We have no clear idea how much time is left before the night comes and our work will be over. We don’t know if our work with Loaves & Fishes will be ended by the plans of men in this godless society.  But we fully suspect that time is running out.

We have a mission, a purpose, and a plan. By God’s grace, we will relentlessly persevere until our work is done.

This work is not accomplished by one or two people. God has put together a team with the variety of skills required to get the job done. I would like to introduce you to the individual members of our team.

First I want to acknowledge God. Without God we can do nothing, but with Him, we can do all things. He answers our prayers, opens doors, and gives us wisdom in our work.

Darold Gingerich

My dad had a burden for producing literature for prisoners back when I was a small boy. Without his vision, zeal, and direction, Lighthouse Publishing probably wouldn’t exist today.

He is out of the office part of the year raising flowers, but still a pillar in the ministry. He has the role of handyman, mechanic, furniture maker, and counselor. Mom and the girls help with our mailings and other small jobs.

Lavern Gingerich

This is me, or rather, us. I enjoy thinking up new projects and getting other people involved to make it happen. I love the challenge of leading the Loaves & Fishes team and designing the layout.

I write newsletters and brainstorm ways to get more people excited about helping us publish Loaves & Fishes. It is rewarding to see people get a vision of reaching masses in prison through literature.

Rosanne Gingerich

Rosanne (my sister) does our bookkeeping and processes mail from prisoners. This includes managing subscriptions and fulfilling requests for Bibles and other literature.

Anthony Hertzler

Anthony loves arranging his own words and those of others to create strong and clear communication. He also likes deleting commas.

He first started working at Lighthouse in 2004, when his family moved to Pikeville. Now he lives in Oklahoma with his wife and children. His main work here is editing documents for Loaves & Fishes and final polishing the newsletters.

Josh Bechtel

Josh is in North Carolina. He also has an obsession with words. He’s been with us for a few months now and assists Anthony in editing text documents as we have work for him. We are thankful to have another set of critical eyes to run over each piece of content that goes into the magazine.

Mike Kauffman

Mike lives in New York and helps with Loaves & Fishes graphics. He has an interest in photography and is enthused about volunteering his time for the cause of Loaves & Fishes.

His job includes downloading photos, adjusting lights and darks, and saving the final edit in Dropbox, ready to place into the Loaves & Fishes layout.

Raphael Wenger

Raphael is a web developer and programmer from North Carolina. He is donating his time to develop a program that we will use to manage subscriptions and donations. It will tie all the subscribers, donors, literature requests, and Adopt-a-Prisoner writers into one database.

It is web-based, which means our staff will be able to log in from anywhere to do their work and everyone can work in the database at the same time.

This new system will be many times more efficient and make it a lot easier to track the return on fund-raising efforts.

Supporters

Besides the above, we have hundreds of supporters who stand with us to pray and donate their money for the cause. Without them, we could not do this work.

Loaves & Fishes Update

As I mentioned before, we were able to ship the last issue of Loaves & Fishes in November.

We are preparing the new issue and hope to wrap it up by the middle of January. Once we have $17,000 to go toward this project, we plan to get them printed. As of today (December 28) we are almost halfway there.

I would love to see another issue go out the first of March, three months after the previous issue. With God’s blessing and the help of a team, it is certainly within reach.

May God’s peace and joy be upon your lives as you continue to seek His purposes.

For the Kingdom,

Lavern Gingerich

Unloading Loaves & Fishes

Loaves & Fishes From the Printer

Addressing Single Subscriptions

Banding the Trays

Single Subscriptions

Filling Box Subscriptions

Filling Box Subscriptions

Printing Postage

Box Subscriptions

Loading the Mail Truck

Our Mail Filled the Truck!

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With the help of volunteers, we were able to prepare the mailing in only two days. We want to thank each one who helped, especially my in-laws (Dan Stoltzfus family) from New York who were down for Thanksgiving.

For the Kingdom,

Lavern Gingerich

It is rewarding to see Loaves & Fishes go into the prisons again. We work hard to make every issue of Loaves & Fishes a genuine work of love for the prisoners. My prayer is that each one who reads this issue would feel God’s touch and sense the gift of His love in a personal way.

