JOHN HAS BEEN “LOCKED UP” in a North Carolina prison for six years. He wrote to tell us that the Scripture-Text Datebook from World Missionary Press has been a real blessing to him. “At first I would just read the daily Bible verse,” he wrote, “but then I wanted more.” He began reading the Bible and doing Bible studies through the mail. “Thanks to it, I rededicated my life to Jesus and hunger for His Word.” He added, “It really got me through my time!”
WMP’s Scripture-Text Datebook provides a Bible verse for each day of the year—for daily meditation, perhaps memorization—as well as a small space for noting appointments and reflections. In the tedium of endlessly long days of incarceration, these small booklets with colorful covers are a lifeline, drawing readers to the God who created them and loves them still.
Chuck called in to WMP from Pennsylvania to request two copies of the 2018 Datebook, one for him and one for his wife. In an emotional voice message, he haltingly explained that he had just been released from prison after 20 years and was so thankful for the annual Scripture-Text Datebooks he had received and read all those years. “I enjoy these books immensely.” He could not fully express his thanks and confessed that even though life has been hard, he and his wife are keeping their faith in the Lord to see them through.
Richard has treasured a yearly Datebook for thirteen years, keeping all but the first three, which were lost. “I write a prayer every morning on each day. I have gone back and read them and saw how God answered my prayers and how quickly. I even witnessed to our church how I had prayed on one day and how God had answered my prayers in two or three days. . . . I just wanted to share how this little Datebook has influenced so many people over the years at this unit. I have all the issues kept safely in my locker. They not only have God’s Word in them but also hundreds of answered prayers. Thanks for the blessings. I cherish every one.”
Wayne wrote from Arizona that he is on a journey to discover how to spend time with God on a deeper and more intimate level. “I have begun to read this Datebook and use it to help me remember and be more responsible. I started reading the whole chapter of the given verse for each day, and by God’s sovereignty, each time it is relevant to my questions or the direction and correction I need. So be encouraged that God is using your work in a mighty way in my life.”
In the Datebook are descriptions of the topical Scripture booklets and Bible studies available from WMP to help inmates grow in their faith. Most of the 850,000 Datebooks printed this year for 2018 will fill specific orders from chaplains, who recognize the need for Scripture-based material to nurture believers and help them face each day in the strength that comes from God’s Word. “The booklets that you have donated to the ministry have been well accepted and put to good use,” wrote Mike B., chaplain of a county jail in Texas. “We have Bible studies going on daily in most of the pods/blocks. . . . Your booklets and other materials that I receive for the inmates are very important, along with the 46 church services we have each month. All of this put together has helped greatly. In fact, we are averaging 60 baptisms per quarter now.”
“The offenders at our facility ask for the Datebooks because they use them for personal devotions and time management,” wrote Chaplain Chris from Illinois. “Thank you for your sacrificial work to make this great tool available to our offenders! Staff often ask for the Datebooks too, and because of your great generosity, we are able to meet this need.”
Wherever a believer may be, whatever the situation, the strength and direction needed for the day is available through God’s Word. No place is too hard, no circumstance too dire, that God cannot work His will and purpose and receive glory when His child places his life completely into the Father’s hand. These small Scripture-Text Datebooks are often the only daily source of God’s Word available to a prisoner. The milk of the Word nourishes the soul, building strength to face the temptations and challenges of the day, shining a beam of heavenly light into the darkness.
“I’ve been reading the Datebook verses and enjoying them,” wrote William from Illinois. “I asked the chaplain for a handful of them to pass out in my cell house, saving one for my cellie. He was not saved or interested in spiritual truth. Now—praise God!—he reads the Datebook daily. He also reads daily devotionals and the Bible, and watches gospel channels on his TV. Praise GOD, HE is so wonderful to all, to give us His grace and mercy.”
And how God continues to work! Albert contacted us through WMP’s website: “You sent me prison Scripture-Text Datebooks for maybe 20 years, for which I have been and still am grateful. I am free now and want to do what I can to help my fellow inmates in the local jail. I am 73, in a wheelchair, and on very limited means.” He plans to place Datebooks in the hands of his fellow prisoners in Michigan.
When the Spirit of God enters as the written Word is read and believed, He brings LIBERTY—from sin, loneliness, fear, and hopelessness—and prison walls echo with “the song of the soul set free.”
[At a production cost of just 10 cents a copy, WMP can provide a lifeline to thousands of men and women that lasts throughout an entire year and beyond. Each designated dollar provides for ten lifelines to be produced.]
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Grateful Quotes
“I have never been so pleased in my life!”
“I live in a twelve-story apartment for low-income people. I can feel that Christians are praying for me as well as for people to receive these booklets and Bible studies.
“I gave some of these booklets to the cleaning girl in the morning, and then in the afternoon God led me to verbally witness to her. She then received Jesus as her personal Lord and Savior. She was ready and willing. I am very happy about this.
