“HOW BEAUTIFUL UPON THE MOUNTAINS are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation.” –Isaiah 52:7
Zambia
“Without the support of gospel booklets coming from WMP, I think our campaigns would have been almost impossible. I think we have seen our work penetrating so many areas of the nation with the gospel particularly because of WMP,” said Richard K., national director for Every Home for Christ Zambia and also coordinator for World Missionary Press, who believes strongly in the value of the printed page. “We couldn’t really make it, communicating the gospel [just] verbally. Verbally is different than when you give something to somebody to read. So the booklets are very strategic, and we appreciate that.”
Richard cited the example of a woman visiting a village house. Finding no one at home, she dropped a booklet inside before leaving. When she returned to that house months later, she was amazed to discover that the owners of the house had read the booklet and given their lives to the Lord! The powerful Scriptures in that booklet, Who Am I that a King Would Die in My Place, had led them to Christ.
While attending an Every Home for Christ regional conference in Zimbabwe last August, WMP President Harold Mack and Soles for Jesus President Diane Studer collaborated on a plan for sending a container filled with desperately-needed shoes and Scripture booklets to one of our joint partner ministries in Africa. The country of Zambia was then selected to receive this shipment.
WMP used the occasions of a Spotlight campaign with Pulse FM and a live remote broadcast by WFRN at our Open House last October to announce the opportunity for the community to bring to WMP lightly-used shoes for shipping to Zambia along with Scripture booklets. Churches and individuals enthusiastically joined staff and volunteers to bring in thousands of pairs of shoes of all sizes for men, women, boys, and girls. One couple brought 100 pairs of shoes they had purchased at Dollar General. Skids of shoes were trucked to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where volunteers at Soles for Jesus would sort, clean, and pack 8,000 pairs of shoes to fill half a container.
WMP then worked to produce Scripture booklets in the languages needed for the ten villages targeted in Central Province of Zambia for this special distribution. Richard wrote, “These villages will experience on-going home-to-home visits with God’s Word and formation of Christ groups where new believers will be preserved through small groups of Bible study.”
For many years, when Richard drove past the village of Nulembwe (name has been changed), he knew this was one place where he was not welcome. A few years before, while attempting to share the gospel there, village leaders had angrily sent him away. This village, known for its witchdoctors and demonic powers, did not want the truth of the gospel to reach its people. More recently, as Richard passed Nulembwe again, the Spirit of God spoke clearly to his heart that now was the time to return to this village and bring the gift of shoes with him. The command was so clear that Richard immediately reached out to Diane Studer, of Soles for Jesus, who was deeply moved. Soon the container of Scriptures and shoes will be heading for Zambia.
To see video of Scripture booklets leaving WMP for the 225-mile trip to Milwaukee, go to www.wmpress-restofthestory.org or scan the QR code.
Botswana
Tanga C. had been waiting for a shipment from WMP for a long time. “We can’t downplay the impact that this shipment will bring to this nation,” said the EHC director for Botswana. “We are desperately in need of this, and a lot of churches have been coming to my office or dropping an email requesting gospel literature. Booklets like The Amazing Life of Jesus Christ will greatly help the population of Botswana to know who Christ is.”
Though Botswana is classified as a Christian country, Tanga C. acknowledges that it “lacks basic training in Scriptures and in the Word of God.” He has requested booklets that “will help us study important books like Romans, Genesis, and John. Getting a better understanding of those will make it easier to have a clear walk in following Christ Jesus.”
When Brother Tanga received word that his 20-foot container had left our dock and included pallets of requested material for both EHC and another ministry, he lost no time in responding, “This is great and exciting news! Oh, what a glorious development! I am in a jovial mood as I respond to your mail. So happy to receive this life-changing shipment!”
The container has arrived safely with its precious cargo, to be used by God’s Holy Spirit to build up the body of Christ and inspire the churches of Botswana to reach out with God’s wonderful provision of life in Jesus.
Namibia
A significant part of Namibia’s population has not yet been reached with the gospel. Douglas M., national EHC director there, explained: “Some tribes know about the existence of God, but they don’t know anything about Jesus Christ.” He believes that having literature from WMP would make it easier for Christians to share the message of Jesus to the rest of the nation, making evangelism more effective.
When Brother Douglas emailed last September to check on progress of a shipment from WMP, he wrote, “We are in dire need of literature in Namibia.” We reported that his shipment was on the next production schedule and would include The Way to God in the Herero language. After obtaining two needed permissions for certain languages, this production can now proceed.