For many people, December is a cozy time of the year with extra focus on family time, special food, and gifts. At the same time, many prisoners in our country feel lonely and would give a lot to be home again, to snuggle with their children on the couch or share some hot chocolate with their spouse. A gift of love, a touch of home, would mean more than words can tell.

On behalf of these forgotten ones, I would like to thank you for partnering with us to send Loaves & Fishes into the prisons. This gift is only possible because of your prayers and financial support.

The postage for this mailing is paid, and we have some money left to operate with. We are preparing the next issue and aim to have it ready around the first of the year. We’re hoping for an increase in donations through the end of the year, making it possible to print another issue soon. Working together and following the Lord’s leading, our goal is to eventually have funds to increase from one issue a year to four.

Please pray for future printings of Loaves & Fishes. We need ongoing wisdom and inspiration to prepare them and the finances to publish them.

As you enjoy your loved ones this holiday season, take some time to remember the forgotten ones. Your prayers and support do make a difference.

For the Kingdom,

Lavern Gingerich

We’ve been busy getting the new issue of Loaves & Fishes magazine ready to print. It’s in review stage now. If all goes well, we will have books before Thanksgiving and they will be in the hands of readers in December.

I never get tired of seeing a new issue go out the door. The preparation time is stretching, but a thrilling opportunity.

The printing will cost $16,500. Postage to send them out will probably be at least $12,000. It looks like we will have enough funds to mail them once they arrive. We truly value your faithful prayers and support! Without your participation in the team, this project could not go on.

“Hello, a friend just gave me a very old issue of Loaves & Fishes. I really am enjoying it.… God blessed me by putting this issue in my life because it’s covering things I needed now, to know in my life.”
Raymond Hollis • Parr Highway Correctional Facility • Adrian, MI

My Team and My Tools

It’s encouraging to see God expand the team. We’ve hired a new editor, Josh Bechtel, who lives in Illinois. He’s already proving to be a blessing. Anthony Hertzler in Oklahoma is also an editor for Loaves & Fishes. Both of them work remotely as I assign projects to them. We use Dropbox to synchronize our documents from the working folder to our three computers. When any of us changes a file, it updates everyone automatically. This makes it very easy to stay organized and work with a team in other parts of the world.

I upgraded my Adobe® Photoshop® and InDesign® software recently. It’s always fun to work with new tools, and features in the newer versions help us be more efficient and creative.

I depend heavily on my team and my tools to get the job done efficiently. Without them, Loaves & Fishes would not be what it is.

Working With God

I love the challenge of bringing all the pieces together and sensing God’s direction throughout the project. I had selected an Anabaptist martyr story to include, and I thought this issue wouldn’t be what it should be without it. Deeper into the project, I realized we needed to gain about six pages somewhere in order to make everything fit.

We discussed condensing either the martyr story or one of the other articles. I had total confidence my editors could do it, but I knew it would take a lot of extra time. When I decided to follow the suggestion of my wife and replace the original story with another one we had on hand, it dawned on me why the first one didn’t fit. The new story flows perfectly with the burden we have for this issue.

Loaves & Fishes is God’s work, and He plans every part in advance. We are simply His hands to package these articles, stories, testimonies, and poems into a magazine—a special gift that will touch the hearts of prisoners throughout the USA.

Bibles for Prisoners

We offer free Bibles to prisoners with a box ad in Loaves & Fishes. Friends of ours in Missouri were supplying the Bibles and sending them to the prisoners. They were ready to turn it over to us, so my Dad started calling around, looking for a good source. Through Mt. Zion Literature Ministry, the Lord led us to find someone who has access to surplus Bible inventory. We were able to pick up close to 430 large print Bibles for an average of $4.79 each. Some of them are $40 Bibles with bonded leather and cross references!

We don’t know what will be available once these are gone, but I’m sure the Lord has it planned already.

Looking Ahead

The Lord is already directing for the next issue, and we’ve begun editing. Our goal is to be at least two issues ahead of production, so that each time the funds are available, we will be ready to send it to press immediately.

We are committed to being faithful at the pace God leads us. Perhaps soon more funds will be available, and we can reach our goal of at least four issues a year, instead of one or two.

As always, thank you for your support and prayers. Loaves & Fishes could not exist without a team, our tools, and God.

