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

Written Words Are Powerful

Loaves & Fishes

Have you considered how empty life would be without words? Without words, your life would consist mostly of emotions and images.

Words are priceless—not just spoken words, but also written words, especially when they are arranged effectively to form engaging literature.

Among the first examples of published literature were the Ten Commandments, inscribed on stone tablets by the finger of God. It was important to God that His words were written, not just spoken. When Moses demolished the “literature,” God rewrote the commandments for His people on another set of stone tablets.

Advanced Publishing

Publishing has advanced in amazing ways. School boys used to press marks into wax tablets. Now I can simply press keys, and characters appear on my computer screen. If I write something I don’t like or want to add more to a previous paragraph, I can instantly delete or rearrange my words. (Ah… you have no idea how many times I rewrote that sentence.)

Many years ago, scribes would dedicate months to tediously copying one book. Some were meticulous; others were not as careful. Dim lighting, poor eyesight, fatigue, and impatience could all take a toll on the quality of the finished product. There was no other method available.

In those days, anything longer than short personal letters was normally hired out to professional scribes whose entire career was copying words by hand. Today we can duplicate literature with 100% accuracy, and it’s no longer a tedious, back-breaking job. Modern equipment makes it easy to duplicate literature on paper millions of times. Technology lets me share literature with people on the other side of the world as soon as I hit the save button.

Written words are powerful. The ability to freely publish literature with mass duplication compounds this power.

Advantages of Publishing

Leverage: While written words will never replace spoken words and living examples, written words exert unmatched leverage compared to other forms of communication.

In other words, literature helps us magnify the impact of truth. We can publish 80,000 copies of Loaves & Fishes and the power of that literature goes on for years, decades, and even centuries, all without taking additional time and resources on our part.

Influence: Like a road map, literature influences destinies. It persistently changes minds and invokes emotions, both for the good and the bad. Effective literature often has permanent effect on those who read it. God uses literature to bring souls into His Kingdom and to disciple believers.

24/7 Preacher: Literature has liberty like none of us have. Show me a messenger that is welcome in a prisoner’s bunk all day any day. Or one that fits into a teenager’s shirt pocket. Written words make themselves at home in desk drawers, purses, and truck consoles—even under the pillow of a seeking soul—right within reach exactly when the recipient is ready to open his heart.

Many organizations and religions, such as the Communists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Mormons, realize the potential of written words and invest as much as millions of dollars per year in publishing their message.

As we shared before, the fields are ripe for harvest, and there are many open doors in prison. Literally thousands have asked us to speak into their lives.

Will we wake up to the opportunities of advanced publishing before the night comes when no one can work? Or will we allow Satan’s servants to saturate the prisons with his message while we lag behind, hoping someone else will finish this task?

Printed literature is powerful, and God uses it to change lives. It gives us leverage to make more of an impact than we could otherwise. Literature has liberty to preach and teach when the recipient is ready, even 1,000 miles away at 2:00 in the morning.

The Need for Publishing

It takes around $30,000 (plus overhead) to produce and mail one issue of the Loaves & Fishes magazine (about 80,000 copies).

Everything is in place to prepare, print, and mail additional copies of Loaves & Fishes, as well as process incoming mail from prisoners.

We need prayer for wisdom to prepare more issues of Loaves & Fishes and to minister to the prisoners who write back. We also need more finances to reach our goal of four printings a year.

Thank you for your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. We hope that you will continue to partner with us for the glory of God.

For the ripened grain,

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

The Fields Are Ripe. It Is Harvest Time!

News

Many years ago, four months before harvest time, Jesus once told His disciples to lift up their eyes and look at the fields. He said to them, “The fields are ripe; it’s harvest time!”

In Luke 10:2 Jesus said, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” (NKJV)

What are these fields Jesus is talking about? What is it that’s ripe? Who are the workers in the fields? In Jesus’ illustration, the fields are the world. The ripe grain is those who are ready to receive the good news of Jesus Christ.

Jesus is telling us that there are throngs of people whose hearts the Spirit of God has “ripened.” They are ready to enter the life of Jesus’ kingdom or eager to learn more about it. A “bumper crop” is due, but there’s a labor shortage.

Observing the busyness and self-sufficiency of society, you may wonder, “Where are these ripe fields Jesus is talking about?”

Lift up your eyes and look at the fields. The fields are ripe. It is harvest time. It’s a matter of finding the field and becoming an effective missionary for the Lord of the harvest.

“Many women commented on how comforting the poems and stories were from the booklet we received at Christmas. I personally work for the chaplain so I hear all the requests and appreciations that are passed around. Thank you, Loaves & Fishes.”
Lora Barranca • Women’s Prison in Chowchilla, CA

Open Doors in Prison

If you have trouble finding a ripened field, go to your local jail or almost any prison in the USA. You won’t have to look very long until you find a desire for friendship, a hunger for reality, and time to listen.

Our church has a weekly jail ministry in our local town. It is deeply encouraging to see such openness and hunger!

Have you ever shared Christ with someone only to see them walk off and literally (or figuratively) throw your message into a trash bin? In the free world many people are too busy or complacent to pay attention. In contrast, while many in prison also close their hearts, the demand for truth far exceeds the supply.

Tens of thousands of hungry people have asked us to speak into their lives with requests such as these:

• “I read a copy of your Loaves & Fishes magazine. May I please get my own subscription?”
• “With your help I found Jesus, and I want to learn more about Him.”
• “Send me any books and literature that you have available to help me in my walk with the Lord.”
• “Can you send me a Bible study course?”
• “I’d like to have a friend to write to.”
• “Please send me a Bible.”

Basically, they are saying, “Please speak into my life! Tell me something that can help me in my walk with God.”

Imagine the opportunities! Here is access to thousands of isolated people who will receive and appreciate what we teach them and share it with their friends! Some of these already profess to know God and seek to be disciples of Jesus Christ; others are still in darkness, searching for meaning in life. Behind many of these requests is a person who desires to get their life on the right track and become the person, leader, parent, or spouse that God wants them to be.

Let’s lift up our eyes and look at the fields. They are ripe and harvest time has come. Let’s be busy reaching out to the hungry souls in our local jails and prisons and use the massive opportunity we have to impact millions with the printed page.

For the ripened grain,

Lavern Gingerich

PS. Click here to learn how you can help us spread the good news of Jesus Christ in the prisons.

News and Prayer Requests

1. Lavern and his family shared a presentation at four churches in PA and NY on their recent trip north. We want to thank each one for their warm reception and partnership in the gospel.
2. Robert and Verba are working part time to handle incoming prisoner mail. The “fish” are really “biting.” Pray their boat wouldn’t sink!
3. Pray the Lord would give us much inspiration and wisdom to prepare another issue of Loaves & Fishes.