The God of the Impossible Does the Impossible

World Missionary Press, Inc.
2013 Special Edition Newsletter

The God of the Impossible Does the Impossible

THIS IS THE STORY OF A MIRACLE. A huge miracle from the hand of our awesome God, who called World Missionary Press into being more than 51 years ago and has enabled it to grow from strength to strength. May this account bless your heart and increase your faith.

In late September, 2011, Jay and Vicky Benson, along with Harold and Marie Mack, were invited to the 65th anniversary celebration of Every Home for Christ, a major networking partner in the strategic distribution of God's Word around the world. Gathered in Colorado Springs were more than 100 national directors, many of whom also serve as national coordinators for WMP.

We were challenged to hear reports of greatly increased responsiveness to God's Word, resulting in thousands of new-believer groups, and thousands of Christians mobilizing to reach every home in their nations - brought about as God's people fervently petition and worship the Lord of the harvest.

We realized a new that World Missionary Press is an integral part of a serious effort to complete the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus to "make disciples of all nations." We became painfully aware that the need for Scripture booklets produced by WMP was far greater than what we were doing.

While sharing with directors from English-speaking African nations, Vicky tearfully recounted how her missionary parents - Watson and Rose Goodman - left South Africa to start WMP in the U.S. The cry of their hearts was to send millions of Scripture booklets to the nations of Africa. She asked them to please pray that God would supply funds to print the equivalent of 9,000,000 Scripture booklets each month. To increase production from 5,000,000 - after all overhead was paid - we would need $25,000 for each additional million produced and shipped.

These African national directors surrounded the four of us, laid hands on us, and began calling out to God on behalf of the funding needed for WMP to increase production!

On our last day in Colorado Springs, we were swarmed with directors pleading for materials for their nations. We ate lunch with the delegation from India, who shared their need for materials. WMP prints in more than 40 languages for India, but this was the first time we had been approached by EHC personnel for this nation of 1.2 billion people. It was heart-wrenching, because we could not foresee how we could fulfill their request any time soon. Vicky suggested that they pray that WMP would receive "extra funds" to enable us to print the materials they would need.

The following month we received word that WMP of Canada (along with another ministry) was sending $100,000 to print 4 million Scripture booklets as an "extra" for EHC India! Income that month was the highest October income in WMP history.

In January, 2012, Jay published "Vision for the Future," pointing out that God had provided (a) facility, (b) equipment, (c) talented and dedicated staff, (d) a strong volunteer support team, and (e) ample open doors of opportunity to justify growing to print 7,000,000, 8,000,000, and even 9,000,000 booklet equivalency every month! "It is frustrating and tragic to be producing less than we are capable of," he wrote. (Continued on down page)

In March we shared "Our Faith Challenge." We recognized that to truly respond to God's vision - His dream to saturate the world with the Word of God - would take a quantum shift in our thinking and actions. We confessed that the size of our prayers had not matched the size of God's intentions. "We don't know exactly what form God's answer will take, but we are asking God to make that quantum shift happen in the cause of sharing His life-saving Word."

In the June/July WMP NEWS, Jay shared again about the staggering but realistic goal of 9,000,000 per month. "We have so many requests, for so many Scripture booklets! . . . Our national coordinator in Nigeria [most populous nation in Africa] has been out of material for two years!" Though we were able to print 7,000,000 for several months, "the need to grow to 9,000,000 per month is heavy on our hearts. Millions of souls are yet without the gospel message."

In August we reported a gigantic endeavor to print Spanish booklets, Bible studies, and New Testaments for major container shipments to eighteen Latin American countries. The fiscal year ended strong. Contributions were up 25%, and production was up 42% over the previous year. Yet in the October/November 2012 WMP NEWS, mailed in September, the headline was "The Need Is Great - the Need Is Now!" calling for "Fervent Prayer Needed for Increased Production." We were back to producing 5,000,000 per month.

In late September, Vicky wrote about the printings proposed for fourteen French-speaking African nations. But "at our present rate of production," she was told, "we won't get to it until the end of the year." It broke her heart. No! Oh, God! We need to be printing 9,000,000 a month at a minimum!

That week we shared with the staff a DVD which had impacted us at a business leaders seminar we attended in July. As attorney David Gibbs pointed out in "How to Do the Impossible," people without God's power routinely do great things. "Why would you want to waste your life merely doing something great for God, when God gives you the opportunity to do something impossible for Him?" Something only God can do - not what we can manage. We must (1) ask with specificity; (2) not look at the circumstances; (3) not have a Plan B; and (4) get out of the boat.

When our staff Leadership Council met on October 2, we agreed that our "impossible" was having the funds to print 9,000,000 Scripture booklets per month. Only God could make this happen. We asked Him for the impossible - $100,000 above budget each month! And if WMP was to increase production soon, we asked Him to please let us know about the increased funding in October. That very afternoon, a phone call came to the Finance Department which changed everything.

On October 12, Vicky's Aunt Vera Klatt (sister of co-founder Rose Goodman) was volunteering at WMP with family members. In daily chapel, she was asked to lead in prayer. What a prayer! With authority and confidence, she prayed for production to increase to 9,000,000 per month. We were moved to tears.

That very afternoon, a phone call came to the Finance Department which changed everything.

The impossible was happening. A lady shared on the phone that her brother in California had died of a heart attack. He was a faithful donor (had contributed $200 per month since 2005). He "loved Watson Goodman's Scripture booklets" and had checked us out to make sure our CEO wasn't getting overpaid! He had named WMP as beneficiary of four bank accounts, two annuities, and four Certificates of Deposit. Her accountant had told her to send the paperwork directly to WMP, as it wouldn't go through probate (which can take more than a year).

At first we could not believe this was real. But after doing some checking and going through the paperwork which arrived the following Wednesday, we knew it was real. Through one man, God was providing over $900,000 - the "extra" $100,000 above budget for many months to come.

We called the Leadership Council together to share the stunning news. Press supervisor Ray Condict observed, "This will bring us a lot of good problems!" Yes, it will involve a lot of hard work to increase production to 9,000,000 a month. And we need to believe that God will provide our income budget month by month, so that this gift will indeed be "extra, above-budget" provision.

What kind of man did God use to bring about this amazing provision "at such a time as this"? His sister described him as "something else." He was serious about his walk with God and was spending more and more time with the Lord, getting closer to Him. He had been asking God to take him Home. He loved to jump for joy. When Vicky recalled how her father, Watson Goodman, liked to "leap and praise God" in his personal times with the Lord, she said, "Funny you should say that." The last thing her brother wrote was that he was jumping for joy so high that he had to stop, or he might not land! Are these two joyful brothers now leaping and praising God together in heaven? Could God have timed the Home-coming of His child to answer our specific prayers?

Please pray

� for smooth resolution of "good problems" as WMP steps up production in 2013,

� that contributions will continue strong,

� that equipment will run smoothly,

� that additional volunteer groups will get involved, and

� that multitudes will come to Christ and be transformed through the power of God's Word in their own languages.

- Jay and Vicky Benson

[You can impact people around the world. Every donated dollar provides for the printing and shipping of 25 powerful Scripture booklets to Christians eager to share God's Word in the languages of their nation. An investment of $100 will touch the lives of 2,500 people; $1,000 will impact 25,000 people who need to know God.]

World Missionary Press Home Page | Request More Information | Read Previous News