Until the night comes,

Lavern Gingerich

Work Area

Work Area

Work Area

Work Area

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We will be outsourcing the printing of Loaves & Fishes magazine until something changes. So we need the shop area mostly for mailing and inventory. The printing presses and binding machine we use for Loaves & Fishes are still here, but now the center of the shop is open and it will be much more efficient for large mailings.

“I have been in and out of prison most of my life and I’m really looking for a change this time. I really don’t know much about God but I do believe in Him…. I’m back in prison as a result of my anger again. I’m tired of living this life style and I’m ready to break these chains and really live for God.”

Frederick Hitchcock • Moberly Correctional Center • Moberly, MO

Printing Company

The Lord is answering our prayer for a printing company. We found a high-end magazine printer in Florida that will print them for 20 cents each including the freight to our shop. This includes 64 pages plus a full-color cover.

Mail Room Update

Rosanne, my sister, is doing a great job in the mail room and current with all incoming mail and requests. This is totally amazing. I can’t remember that we were ever totally caught up in recent years. Of course, we still have opportunities to write prisoners, especially men.

The New Issue of Loaves & Fishes

Please continue to pray for us that we could have inspiration for the next issue of Loaves & Fishes and that the Lord would guide us to the material we need at the right time. He’s done it in the past and will do it again.

For the Kingdom,

Lavern Gingerich

We are beginning to prepare the next issue of Loaves & Fishes. I had hoped to start before this, but have been very busy this year working on our “Resource Kit,” a packet of literature and resources for new or potential donors.

Now my mind and schedule is more clear to move ahead with the new issue, and just yesterday I sensed the Lord giving me another confirmation for the theme I was inspired to use earlier.

Please pray for Anthony and me as we seek the Lord’s direction and move ahead in this project.

Resource Kit

We’ve had some takers for our literature packets, which we have renamed to “Resource Kit.” If you can help us spread the word, we will be glad to send you either complete kits or individual pieces in the amount you can use.

We have the ministry presentation booklet, 3 Marks of an Effective Missionary, Loaves & Fishes samples, inspirational bookmarks, and more. These resources are available free of charge for the glory of God.

To order these resources, just send us an email and let us know what you can use.

Special Need: Presentation Speakers

We’ve done some presentations in churches, and it’s obvious that sharing at events is one of the easiest ways to raise awareness for this ministry.

We are praying for a team that can travel and share presentations in churches. It could be a couple young men with a zeal for God’s work or even a married couple that’s not tied down with family and business.

Lighthouse would cover the travel expenses and provide the equipment and literature. The schedule would depend on how many churches and groups we can book, hopefully at least one or two trips a month.

Who will fill this needed position? Please pray with us and let us know if you or someone you know could be a good fit.

For the Kingdom,

Lavern Gingerich

“I would really enjoy corresponding with other Christians. I am not allowed to correspond with other inmates at other prisons and other inmates aren’t allowed to correspond with me. Most prisons don’t allow inmates to correspond with each other.

“You just don’t know how good it feels to get a letter from someone. I watch the mailman pass by my cell everyday, and everyday I think maybe he will stop and give me a letter. It’s not just me, Lavern, a lot of guys in here have nobody and it’s hard to walk this road alone when you think nobody cares.

“I read your article in Volume 8, Issue 1, 2010 about “Discover a Friend Who Really Loves You” and you’re right, Lavern, Jesus is the best friend anyone could have, but it takes a strong heart and mind to set behind these walls and feel Jesus’ love without some encouragement and inspiration. Sometimes when people feel rejected and unloved, it’s hard to even believe that Jesus will love you.

“It’s hard for someone in the free world to understand what it’s really like in prison, but I can truly tell you, Lavern, that when that mailman walks by and puts a letter on your cell door, it’s one of the happiest moments of your life. I’ve seen grown men cry like a baby when they got a letter. I’ve seen cold, cold hearts melt like butter from a card or a letter.”

We can teach the prisoners how much Jesus loves them and wants to be their intimate friend, but many of them will never find that without encouragement from personal connections. Yes, God can give grace in a lonely situation, but it takes “a strong heart” to sit behind those walls and know God all alone.

Let’s rise up and visit those in prison. Have weekly or monthly visitation in prisons and jails. Get in touch with a prisoner (or maybe a few) and send them greeting cards and hand-written letters.

