Mailing in May?

News

Apr 29

I just wanted to give you an update on the new issue of Loaves & Fishes I told you about last month. I am very encouraged to report that we now have the funds we need to start printing. It is a major accomplishment for this ministry to have the money for printing only 2 months after mailing the previous issue.

Once the booklets arrive, we will need around $8,600 loose funds to mail all the subscriptions. We already have $1,000 or so to put toward postage and are hoping for the rest in the next 30 days, so we can mail this issue in May—three months after the previous one went out.

Publishing every three months has been our goal for years, and to think it could soon be reality is very exciting to me!

Spending $8,000 for postage sounds outrageous, and we don’t want to approach it lightly. But to put it into perspective, we can prepare, print, and mail these booklets for only 30 cents a piece. This is a booklet with 48 pages plus a full color cover, folded to half the size of a sheet of copy paper.

The mailing process is imperfect; inmates move or get released and mail policies vary among institutions. Several hundred issues of each printing fail to reach subscribers. On the other hand, the tens of thousands that do get through are often passed from hand to hand, used in group studies, and even retrieved from trash bins, multiplying the lives touched by that 30-cent investment in postage.

It seems like a good idea to pool our resources and take advantage of the leverage of mass printing and bulk mailings while the doors are open and hearts are hungry to learn more about Jesus and life in His Kingdom.

Prayer Requests

  • Funds to mail L&F 11/2 in May. It will take around $8,600.
  • Inspiration for the next issue. We need direction from the Lord and enough great stories, testimonies, poems, and articles to fill 52 pages.

Donations
Thanks for your concern for the prisoners of the USA. As always, if you feel led to help, you can give online or send your gift in the mail:

Mailing address:
Lighthouse Publishing
14377 Old State Highway 28
Pikeville, TN 37367

Online donation page:
www.lighthousepublishing.org/get-involved

Feedback
Here are a few letters from prisoners to remind us all of the hunger in the prisons and the open door for sending literature into prison:

“As I was looking through the in-house library shelf, I ran across your magazine. I took it back to my cell and started reading it. As I read on I felt a sense of peace and well-being. I have not felt either in some time. The poems touched me deeply. It gave me hopes of a brighter walk each and every day. The stories from others gave me comfort knowing that I am not alone. I very much enjoyed the whole magazine and learned so much. Thank you for all you do to help us Christians learn new steps in our growth.”
Gerald Casler, St. Cloud, MN

“I have come back to Christ after 10 years of worldly pleasure. My room mate had one of your Loaves & Fishes magazines in his locker and I read it and now I’m hooked. I need a KJV Bible and as much Christian reading material that you can send. I love reading stories of prisoners such as myself share their testimonies…. I’m thirsty for whatever you can send.”
Stephen Smith, Sneads, FL

“I’m a prisoner in Kansas and I ran across your booklet. I’ve really enjoyed it…. It has given me reason to get back into the Bible. I thank you for all you do.”
Charles Young, Lansing, KY

May God be glorified and His priorities honored!

For the Kingdom,

Lavern Gingerich