awareness and 2) making internal changes in the ministry in preparation for growth. In addition to becoming officially non-profit and obtaining a non-profit mailing permit, we’ve been able to reach some other significant milestones.

A big one is the resources we have published to help inform and raise awareness for the ministry. Here is a list of them:

• A ministry presentation in a full-color booklet. This is an effective way of raising awareness among churches and individuals.
• 3 Marks of an Effective Missionary, a 20-page booklet designed to inspire God’s people of their mission and to explain the basis of the ministry here.
• Five full-color bookmarks with poetry from Art Mayse (a friend of ours in prison) and one that reminds us to pray for the prisoners of the USA. Each of these mentions Loaves & Fishes and encourages prayer and financial support.
• A cheery refrigerator magnet with a prisoner testimonial on it and our contact information.

In the recent weeks, we’ve sent custom information packets to various segments of our database. Now we are looking for new contacts to send literature to. Hopefully, you can help us get these resources into the hands of potential donors.

How You Can Help

Friend-to-friend recommendations are one of the most effective ways to raise awareness for a cause.

Would you like to help us spread the word about Lighthouse Publishing and the wonderful opportunities to touch hearts in prison through literature?

Perhaps you have friends who have never heard about the open door in the prisons. Maybe your church has never been involved in prison work.

Be a voice. Simply let us send you some free literature packets. You can share them with your friends and churches that might be interested in learning about and supporting the work of Loaves & Fishes.

To order these resources, just send an email to info@lighthousepublishing.org. All we ask is that you use this literature for the glory of God and join us in prayer for the progress of the work.

For the Kingdom,

Lavern Gingerich

Ministry News and Prayer Requests

Loaves & Fishes , News

Non-Profit Postage Permit

As we said before, Lighthouse Publishing is now officially under our local church. Just recently, we finally were able to get a non-profit postage permit to mail at non-profit rates. This will save us several thousand dollars every time we do a presort mailing for the Loaves & Fishes single subscriptions! We will also save money on other presort mailings, such as the newsletter.

New Voice Mail System

Our old setup wasn’t recording complete messages anymore. If you left a message and never heard back from us, we are sincerely sorry. We’ve switched to a new voice mail system hosted with our phone company. It only costs $3/month and is just what we need.

New Bookkeeper

Esther has been responsible for the bookkeeping here for the last several years. With three little ones, it had become very difficult for her to keep doing it. The Lord is faithful and provided for this need also. We’ve hired Rosanne Gingerich, my sister, to be our new bookkeeper and cleaning lady. The carpet in my office is cleaner than it’s been in a long time. I think she deserves a raise already.

Next Issue of Loaves & Fishes Magazine

We have inspiration for the next issue of Loaves & Fishes and hope to start preparing it soon. Please pray for direction in this project.

We have close to $14,000 on hand. We’re not sure yet if we’ll print this one here or have someone else do it. If we outsource the printing, we could move ahead once we reach $20,000.

Project Goals

Our heart still beats with a vision of publishing Loaves & Fishes four times a year. We also see a huge opportunity to touch thousands of women with a magazine directed specifically toward mothers, wives, and single girls. Besides, we’ve had a vision for a Spanish version of Loaves & Fishes for years now.

However, we don’t feel clear launching into other projects until we can do at least 3 or 4 issues of Loaves & Fishes a year. Our main, and perhaps only, constraint is lack of funds.

We need wisdom in these decisions. Please pray for us that we could bring glory to God and expand His Kingdom with the donations of all our dear partners.

For the Kingdom,

Lavern Gingerich

Greetings From the Mailroom

News

February has been a busy month here in the mailroom where Verba and I are working two days a week trying to keep up with stacks of incoming mail. Most of the mail has been generated by the latest issue of Loaves & Fishes, which was sent out in December and January. There are the usual new subscriptions, Bible requests, and all sorts of questions the prisoners are facing in their lives.

We get a lot of pen pal requests from men. I believe we have all the ladies pen pal requests matched up, but that can change at any time.

The last week of January, Darold and I had the opportunity to spend a week in an Alabama prison with the We Care Program. What an eye opener to the freedom I enjoy!

I was challenged in many ways, probably most of all by some of the very dedicated Christians I met there. Even in prison life and depressing situations, they are praising God, studying His word, and witnessing to their fellow inmates. One of them told me, “To me it’s a mission field—just one that I’m kinda locked into!” These men desperately need our prayer and support.

May God bless you as you represent Him!

Robert Miller

Lighthouse Mailroom