The opportunities we have in our local jail to preach and visit with the men is amazing. As Jerry says, it’s hard for someone in the free world to understand what it’s like in there.

Most prisoners are behind bars because they’ve seriously messed up their lives. If Jesus made “failures” his top priority, shouldn’t we be doing the same?

You can start today by asking us for a prisoner to write to. We’ll send you his/her letter, mailing address, and some guidelines to follow. We only ask that you encourage your new friend and show them the love and truth of Jesus.

For the Kingdom,

Lavern Gingerich

We who work at the office can’t do it all on our own. Lighthouse Publishing is a channel, an opportunity for the church to partner in prison ministry. Together we make a team.

Picture a carefully tended flower or vegetable garden. Those plants need water to prosper. How many drops of water does it take? Obviously, too many to count!

The prison population in the USA is like a garden. As we work with Jesus Christ, we are like cool, refreshing water to thirsty plants. It takes more than a few drops, or the work of a few select people.

Of course, one cup of water can make a difference, but it takes a drenching shower to water the whole garden. It only takes one person to make a difference in someone’s life, but it takes a team to accomplish the big picture.

Our dream is to attract and inform a team of men and women who are enthused about building God’s Kingdom in the prisons—people excited about the power of written words and the open door of reaching prisoners through printed literature.

Please click here for an opportunity to help inform your friends and church about the open door in prison.

Let’s join our time, energy, and resources to form a shower of tiny raindrops that those in prison could feel God’s love, light, and life.

For the Kingdom,

Lavern Gingerich

For the past six months, except for the work in the mailroom, we’ve been mostly working on 1) raising awareness and 2) making internal changes in the ministry in preparation for growth. In addition to becoming officially non-profit and obtaining a non-profit mailing permit, we’ve been able to reach some other significant milestones.

A big one is the resources we have published to help inform and raise awareness for the ministry. Here is a list of them:

• A ministry presentation in a full-color booklet. This is an effective way of raising awareness among churches and individuals.
• 3 Marks of an Effective Missionary, a 20-page booklet designed to inspire God’s people of their mission and to explain the basis of the ministry here.
• Five full-color bookmarks with poetry from Art Mayse (a friend of ours in prison) and one that reminds us to pray for the prisoners of the USA. Each of these mentions Loaves & Fishes and encourages prayer and financial support.
• A cheery refrigerator magnet with a prisoner testimonial on it and our contact information.

In the recent weeks, we’ve sent custom information packets to various segments of our database. Now we are looking for new contacts to send literature to. Hopefully, you can help us get these resources into the hands of potential donors.

How You Can Help

Friend-to-friend recommendations are one of the most effective ways to raise awareness for a cause.

Would you like to help us spread the word about Lighthouse Publishing and the wonderful opportunities to touch hearts in prison through literature?

Perhaps you have friends who have never heard about the open door in the prisons. Maybe your church has never been involved in prison work.

Be a voice. Simply let us send you some free literature packets. You can share them with your friends and churches that might be interested in learning about and supporting the work of Loaves & Fishes.

To order these resources, just send an email to info@lighthousepublishing.org. All we ask is that you use this literature for the glory of God and join us in prayer for the progress of the work.

For the Kingdom,

Lavern Gingerich

Are you ever tempted to lose heart and simply give up? Oh, how relaxed life could be—if only the battle would be over, the work done. Or just to be permanently discharged.

But no, the One who sent us out has not called us back yet. The fields are still white for harvest. Workers are needed to finish the harvest before the night comes.

Some time ago, God encouraged my heart with Hebrews 6:10:

“God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.”

Yes, God remembers your labor of love for the saints. It’s important to preach the Gospel to unbelievers, but it’s just as important to minister to the saints. “Teach and make disciples” is just as much a command as “Preach the gospel to every creature.”

Whether we strengthen a weak one, help heal a broken heart, or show kindness in times of distress, God remembers the labor of love toward His people. He sees it, rewards it, and supplies the resources to go on.

Sometimes I have questions and fears. Then the Lord encourages my heart with verses like Hebrews 6:10, and I find strength to keep pressing on.

If you are a servant of the saints and tempted to just hang it up and choose an easier battle, be encouraged. Remember God is not unjust to forget your work of love toward His name.

For the Kingdom,

Lavern Gingerich