Recycling the Gospel

Like most churches, we order curriculum items to help us as we teach the Bible in small groups across the generations. We order material every quarter and, like many churches we often have left over or "gently-used" material at the end of each quarter.

There is this tendency to order more pieces than is needed and if your church is like ours, there are stacks of magazines and Bible studies sitting on shelves or in the corners of rooms. Even as we have strategically worked to cut-down on over-ordering, we still end up with some left overs.

Rather than just dump all the books in a recycling bin or the trash, we have partnered with missionaries in the Philippines to provide material. You see, it doesn't really matter if the dates on the front of the magazines have already passed, these missionaries and church leaders find the treasure within the pages helpful in teaching biblical truths to the people in their communities. 

I recently received an email from a friend and church member (Paul Williams) who has taken it upon himself to collect these items from our church and others in our network, pack them up, and ship them to the Philippines.

To be honest, sometimes...if we even remember these items have been shipped away...we may wonder "Does this really make a difference?"

Well, look at this photos...

Bob Courson, our friend in the Philippines gave us permission to share these photos. We are thankful for his work and service in making Christ known in this nation. Praying for him and for those men, women, boys, and girls who seem thrilled to receive these items. May much be made of Jesus in the Philippines and among these dear people.