“I would like to request an order for more booklets and Bible studies. I am very pleased to receive these and give them out. The people almost all take them. New people are moving in here, and people (visitors) come and go
“God is blessing me with great joy each time I give them out! People are very open and receptive to taking this literature (Christian booklets and Bible studies for Christian Bible study). I have never been so pleased in my life.” —Audrey C., Denver
Meet the Team
Daniel S.
Volunteer
Daniel S. and his family visited World Missionary Press from South Carolina in May and took a tour of the plant. He expressed interest in spending extended time in Indiana during the summer, volunteering at WMP three days a week, working on maintenance projects around the facilities and perhaps in shipping. In September Daniel’s donation of time and skills were effectively applied to the project of upgrading an area of our facilities to be used as a World Prayer Center, devoted to prayer for WMP and world evangelization.
I first heard about World Missionary Press through our church and through WMP newsletters. We have used WMP Scripture booklets for quite a number of years, particularly in Honduras and Mexico, and I love the work! I love the fact that all the material is free—that is a huge blessing to a lot of people. I felt I wanted to volunteer not just financially, but also in a more personal way.
This was my first trip to WMP to spend time volunteering. My favorite part of volunteering was definitely the chapel time at 11:30. I also enjoyed seeing older men and women having such a love for the Lord and His kingdom.
My wife Clara and I recently celebrated our 30th anniversary on September 6. We have 10 children—six girls and four boys. The three oldest children are married. We also have two grandchildren, Dante and Elliott. We like to spend time as a family in Mexico or Honduras. My children love to hand out WMP Scripture booklets. 🙂 Two of my favorite hobbies are fishing and restoring cars.
WMP Partners Around the World
Volunteer WMP Ambassadors
When Joe and Tamie Chadburn moved to Goshen, Indiana, from Atlanta, Georgia, they brought more than 50 years of combined pastoral, teaching, and itinerant ministry experience. Their love for the Lord and His Church are evident. Joe’s background in multi-cultural ministry and his business experience in managing customer relationships seem to have divinely prepared him for the role of WMP Ambassador Network Coordinator.
What exactly is the WMP Ambassador Network?
Joe: World Missionary Press believes that every member in the Body of Christ is a “joint of supply” (Ephesians 4:16) and that regular communication with the ministries of local churches helps us to better serve them, their community, and their overall mission. Millions around the globe as well as precious immigrants and human trafficking victims here in the U.S. desperately need gospel literature in their own languages. WMP has prepared Scripture booklets in 346 languages and produces millions of booklets each month.
To help our partners be more involved with what God is doing through WMP, we are building a team of volunteer ambassadors to “be the connection” between WMP and their home churches—to establish deeper relationships, touch the nations through prayer, equip and encourage the Body of Christ, evangelize the world, and exalt Jesus! We believe that TOGETHER, we can do MORE!
What resources do you provide for volunteer WMP ambassadors?
Joe: We regularly receive wonderful testimonies of what God is doing through WMP Scripture booklets. Through the network, these stories can be shared more widely, bringing both glory to God and ever-increasing faith and encouragement to His people! Access to up-to-date photos; videos (WMP tour, interviews, testimonies, and prayer for outgoing container shipments); PowerPoint slides; blog posts; and podcasts on the network’s website provides an exciting means to share high-quality multi-media with friends and family as well as your local church. We also can tailor presentations to suit particular ministry needs. www.wmpambassadors.org
What are your blog posts and podcasts about?
Joe: A recent blog post shared the testimony of a WMP ambassador in Hawaii who connected WMP’s Scripture booklets with a pastor whose church operates a Seafarers Ministry in Honolulu. Another blog post contained an imbedded video of images from Haiti. The looks on the faces, as they had just received their own Kreyol New Testaments and Scripture booklets, are priceless! Some blog posts are articles about WMP featured by Mission Network News—how a Satanist assigned to destroy a church in Peru’s largest jungle city turned to Christ instead, how WMP is providing Scripture booklets for refugees in Europe, how urgent it is to provide resources to leaders where doors are closing while also providing them to those in other parts of the world who are hearing the gospel for the first time.
Recent podcasts include audio interviews captured during my recent trip with Harold Mack to Africa. Richard K., EHC’s national director in Zambia, shared how one Scripture booklet, How to Know God, was used over ten years to form a new church. And how a copy of Satan Versus CHRIST, inserted into the pocket of a man who was shouting-drunk, was found when he was sober. He read it, was convicted, and became a Christian. Now he is the leader of a Christ group.
How can I be a WMP ambassador?
Joe: If the Lord is leading you to join our team as a full-time, part-time, or spare-time volunteer ambassador, click on the “Contact” page of the Ambassador website and submit the simple application form. I will respond in a timely manner to hear your heart and discuss the opportunities and possibilities that await you!