Tuesday, September 8, 2009

You Can Change a Life...With a Book.


Our next Gospel Festival is in the nation of Pakistan. We want to print 10,000 books to give to new believers. Each book will cost us $0.15 to print.Would you be one of fifteen people to give a gift of $100 today to make it possible for us to print these books?
Click HERE to help print books for Pakistan

The Power of a Book
Let me tell you a story. Several years ago, I was in the nation of Congo, Africa. I was preaching in a small dirt floor hut which was jammed full of over two hundred people. Chickens ran across the floor as the congregation enthusiastically praised the Lord. I glanced over at the young pastor and noticed he was holding his Bible and another dog-eared book which was carefully covered in gray tape.


"Show me what you are reading," I asked him. 


When he handed me the book, I recogized the cover. It was written by my friend and mentor, the great missionary-evangelist T.L. Osborn.


I asked, "Where did you get this book?"


He said, "Twenty years ago, Dr. Osborn came to my nation. My father got saved at his meeting and decided to become a pastor. Dr. Osborn gave him this book and for twenty years my father preached his sermons from this book. Last year my father died and I became the pastor of this church, and now I preach from the same book."


When I heard that pastor's story, I realized the impact one book can have on the nations. At each of our massive Gospel Festivals, my goal is to put a book in the hands of every new believer.


Why is it so important to invest in books?
1. Books help new believers grow spiritually. One of the challenges of every evangelist is to turn converts into disciples. How can a new believer grow from saying a salvation prayer into a strong follower of Jesus? I believe one key to solving this problem is putting a book in the new believer's hands.


2. Books continue to preach the Gospel long after I have returned home. Books can go farther then I can go, stay longer then I can stay, and impact lives I can never reach. By giving away books, I am imitating God. Our heavenly father sent his Son (Jesus) for a season, but He left His book (the Bible) forever.


3. Book are often passed from hand to hand and read by many different family members and neighbors. After one of our festivals we did a survey and discovered an amazing fact. Each book which we gave away was read by an average of ten people. So, if we give away ten thousand books, we can potentially impact over one hundred thousand people.


4. Books are treasured by new believers. In all our festivals, I have never seen one of our books thrown to the ground and trampled underfoot. Each one is valued and read. Recently a woman named Maria gave her life to Jesus during one of our Great Gospel Festivals. After a counselor handed her a book, tears poured from her eyes as she said, "Thank you!" I saw her reading the book as she walked toward her bus. She would take a step and read a page, then take another step. I am sure she read the entire book before she ever arrived home.


I need to hear from you RIGHT NOW so I know how many we can print. It would be a great tragedy for even one new believer to leave the festival without receiving a book. Please, respond to this e-mail today and help us print books.


We need 15 people to give a gift of ONE HUNDRED dollars. We want to print at least 10,000 books at a cost of $0.15 each.


Would you be one of fifteen people to give a gift of $100 today?

To Sow books into Pakistan, CLICK HERE

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