World
Missionary Press, Inc.
2011 July Vision Letter
PDF VERSION THE
PAN AMERICAN FLIGHT lifted into the blue South African sky on March 30, 1961.
Aboard were missionaries Watson and Rose Goodman with their family of two
teenagers and two preschoolers.
For sixteen years, Africa had been "home" --and now, both reluctantly
and eagerly, Watson and Rose were returning to their homeland in obedience to
God to begin a new work in Winona Lake, Indiana, the small town where they had
spent their short honeymoon and which was at that time a Bible conference
Within 20 days of announcing their departure, everything was sold or given away.
Only the night before their departure had the small but complete printing
operation in their garage been sold and loaded on a truck, bearing it to a
church in the capital city. Other belongings were packed in sturdy black
shipping cases, addressed in white paint to "World Missionary Press, Winona
Lake, Indiana, USA" --a ministry which did not yet exist. But it would
exist by the time the cases arrived by sea. God had performed a miracle, and the
Goodmans were on their way.
With $1,000 and the promises of God, Watson and Rose established a new home and
a new work. Within months land was purchased, and a small building was erected
with a down payment of $300.
Watson's three goals for World Missionary Press were (1) to print
Scripture booklets in 300 languages; (2) to print 1,000,000 booklets per month;
and (3) to trust God for an annual budget of $1,000,000. They seemed huge, but
God brought each to pass-- and more.
The Goodmans had learned many "faith lessons" in Africa.
"Jehovah-Jireh" was their motto: "The LORD will provide."
Rose often remarked, "Despise not the day of small things," based on
Zechariah 4:10. Contributions the first full year totaled $11,374, and 71,000
Scripture booklets were printed. Fifty years The
Goodmans operated on principles which continue to this day. Prayer is vital, so
the staff meets daily for prayer, praise, and hearing reports of God at work
around the world. It was Watson's deep conviction
that believing God "is the most important part of our work for God here
at WMP. We come together for united prayer to help one another believe God
more. We recognize our total dependence upon God for wisdom, provision, health,
protection, and fruitfulness."
WMP emphasizes printing the Scriptures themselves. In Help From Above,
Watson wrote, "I believe the best commentary on Scripture is the Bible
itself." And it must be distributed free of charge.
Economy of operation continues to be a focus. God has provided high-speed
equipment, thousands of volunteers over the years, and missionary-minded staff
living on modest wages. All employees, including the president, receive the same
hourly rate, set by the Board of Directors. There is no difference in pay for
tenure, job skills, or responsibility.
Thousands of letters and e-mails stream in with stories of God at work through
His Word. Many of these have been shared in newsletters and on the website.
Lives have been saved, families transformed, and churches planted or galvanized
to share the Good News. It is awesome to see rolls of dead paper run through
a printing press, and come out the other side ALIVE with words of God
printed on pages in the languages of people who will read them and be forever
changed. Ministry
leaders appreciate networking with WMP
"I think of a Hindu Brahman, on the way to kill himself, having cancer in
his body. . . . He met a group of our missionaries and got a copy of Help
From Above. What he read in God's Word there on the street changed his life
forever. Not only did the Lord heal him, but the Lord saved him. As a result, a
church was born in his village.
"There is nothing more significant in this whole wide world than giving out
God's Word without changing it, adding to it, subtracting from it --and World
Missionary Press does it. . . . Together we are able to reach the most unreached
in our generation." Vision
for the Future
Fifty years has brought a lot of change to World Missionary Press, but some
things do not change: (1) our looking to God in prayer for every resource needed
and (2) our commitment to print and ship God's powerful Word to the nations of
the world in the languages of the people as He provides the means.
What will the future bring? We firmly believe that God's direction to us
is to "Occupy till I come" (Luke 19:13b, KJV). God has grown the work
far past the goals He gave Watson Goodman 50 years ago. As we look to the
future, we are stirred to trust God to grow us to the point of (1) producing 400
languages; (2) printing the equivalency of 9 million Scripture
booklets per month, and (3) providing the $4.5 million annual income
needed for that level of production. God is able!
