Category Archives for "News"

Many Prisoners Give Thanks

News

“Thank you for this issue of Loaves & Fishes. It has truly brought more light into my life.”

Tonya Houk • TCF • Topeka, Kansas

Here are some excerpts from our November 2009 printed newsletter:

I have dedicated this month’s newsletter to thank the Lord and you—our faithful partners—for making Loaves & Fishes possible. We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to send Christian literature to tens of thousands of prisoners across our nation.

Thank you for your prayers, your encouragement, your time, and your financial commitments. Many prisoners are giving thanks on our behalf for the gifts you give us (2 Corinthians 1:11).

The Lord has opened the door for us to hire Anthony Hertzler as assistant editor for Loaves & Fishes. Anthony works from his home in Oklahoma and is a great help to me in this work.

Anthony and I are working hard to get another issue of Loaves & Fishes ready to print by the end of December. For the past two years, we have only been able to print one issue per year. Our goal is to mail the next issue in January, only three months after the previous one. This is a high goal for us, but we can easily reach it if we all work together.

Because of other obligations, my dad won’t be able to print the next one or two issues of Loaves & Fishes here, so we are shopping around for a printing company. We plan to mail the booklets from here.

We expect the overall cost of producing and mailing this next issue to be around $40,000. Even $1/day can help us reach our goal of one issue every quarter.

Please pray that God would open the doors for a good deal on the printing and give us wisdom to be faithful stewards of His resources.

With sincere thanks,

Lavern Gingerich

13 Thank You Letters From Prisoners and Chaplains

Since it’s thanksgiving month here in the USA, we wanted to let a few of our subscribers thank you for helping to provide the gift of Loaves & Fishes. We get lots of unsolicited feedback. Here is a small sampling of letters from prisoners and chaplains.

“Your publication inspires and has a positive effect on our men and women so I thank you for your generosity.”
J.  Yates, Chaplain’s Assistant • San Diego Correctional Facility

“I just received my first issue of your Loaves & Fishes magazine, and I want to thank you so much for it!”
David in Virginia

“I enjoy reading your magazine and thank you for sending me them.”
Keith in Pennsylvania

“Thank you for your services and may God bless you.”
Rudy in California

“Thank you for your recent shipment of Loaves & Fishes. They are a popular magazine here and we are thankful for the regular shipments.”
Jeremy (Chaplain) in Iowa

“We enjoyed your booklet so much. Especially the Noah’s Ark story. We learned things we didn’t know. Thank you!”
Crystal in Texas

“I have benefited immensely from reading Loaves & Fishes!! Thank you.”
Jeff in Connecticut

“I have really enjoyed this magazine very much. All the articles are insightful and…inspirational… I look forward to my next issue with great anticipation. Thank you so much for feeding my hungry soul with Loaves & Fishes.”
Michael in Florida

“Thanks brothers for your love and sacrifice putting together this publication and offering it to us. I loved every page of it.”
M.T. in Texas

“Your efforts and works are appreciated. Your Loaves & Fishes gives people hope and makes people stop and think and realize that they are not alone. So thank you all at Lighthouse Publishing for Loaves & Fishes.”
Apache in Connecticut

“I would like to thank you for the Loaves & Fishes booklets, and we will continue to pray for the ministry.”
Donald (Chaplain) in Massachusetts

“Thank you all for your dedication and hard work. I look very forward to hours of reading enjoyment in the near future. Once again, thank you!”
Holman in Arizona

“Thank you for sending us your latest edition of Loaves & Fishes. Our inmates certainly enjoy this publication, and we are grateful for your contribution to our program here at Gainesville CI.”
Steven (Chaplain) in Florida

Who Can Afford the Pearl of Great Price?

News

Dear Friend,

Have you paid the price to enter the kingdom of heaven? Are you a serious disciple of Jesus Christ?

In Matthew 13, Jesus compared a person entering the kingdom of heaven to a merchant buying one beautiful pearl. This pearl was so valuable the merchant had to sell everything to afford this one pearl.

It takes nothing less than everything you have to follow Jesus Christ. He said, “Whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:33). And “if anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24).

This then is the cost of following Jesus—everything. The money you have in the bank and in your pocket, your time, your house, your garage, your car, your wife, your children, and even yourself. When you become a disciple of Jesus Christ, everything becomes His!

This does not necessarily mean that you can’t use and enjoy material things here on the earth, but it means that Jesus is now the owner. You have no right to control your life any longer. It’s up to Him to say how your money is used and what kind of house you live in and what kind of truck you drive. Everything is His, and Jesus always makes decisions in the light of eternity.

So who can afford to purchase the pearl of great price and become a true disciple of Jesus Christ? The person who is willing to forsake everything. It is not how much we have that counts, but how much we give up for the kingdom of God.

Let us forsake everything as the poor widow who gave all her money to God and not as the religious folks who gave their extras to God (Mark 12:41–44). Jesus sits nearby watching. Will you forsake everything for Him? He invites you to an eternal inheritance that begins today and will only become more precious in the ages to come.

You Can Make a Difference!

We see an urgent need to publish Loaves & Fishes at least four times per year. For the last couple years, we have only been able to publish one issue a year because of lack of finances.

We are looking for 350 partners who are willing to give $1/day. If donations would increase by this amount, we think we could publish Loaves & Fishes four times per year.

Click here to help send Christian literature to hungry prisoners.

For Christ,

Lavern Gingerich

Loaves & Fishes Arrested and Sent off to Prison

News

As I wrote earlier, the Lord has supplied our need for postage to mail another printing of Loaves & Fishes! Thank you, friends, for all your help.

The postage to mail all the subscriptions this time was nearly $14,000. Many of them have headed off to prison already, and the rest are leaving within the next week, Lord willing. The postage is paid, and we have money left for ongoing expenses. Praise the Lord!

Our Burden

We truly desire to see Jesus Christ exalted in the prisons of the United States. The Lord has shown us hungry hearts in prison and an open door to speak into their lives through printed literature. We have a burden to publish another issue of Loaves & Fishes soon. Please pray for God’s leading and the finances to make it happen.

There are many obstacles in this ministry, so let’s all partner together in prayer for God’s kingdom to be built in the prisons. Pray for Satan’s power to be bound at Lighthouse, for finances to publish Loaves & Fishes four times a year, and for God’s presence with each booklet that goes forth.

For Christ,

Lavern Gingerich

Postage Money Arrived!

News

We desire to thank all our supporters and give praise and glory to the Lord for providing the money we need for postage to mail all the Loaves & Fishes subscriptions!

We’ve been busy printing address labels, binding books, ordering mail tubs and supplies, scheduling volunteers, and more. Our goal is to get all the subscriptions ready for the mail truck within a couple weeks.

Please pray for good progress in this project and safety as the magazines are mailed out to thousands of readers. We long to see Jesus Christ exalted in prisons all across the United States!

For Christ,

Lavern Gingerich