Springtime!

The time of year when many living things turn from brown to green is my favorite season. I love to see the emergence of buds and the spring cultivation of fields and gardens.

In my day job, I manage a grocery store, and in my business, we pay a lot of attention to what is growing in warmer regions. This is because those areas are our sources for produce during the colder seasons.

I have the privilege of observing strawberry pickers in North Carolina, and I am fascinated by their skill, teamwork, and work ethic. A hundred pickers will begin at one end of a field, and in an hour’s time, they can harvest an entire massive field and bring in a truckload of beautiful fresh fruit.

As each pail of berries comes in from the field, supervisors check them for quality, pack them in retail flats, and scan the picker’s cards to ensure each picker is paid for his or her work.

Currently, we ship Loaves & Fishes to about 350 bulk subscribers. I envision this group of people working in God’s fields every day, bringing in a beautiful harvest.

The addition of souls to the kingdom of God is the first goal we seek, but further than that, we want to see them cultivated and developed in the same way we would care for fruit-bearing plants. We hope to see the harvest enhanced by character growth, increase of knowledge, and spiritual formation.

Finally, we know that at the end of the day, as we individually bring in the fruit we have harvested, God waits with a reward of blessing. He will not forget our labor of love.

“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ” (Col. 3:23,24).

—Mike Fisher, Operations Manager

Need Extra Magazines?

If you distribute Loaves & Fishes, be aware that we currently have an abundance of inventory of certain back issues. Each time we publish, we order from 5,000-10,000 extra copies so we have the ability to immediately fill new subscriptions that come in.

At this time, we have plenty of inventory of the following issues: 51, 50, 49, 48, 47, 46, 45, and 40. We have lesser quantities of the following issues as well: 34, 33, 32, 31, 30, 28, 27, 26, 25, and 24.

If you can use any of these in your work, please let us know how many you can use, and we would be delighted to send them to you, as always free of charge. All we ask is that you put them into the hands of prison inmates who might find them a blessing.

Issue 51 Shipped

Issue 51 was shipped in mid-March. We ordered 69,150 copies of the magazine, with a circulation of 62,215 at the time of mailing. The cost of printing and shipping this issue was  $26,881.13, for a cost of 40¢ per printed piece.

This issue was published and shipped one month of schedule, and represents the first time we have been able to publish on a three-month interval. It has long been our goal to publish quarterly. Thanks to our donors who generously supported this project.

Issue 52 Update

Our team is currently working on producing issue 52. The theme of the issue is “Nonresistance,” or the idea of suffering love taught and exemplified by Jesus and His followers.

In prison, fighting and retribution are normal life, and are often considered necessary for survival. We hope to point our readers to the example of Jesus, who laid down His life so others could benefit, and think about what this might mean for prison life.

As of this writing, our funds on hand are around $19,000. We have a goal of shipping the next issue in mid-June. In the intervening time, we hope to raise a minimum of $12,000-15,000 to cover the cost of printing issue 52 and cover overhead expenses.

Donors to this ministry are deeply appreciated as an integral part of our work. May God richly bless those of you who give as you are able.

Distributor Feedback

I have a friend in Fresno California who is a street preacher. He reaches the worst of the worst. I sometimes send him boxes of tracts and small Bibles to pass out. I was recently given a whole box of  Loaves and Fishes magazines and I wanted to let you know that I'm sending them out there. So, from Pennsylvania to Tennessee then out to California this message of Jesus Christ will go. The impact you're making has not gone unnoticed. Thank you!

—Elizabeth Spivey

I am the Chaplain at Halawa Correctional Facility, the main facility in Hawaii. The Chapel is not funded by the State, and everything we have is by donation to make available for the inmate population. Your Loaves & Fishes Magazine is a blessing to the men here in Halawa. We have approximately 200-250 inmates attending chapel services on a weekly basis. We serve a prison population of over 850 inmates. 

With Warmest Aloha, 

—Chaplain Alan Leigh, Aiea, Hawaii 

Reader Feedback

Thank you all for this amazing booklet. I enjoy everything inside it all the time! Especially all the great stories and testimonies from different walks and persons. God Bless.

—Sergio Rojas Lara, CCI, Tehachapi, CA

Thank you for your magazine! It's very uplifting and touches on things we will need in the real world as well as things we can use while incarcerated. The Bible studies help give me a direction to go when I'm swamped with verses to read.Thanks for helping to bring hope where it feels hard to come by sometimes.

—Brittany Barnes, BJC, Texarkana, TX

Issue 51 Update

Our team is currently working on editing Loaves & Fishes issue 51. We expect to be print-ready by mid-February. Based on our current schedule of three issues per year, this issue would normally ship in April. However, because of your generous support,
I am glad to say that funding is available to print the next issue earlier than expected.

We are hoping to be able to ship issue 51 in March, one month ahead of schedule. The long-term goal of Lighthouse Publishing has been to publish Loaves & Fishes quarterly, and with God’s help and your support, we know that all things are possible!

