May 2018 Newsletter PDF

Making Jesus Known in Every Home

 

RECENTLY A TEAM FROM CANADA and the U.S.A. took on the task of taking the gospel to every home in a small U.S. city of 31,000 people. As a result of their initial contact, 26 people accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior! And the seed of God’s Word has now been planted.

 

Pastor Suliman M., whose passion is to share the good news in homes around the world, oversees house-to-house distribution in Nigeria and Malawi as well as his hometown in Canada and parts of the U.S. In December, 2017, a team of five went to Toronto to take WMP Scripture booklets and a DVD on the life of Jesus to individual homes. In one day they reached 525 households. After returning home, Suliman, burdened for those they had not been able to reach, went back alone the next day and covered another 575 homes; the third day he reached 250 more. When asked why he was so insistent on going back again and again, he referred to God’s word to Ezekiel (Ezekiel 33:1-11), which had brought him to tears. A faithful watchman was to be a “TRUMPET BLOWER” to warn the people of danger or be held accountable for all who would die. “Saints,” he wrote, “you and I are called to be Trumpet Blowers; that is, to warn the unsaved of the danger they face without Christ our Saviour.”

 

This sense of accountability and urgency can be seen as many local churches and ministries are taking on the challenge of reaching every home in their area.

One of the boldest and most strategically-planned ventures is the OIKOS Initiative of Every Home for Christ.

 

“In the end, the Oikos ‘goals and vision’ is pretty simple. We are taking our vision, which has remained constant over our 70+ year history, and trying to make it as real as possible. We want to reach every literal home (place where someone lives) on earth in the next 20 years. By the end of the 20-year period, this will represent about 2.5 billion homes. This year, we are hosting conferences with all of EHC’s national leaders (180+ ministry offices represented) to cast vision for the Oikos initiative and to equip them with new tools to help them prepare and plan their national coverage strategy. January 1, 2019, marks ‘Day zero’ of the initiative.”  

—Nathan M., Every Home for Christ International (ECHI)

 

EHC cites a particularly compelling reason for evangelizing the world: The world population is growing rapidly, making the task more difficult by the day. They acknowledge that this initiative means pushing into more difficult and dangerous areas. “But we cannot reach every home if we avoid these areas.”  God has called, and He will open doors.

 

Every Home for Christ operates under three unalterable convictions, and they form the foundation of this new initiative as well:

Three Unalterable Convictions

  1. The Great Commission must be taken literally (Mark 16:15).
  2. Without unity, finishing the task of global evangelization is impossible (John 17:21-23).
  1. Prayer ALONE will remove every obstacle that stands in the way of fulfilling the Great Commission (Mark 11:22-23).

 

Recognizing the necessity for unity and intercessory prayer, EHC mobilizes local churches for concerted action in their communities, providing the basis for continued spiritual growth in their cities and towns.

A major part of this program involves literature. Each home is to receive a booklet/tract for adults and one for children. As a major supplier of Scripture booklets and Bible studies for many EHC National Directors around the world, WMP will be called upon to help meet the 20-year challenge to cover the globe with God’s Word. For this reason, EHC provided for two representatives from WMP to be present at leadership conferences in various parts of the world as national leaders planned for the resources that will be needed to reach their nations.

 

From our very beginning 57 years ago, the vision of World Missionary Press has been to give the Word of God to the world. Give ye them to eat” (Mark 6:37, KJV). Networking across the globe with ministries such as EHC, World Missionary Press—supported by friends raised up by God to pray, give, and volunteer—has provided multiplied millions of Scripture portions to be given to people in 210 countries and islands of the world.

 

Oikos is an ancient Greek word meaning “family” and “house”—the basic unit of society. The Church began in an oikos setting (Acts 5:42; 8:3; 20:20). Since earliest times, the family home has been the center of life. Abraham took his family (his home) and followed God’s call. Cornelius gathered his household together in his home to hear the message God had given Peter. When God called Israel out of Egypt, He expressly instructed them to gather in their homes, placing the blood of a slain lamb upon the door posts.

Today, evangelists in India walk from village to village, taking God’s Word from house to house, offering to pray for needs, and sharing God’s love. In Pakistan, gospel teams gather in homes opened to them for tea and conversation. In the intimacy and privacy of one’s home, the simple, personal reality of the gospel can be shared and received. The message of the small topical Scripture booklet then remains long after the visitor has gone.

 

[YOU can help supply The Way to God, Help From Above, and other Scripture materials for outreach to homes around the world. A gift of $50 will provide for the production of 1,300 booklets; $200 will help produce more than 5,000 booklets!]