[You can impact African nations. Every donated dollar puts 24 powerful Scripture booklets into the hands of Christians eager to share God’s Word with the people of their nation. An investment of $100 will touch the lives of 2,400 people; $1,000 will impact 24,000 people.]
Meet the Team
Kent B.
Bindery Supervisor
Once a month for about thirty years my home church sent volunteers, including my parents, to work at World Missionary Press, starting when it was in Winona Lake. I recall at least once in high school wiring boxes shut with Ott Beer supervising the bindery. I also attended an Anniversary Dinner with my parents.
When I felt God calling me to supporting missions as a second career after serving as a pastor for 22 years, someone suggested WMP as a place to work. I was starting my own non-profit ministry, Missions Equipping Mobilization, to provide equipment for missions, but volunteered at WMP as a web-press bundler, then also in the Bindery area, and eventually applied for employment. Though the hourly wage was rather low, my wife’s work as a nurse helped support us. I have now worked at WMP more than 16 years.
As Bindery Supervisor, I oversee a staff of seven bindery operators. Besides operating the two booklet binderies with volunteers and church groups that come in, I do training, order supplies and parts, repair binderies, and help find newer equipment as needed. I also help with plant Safety and lead daily chapel two times per month.
What I enjoy most is working with the Christian staff and volunteers. That is a blessing. It’s an even greater blessing to know that God’s powerful Word is going out to millions in the world and providing life-changing tools to missioners on the frontlines of sharing the gospel.
I have been married for 43 years to Diane, now retired. We have three adopted sons—two from South Korea and one who was a foster son—and three grandchildren.
When not working at WMP, I help my church with their video, occasionally teach Sunday School or preach, serve on their Administrative Council, sing in a men’s group (Baugo Bay Gospel Singers), and oversee the Missions Team, which this year involves leading a missions trip to Zambia. In recent years I have overseen the care of an elderly mother (who died two years ago) and a developmentally disabled son and brother (who died in February). I am interested in alternative health (having faced cancer), gardening, and perusing the internet.
WMP Partners Around the World
Ben and June H., Cuba
Canadians Ben and June regularly visit churches and distributors in Cuba and for many years have coordinated shipments to Cuba via the Canadian Bible Society.
WMP: Tell us about yourselves and how you learned about WMP?
Ben and June: We thank the Lord for saving us at a young age, keeping us, and giving us the desire to serve God from our teen years until now. I, Ben, worked in a factory in Canada for 30 years, but the desire to serve God in some missionary work grew in my heart until I took early retirement in 1991, asking the Lord for guidance. Then in 1995 we felt the Lord guiding us to Cuba. In 1995-96 we came in contact with WMP through good friends Dean and Anna B. (friends of WMP founders Watson and Rose Goodman), who lived in Indianapolis then.
WMP: How did God lead regarding WMP literature for Cuba?
Ben and June: When we went to Cuba to see what God was doing there, it seemed the Lord gave us a desire not only to provide literature for Christians in Cuba to do evangelism, but also to provide literature that would enable the believers there to grow spiritually.
In God’s unique way, He opened the door for us to send shipping containers of Bibles and WMP Scripture booklets to Cuba from Canada. To date we have been able to send about 16 containers. We really thank and appreciate WMP because they have given enormous amounts of literature—good, wonderful Scripture portions for these containers.
WMP: How would you describe the effectiveness of the topical Scripture booklets?
Ben and June: In the past few years we have coordinated with a mission in Cuba that works to visit every home with the precious, life-giving gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. One of the great features of WMP literature is that it is all the Word of God. WMP has provided approximately 13 large skids of Scripture portions for most of the shipping containers sent to Cuba. We praise God for our working relationship with the Secretary of the Cuban Bible Commission, who has given permission once again to send a container of WMP booklets in the first half of 2016.
WMP: How do the Bible studies and Scripture booklets from WMP establish believers and strengthen churches?
Ben and June: By God’s grace and provision we have been able to travel to Cuba about 49 times since 1995. We have seen a change in that it is easier now for churches there to distribute Scripture portions, and our brothers and sisters tell us they are in a time of harvest. Precious souls are being added to God’s family. The fact that WMP Scripture portions are provided free is a wonderful blessing in a country like Cuba, where people generally are quite poor. The Bible study booklets that WMP produces are a blessing to new believers. We want to pray more consistently that God will use and anoint these precious Scripture portions in the lives of all who receive them. Thank you, WMP!