It is energizing to observe the Lord sustaining our work by providing staff, volunteers, supporters, and funding, not to mention the hundreds of you who distribute Loaves & Fishes in prison. Thank you!

—Mike Fisher, Manager of Operations

2023 Cost to Publish & Distribute Each Issue of Loaves & Fishes (based on expenses): 62¢

Too Small to Matter?

If you are like me, there are times you wonder if what you do each day makes any difference in this world. 

For example, I can do a great job mowing the lawn, but the grass just keeps growing. If I paid all the bills this morning, by tonight more will have arrived. And if I was the best parent in the world today, I will still need to take care of my child tomorrow! Do the things I do make any difference?

People have struggled with feeling insignificant for all of earth’s history. In Zechariah 4:10, God asked the question, “Who has despised the day of small things?” Can small things make an eternal difference?

Jesus says, “Yes!” In Matthew 10:42, Jesus promises an eternal reward to anyone who gives a child a cup of cold water to drink if they do it because of a desire to serve and obey God. 

What is a cup of cold water? I would like to think of giving a cup of cold water as doing a little more than is required of us. As a parent, I need to give my child something to drink. However, I can choose to take the time to put an ice cube in their water rather than give them the lukewarm water that was on the table all day. Jesus promises us a reward if we do more than we need to because we want to obey Him.

The ministry of Lighthouse Publishing is only possible because of many people who give. Some people give funds, some pray for the work, some write articles, some process mail, and some distribute magazines. Thank you to each one that contributes! Even if you feel your part is small, we need you. As we work together many souls are encouraged to continue walking with Jesus, and this makes a difference for eternity!

—Stephen Lauver, Treasurer

Issue 50 Update

In the next issue of Loaves & Fishes, the theme will be the Church. In prison, church takes on a different shape from what it is on the outside, and yet the principles remain the same. The Church is the body of Christ, and wherever even a few believers gather together, Jesus promised to be present. This includes the cells, dorm rooms, and gathering places of the prisons and jails of our nation.

The Church in prison has an identity and a mission. Our goal is to stir our readers to become enthusiastic participants in the Church of Jesus Christ. Our “Persevering in Prison” column for this issue attempts to do this by describing one of the blessings of the body of Christ in Prison: diversity.

One thing is certainly true of prison: There are all different types of people in here, from all walks of life. This can make living in prison difficult because we have to learn to always respectfully and sometimes delicately coexist with people we would have never interacted with on the outside.

This diversity, however, can be a positive. In 1 Corinthians 12:12-30, Paul gives us the illustration of the Church as the body of Christ. Because of the diversity within such a close proximity, prison is perhaps the best place for us to see the entire body in action. 

On the street, Christians tend to cluster. If you walk into a church, you will usually see a group composed of mostly the same race and very similar doctrinal positions, all separated by geographic lines. In prison, we are all thrown into the same place. In this way, we go from a very small mirror with which we can try to see the body of Christ on the outside to a full-length mirror in prison.

What do we see when we look into that mirror? Believers of all sorts of differing personalities, races, denominations, crimes, talents, and spiritual gifts. But even though we see the individual parts, we recognize them as all belonging to the same body. Being part of the same body, we have to learn to interact and take care of one another. The question is, how do we do this in the prison setting?

The writer, a Christian believer currently in prison, goes on to advise our readers about practical ways to build the Church while incarcerated. If believing inmates can envision themselves as being part of the body of Christ, imagine how this can energize their Christian walk!

We expect to be able to ship issue 50 out to our readers and distributors by December, which will meet our current schedule of 3 issues per year. The cost of printing and shipping our last magazine issue was $32,500. We have a current bank account balance of around $21,000, which means we have about 65% of the funding needed to publish the next issue.

It is humbling to see the support of our donors for yet another magazine project. With your continued support, we will continue to work to bring the teachings of the Christian faith to believers in prison. Thank you so much for your generosity.

—Michael Fisher, Manager of Operations

Reader Feedback

Hello Loaves & Fishes magazine, I am currently serving my first term in prison. I am waiting to be shipped out to my next destination. A brother of mine here in reception got me and brought me back to Jesus Christ. I was going down the wrong path, but I’ve been saved. I have a son and a family that loves me waiting at home. So I’m reaching out to please ask if you guys have a Bible you can send me. I’m also asking to take part in free Bible correspondence courses for inmates. Please, and thank you.

—Rafael Soto, HDSP, Susanville, CA   

Distributor Feedback

We have a weekly Bible study, and Loaves & Fishes magazine helps engage inmates in the Word until the next Bible study. It is good to see that growth happening.

—Mr. Will Clark, Oakley, KS

Men and women have told me that the articles are very inspirational, and they like the puzzles.

—Chaplain Rev. Duane Stanton,  Stanton, MI

The Bible studies have helped the men to know their Bibles more. The testimonies have let them see they are not the only ones to have gone through things.

—Chaplain’s Office, CCF, Collins, NY