In the meantime, we continue to put to good use every dollar He provides. (Each
dollar provides for the printing and shipping of 20-25 Scripture booklets,
depending on the quantities we are financially able to produce.) Opportunities
abound, and response to God's Word is increasing dramatically.
A Scriptural tool for discipling new believers, How to Walk with God, has
been on our hearts for a long time, and we are focused on completing it soon.
We are grateful to the donors, staff, volunteers, and distributors who God has
raised up to support His work in prayer and in giving of their time and treasure
to produce more than 1,606,000,000 booklets over 50 years. To God
be the glory!
Your friends in Christ,
Jay & Vicky Benson
P.S. You can be involved in celebrating 50 years of God at work! $50
prints 1,250 powerful Scripture booklets; $500 produces 12,500; $5,000 --
125,000 portions of God's Word. Your believing prayer support is vital. Each
workday more than one ton of Scripture booklets on average leaves World
Missionary Press for destinations across the country and around the world.
Please pray earnestly for much spiritual fruit. Follow
us on Facebook and/or Twitter and
share us with your friends!
center.
On their knees they had "prayed through" until God's calling was
confirmed in their hearts. 
later,
annual income has surpassed $3,000,000, and last year WMP averaged printing the
equivalent of 6,000,000 48-page Scripture booklets per month in-plant. Scripture
booklets have now been printed in more than 330 languages and sent into 210
countries.
As
production increased and efficiencies improved, the cost per 48-page
Scripture booklet dropped to under 4cents each in 1968, edging slightly over
that this year. Though postage costs have increased dramatically, mailing fewer
single boxes and sending more freight shipments have saved literally millions of
dollars. More than 70 volunteer national coordinators now receive ship
containers and handle the distribution of individual boxes within their
countries.
Dick
Eastman,
international president of Every Home for Christ: "There is not
another ministry on the face of this planet that has impacted the ministry of
Every Home for Christ more than World Missionary Press. Since 1985 WMP has been
supporting and encouraging EHC. Now more than 104,000,000 Scripture
booklets have been provided in 104 languages for our use in 53 nations. The
response rate we have seen in recent years would indicate that as many as
4,500,000 people would respond and want to know more about Jesus, many of them
giving their hearts to Him, becoming a part of the greater body of Christ
globally. . . . Together we are reaching the whole world for Jesus."
K.P.
Yohannan, founder
and president of Gospel for Asia: "I am involved with hundreds of
mission organizations around the world. I can tell you, your prayers and your
support for World Missionary Press is pure gold. You never, never have to
even think in the negative about it. And I'm proud and grateful
for the privilege the Lord gave me to have this relationship with World
Missionary Press. Over the years our relationship with WMP produced more than 75
million booklets in more than 15 major languages for people [mostly in India]
who never had a chance to hear that Jesus died for them.
Peter
Hammond of
Frontline Fellowship in South Africa: "World Missionary Press
Scripture booklets are an essential part of every Frontline Fellowship mission.
We have teams in Zambia right now, with many of your gospel booklets in
Zambian languages. We praise God for your strategic work of being the armory and
quartermaster in this spiritual war of winning the lost for Christ. May the Lord
protect you from all danger and multiply the strategic impact of all your
Scripture booklets."
George
Verwer, founder
of Operation Mobilization: "Thank you for close to 50 years of
partnership and for the probably millions of pieces of literature you have
supplied to us -- in India, Nepal, and for the [ministry] ships -- all over the
world. We're living in challenging days, and it's important to understand that
around the globe people are still hungry for literature. Thank you so much for
all you've done to help us in Operation Mobilization to reach so many millions,
especially in some of the most needy countries in the world. Therefore, my
beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the
Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord (1 Corinthians
15:58)."
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