Category Archives for "News"

My Life Is a Gift

News

What have I done to advance the Kingdom of Jesus Christ in 2010?

You’re reading the final “Loaves & Fishes Report” for 2010. Isn’t it sobering to think that we are nearing the end of another year?

Now is a good time to ask yourself, “What have I done to advance the Kingdom of Jesus Christ this year? Is there anything I have failed to do for the Lord? Am I willingly giving Him my all?”

There is still plenty to do in God’s Kingdom and the needs are as urgent as they have ever been.

Your life is a gift. You can choose what to do with it. To whom or what will you dedicate the rest of your time here on this earth?

You can give it to the drive for riches—the passion for late model vehicles, a luxurious house, and fun toys to enjoy in this short life. Worldly fame and selfish reputation are also looking for willing givers.

If you want to help advance the Kingdom of God, the best place to start is to willingly give your whole life as a gift to Him. Don’t even try to do anything for Jesus Christ unless you are willing to give your all to Him. He is more than worthy of it all.

This month when millions exchange gifts with loved ones, take some time to examine your life—your money, your time, your stuff, your reputation, your abilities, your all. Have you given yourself completely as a gift to Him?

For the Kingdom,
Lavern Gingerich

Click here to learn how you can give.

Prisoner Feedback

“The story in volume 7, issue 1, The Deceitfulness of Anger and Bitterness, saved my life. I would read and read it over and over. And I got down on my knees and cryed out to the loving Father to forgive me and take away this anger and bitterness, and he did. Thank you Jesus!!

“I don’t have your order form from the back of the book, because someone else have it. But could you please send me your 2010 and 2011 Loaves & Fishes, please? Please this book feeds my soul, just as the Bible do. It’s all I read now. Please pray that I don’t get cold feet, but keep on serving Jesus!! He’s my life now.”
Barbara Steelman•Lane Murry TDCJ-ID • Gatesville, TX

“I really enjoy Loaves & Fishes. Your publication has been a wonderful source of encouragement and strength for me. May God richly bless you for what you do.”
Scott Messer•Walton Correctional Institution • Defuniak Springs, FL

“I am presently incarcerated at Corcoran State Prison. I was given a copy of Loaves & Fishes volume 7, issue 1 from 2009 by a fellow inmate, and I’m not going to lie, my intentions were to use it to block the vent because of the cold air coming through it.

“But as I was laying there I picked it up off the shelf and began to read it and the different stories of other inmates in similar situations as well as the different articles therein and realized the person telling the story although from a different walk of life, was not different from the feelings and life I was living. I would really be grateful if you would send me a subscription to Loaves & Fishes. I do not have any funds available but if I can help in any other way, I’d be more than glad too. Thank you very much for your time and patience.”
Fernando Escobar•Corcoran State Prison • Corcoran, California

Praise and Prayer Requests

• We’ve had a number of new donors join us this year, and we are sincerely grateful for each one. Your participation is not in vain!
• Loaves & Fishes volume 8, issue 2 is in binding. We hope to finish in the next few weeks.
• We have enough to mail all the box subscriptions, but need approximately $9,000 more for postage.
• Pray for wisdom and direction to prepare another issue of Loaves & Fishes. We sincerely want to say what is on God’s heart for the prisoners.

Your gift will help us send more Loaves & Fishes to hungry prisoners.

Click here to learn how you can give.

Loaves & Fishes Printing Update

Loaves & Fishes , News

The printing is finished for Loaves & Fishes volume 8, issue 2. Now it’s time to turn 1.36 million pieces of paper into 80,000 booklets!

Imagine…

• 1.36 million pieces of paper
• 6.4 tons of paper
• 174.4 miles of paper
• 50 pounds of ink
• 2.5 miles of staple wire

Imagine 80,000 copies of Loaves & Fishes quietly influencing thousands of open hearts in prisons and jails across the USA.

Watch Darold print Loaves & Fishes volume 8, issue 2 on the web press:

“Have been very depressed…”

“I found one of your Loaves & Fishes magazines and loved it very much.… It’s very, very good. I am a inmate here at Oakdale, and have been very depressed, but after reading the magazine, it lifted my spirits….

“I would like very much to get a subscription of this Loaves & Fishes magazine sent to me please. I have no money, but if I did I would love to make a donation.”

Anthony Dedrick • IMCC • Coralville, IA

The postage to mail this issue will cost around $15,000. Will you help us mail these Loaves & Fishes into the prisons, so they can go without delay?

Click here to give.