 

Grateful Quotes

Sharing The Way to God in memory of their daughter

 

“Last Fall I requested 200 booklets of The Way to God in the Sesotho language, 50 in Tagalog, and 25 in English. My daughter and her family went to the Philippines in December. Her in-laws live close to the rice fields, and my 6-year-old grandson would go out to the road as the men walked by, coming from the rice fields, and give them a piece of candy and The Way to God booklet. He and my daughter also went to the village and passed out the booklets.

 

“I sent the 200 booklets to Lesotho, Africa. My husband and I were planning to go to Lesotho in January. We got as far as the airport in Chicago, and they wouldn’t let us get on the plane because he didn’t have four empty pages in his passport—something South Africa requires that we didn’t know.

 

“Our oldest daughter worked in Lesotho with orphan children. She was killed in South Africa in 2015. We wanted to have services and go through The Way to God booklet in the three villages where she had children’s services and fed the children. I sent the 200 booklets to one of the pastors there.

 

“Thank you very much for the booklets you sent. I appreciate all you are doing to get the gospel to those who haven’t heard.”

—Mary C., Indiana

 

Meet the Team

Wes Culver

WMP Board Chairman

My wife, Val, and I own several small businesses based in Goshen, Indiana. I have also served as a State Legislator for the past ten years, but will not run for reelection this fall.

 

I first heard about World Missionary Press from Jay and Vicky Benson, as we attended the same church for a time. When Jay asked if I would consider serving as a member of the Board, I agreed. That was just over 22 years ago. I have served on the Board’s Finance and Audit Review Committee for the past 16 years and have served in my current role as Chairman of the Board since November of 2011. Additionally, I am a WMP prayer partner.

 

What I like best about World Missionary Press is that it has amazing ‘bang for the buck’ in spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We can produce millions of Scripture booklets each month for less than 5 cents each, including shipping! It is also important to me and many others that the Scripture booklets are comprised of only Scripture verses. Scripture has the power to change lives!

I also think it is significant that World Missionary Press has never sold anything it prints. We give all of our products away freely. World Missionary Press is unique and plays such an important role in the world today.

 

Val and I have four children—two natural-born and two adopted. The oldest passed away; the next two are married and live in Goshen. Our youngest is a sixth-grader at Elkhart Christian Academy. We also have two grandchildren.

 

In my free time, I enjoy running, biking, reading, and travel.

 

WMP Partners Around the World

Juan Batista S.,

Dominican Republic

An active distributor for WMP in the Dominican Republic for many years, Juan Batista S. now serves as WMP’s National Coordinator, facilitating the availability and distribution of WMP literature for ministries and churches nationwide. Over the years WMP has provided more than 11 million Scripture booklets, Bible Studies, New Testaments, and salvation coloring books through this faithful partnership. 

 

WMP: Could you please describe your current ministry?

Juan: Since 1985 I have worked as the director of Vispera del Fin (End Times) Evangelical Ministry, an institution responsible for distributing tracts and Christian literature, organizing monthly evangelistic outreaches, and holding classes in churches on personal evangelism.

 

WMP: How long have you been involved in distributing WMP literature?

Juan: In 1968 I received the first copies of WMP literature through a ministry in Mexico. Later I wrote to WMP directly and we began to receive small quantities of boxes periodically which arrived in mailbags at the post office. In 1993-94, we received the first 20-foot container.  After Jay Benson visited us for the first time in 1997, we began to serve as WMP’s official coordinator for the Dominican Republic.

WMP: When you receive a shipment from WMP, how long does that supply last? What would you like to receive and how frequently?

Juan: The literature can last one to two years, depending on how we administer it. The first items to run out are the New Testaments in Spanish and in Kreyol. We would like to receive 3,000 boxes every 18 months as well as 400 boxes of Spanish New Testaments and 500 boxes of the Kreyol New Testaments.

 

WMP: What challenges do you have in your country to the free and open distribution of literature?

Juan: There were some threats last year by a congressman to put in place some obstacles to distribution, but—thank God—the proposal failed to pass. Consequently, we are extremely happy to have total freedom in distributing literature.

 

WMP: How effective are the topical Scripture booklets and Bible studies in your country? 

Juan: Tracts are the best way to initiate conversation with friends, and the Scripture booklets are very much appreciated in the rural areas and prisons. The Bible study booklets are excellent, as they have valuable content that enhances learning.

 

A container shipment for the Dominican Republic left our warehouse on February 28, 2018, with one million pieces of literature in Spanish and Kreyol. Thousands of Haitians, fleeing natural disasters and poverty, receive New Testaments and Scripture booklets through Brother Juan and his ministry, offering hope and peace in the midst of the storm. Operation World lists several challenges for the Church in the Dominican Republic, specifically for those ministering among the poorer rural areas and dealing with limited resources, etc. Work among the Haitian immigrants, and descendants of immigrants, is described as a “responsive mission field.” This new Spanish shipment includes 88,000 Kreyol Scripture booklets and 1,600 Kreyol New Testaments.