Making Many Magazines

News

We are encouraged to report progress on the next printing of Loaves & Fishes. The last issue went out back in January, so we are eager to move ahead.

Darold (Dad) will print this issue here, Lord willing, except for the covers, which were done at Carlisle Printing. We are two days into the printing now.

We already had some of the paper for the project, and we ordered enough more to print 80,000 booklets. There are sufficient funds to cover the expenses so far.

Current Needs

Postage to send these subscriptions will be around $15,000. We still lack most of the postage money.

You can help us mail these booklets and publish future issues of Loaves & Fishes every quarter with your gift of $1/day or any amount of participation.

We also need your prayers for God’s protection and grace as we work on this project. There are many obstacles to overcome and decisions to make.

Online Donations

Now you can give one-time donations or set up a monthly sponsorship online! In fact, these online donations are collected through Pikeville Christian Fellowship (our local church), so all online donations are tax-deductible.

Join the team of monthly sponsors and help us publish Loaves & Fishes four times per year!

Click here to learn how you can give.

Americans Behind Bars in the Last 100 Years

1910 – 2010

The Dark Side: USA Incarceration

• There are approximately 2.3 million men and women behind bars today.
• More than 1 in 100 adults are in prison or jail.
• Roughly 1 in 32 Americans are either behind bars, on probation, or on parole.
• We taxpayers spend over $68 billion a year to take care of the prisoners.
• It costs around $30,000 a year to house one prisoner.

The Bright Side: “Can you please help me?”

• “Can you or someone write to me and tell me how I can get Jesus in my life? I am 42 years old and don’t know Jesus. Can you please help me?” Donald Roberts, Fort Worth, TX

• Tens of thousands of hungry prisoners have asked us to speak into their lives. We have access to masses who will receive and appreciate what we teach them and even share it with their friends!
• You can partner with us to make an impact with your prayers and financial support. Let’s wake up to these opportunities before the night comes when no man can work.

Click here to learn how you can get involved.

For the Kingdom,
Lavern Gingerich

Important Update: $304 – You = $303

News

If you’ve been following us during the last year, you know that our goal is to publish one issue of the Loaves & Fishes magazine every quarter.

We have discovered there is a tremendous opportunity to encourage and teach open hearts in prisons through reading material.

The devil and his workers are already using literature to influence the masses. Today we also have an open door to plant the seeds of God’s Word in the hearts of the masses in prison. In fact, they are begging us to.

Loaves & Fishes is already touching tens of thousands, but we see an urgent need to increase its impact by publishing more often. Our goal is to publish the magazine four times a year instead of only once.

As you’ve probably heard, we’re trying to build a team of partners who together can pledge to give $350/day. An increase of $350/day would cover the hard costs of publishing Loaves & Fishes four times per year.

So far official monthly sponsorships have grown to $46/day, which means we have $304 to go. We are sincerely grateful for these commitments.

One-time gifts are helpful and make up the bulk of our income now. However, monthly sponsorships create the dependable support stream that enables us to plan ahead and publish on a predictable schedule.

The needs in prison are great, the doors are wide open, and the night is coming when no man can work.

We are confident there must be 304 more people somewhere that want to partner with us in this goal.

Will you make this a matter of prayer and consider becoming a monthly partner with your gift of $1/day?

Click here to learn how you can give.

“I saw [Loaves & Fishes] and was deeply moved and inspired. Especially the article ‘Paid in Full’… Me being a new born Christian could really use that type of encouraging network in a place like this.”

Jamal Spence • ACI • Fairfax, SC

Quick Updates

• It’s a blessing to have Darold back in the office again full-time. His greenhouse business is shut down until next year, so now he has a lot more time to work at Lighthouse. He does too much to list here, but his work includes processing mail from prisoners and maintaining the mailing list.
• In the last months, Robert and Verba have cut back on their time commitment here. Robert works with a local construction crew to support his family, but they still support the work in their hearts and help with mailings, etc.
• We are doing another small mailing of the most recent issue of Loaves & Fishes, which we published in January. There are 4,600 new single subscriptions that came in since we mailed out the first mailing of this issue.
• We have some ministry presentations scheduled for October. Several churches in Missouri want us to come share. Presentations are a good way to raise awareness and build face-to-face relationships. If you know of a church or group of people that would like to learn more about Loaves & Fishes, let us know.
• The next issue of Loaves & Fishes has been prepared for about six months now. It will take around $30,000 to publish this issue. After using some funds for promotional literature and overhead, we would have close to one-third of this amount left.

Let’s work together to touch more hearts in prison while it is day!

For the Kingdom,

Lavern Gingerich