Apologetics for the Masses - Issue #32-B

General Comments

Well, I’ll bet you thought you weren’t going to hear from me until January, eh? Well, Issue #32 was the last “regular edition” of the newsletter for 2006, but this isn’t a regular edition. Please read and prayerfully consider the contents.

Introduction

This is the promised second email appeal for 2006. As I’ve stated before, I send out two, and only two, email appeals for donations…for investments…each year. And, I send out, at the most, one appeal for donations through the regular mail each year…which some of you may get as well. In other words, I don’t spend a lot of time and effort on fundraising. You will never get something from me every two to three weeks asking for money or telling you about this or that emergency which we need your help with. I don’t like receiving solicitation after solicitation after solicitation from the same organization, so I will not do that to others.

So, since I don’t come to you very often to ask for your support, I ask you to please read about what’s going on here at the Bible Christian Society, the challenges we face, what we hope to do in the future, and then prayerfully consider whether or not you think this to be an organization worthy of your investment in our evangelization and apologetic activities.

I believe it is important to let you know – twice a year – that I do need your help to keep this apostolate afloat (ask and ye shall receive, right?). The investments you make in the Bible Christian Society (all of which are 100% tax-deductible) help pay for the office, all of the tapes and CDs that we send out, the website, and all of the time I spend on the computer answering emails, preparing the newsletters, and so forth. Your investments in the Bible Christian Society allow me to pay my mortgage, put food on the table for my wife (Janel) and my four kids (Brennan, McKenna, Ethan, and Noah), and keep clothes on their back. This is my fulltime job.

Challenge/Response/Strategy

2006:

We will send out almost 100,000 copies of our talks via cassette tape, CD, or mp3 download, to almost 10,000 folks, by the time this year ends (a 100% increase over last year). Our e-newsletter, Apologetics for the Masses reaches almost 4000 people each week directly, and then probably another few thousand who have it forwarded to them by you guys – and more folks are signing up every day. This year I have had the privilege to speak to literally thousands of people at various parishes and conferences around the country, and it looks like I might be traveling even more next year.

To get just a little taste of the impact these talks are having, please read the testimonials I’ve included at the bottom of this newsletter. These are just three of the hundreds upon hundreds we receive.

The Future:

For the future, in addition to hopefully sending out even more tapes, CDs, and downloads, I have plans for several projects that I would like to take down off the drawing board and start to develop. The first one is to get all of our talks into Spanish. I have had the talks translated into Spanish, but we’ve run into one problem after another in trying to get them actually recorded into Spanish. I’m hoping and praying that 2007 will be the year for that. There is such a great need for Spanish-language apologetics materials…it’s estimated that 50% of all the Catholic Hispanics coming into our country are being pulled out of the Faith by various Protestant denominations and folks like the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Mormons.

I also have a Bible Boot Camp idea that I would like to develop. The idea is to give 3 days of intensive Bible-based apologetics training to high school and college age kids, and then send them out for a couple of days to do door-to-door evangelizing. And, hopefully, this would develop into a full-time corp of young Catholic evangelists (similar to what the Mormons do). Mormonism is one of the fastest growing religions precisely because of the thousands of door-to-door evangelists they send out. Imagine what we could do with thousands of Catholic evangelists who go door-to-door carrying the fullness of the truth?

I have a book project that I am trying to finish. Taking my talks and essentially turning them into chapters in a book – with some additional materials and reformatted – which could be used as a study guide for apologetics groups or Bible study groups in parishes, or possibly as a textbook for homeschooling groups.

One more project I’ll mention is my RCIA Evangelization Project. I am trying to develop a program to present to priests and bishops which would hopefully get entire parishes involved with evangelization in their areas. It involves training a core group of parish leaders in evangelization and apologetics techniques, setting numeric goals for the RCIA program (e.g., if you had 15 this year, the goal is 25 for next year), and then having this core group run programs at the parish throughout the year to teach and encourage the parishioners in evangelization…teach them how to ask folks to come visit the Catholic Church.

In Conclusion

However, we’re not going to be able to make much progress on these various projects as long as I am unable to devote my full attention to the Bible Christian Society. As I’ve said before, I have to work a part-time job which pays me a small salary, but also pays for my family’s medical insurance. It’s a good job – Finance Director for a crisis pregnancy center – but it’s a job that others could easily do. If I could raise enough through donations to be able to retire from that job, then I would have the time I need to make some serious headway on these various evangelization projects.

That’s why I’m coming to you now. If everyone who receives this newsletter would invest an average of $0.10 a day…just $3.00 per month…into the Bible Christian Society, then I wouldn’t have to worry about a second job to pay for medical insurance, and I could even hire some extra help around here. In other words, we could start lightin’ some fires all over the place!

So, what do you think? Can you afford to send us $0.10 a day? Is the work we’re doing worth at least $0.10 a day? People are so hungry to learn more about their Faith…to learn more about the Truth…and we offer solid materials that are easily affordable and easily understood by Catholic and non-Catholic alike. Can you help us to continue to get The Word out and to continue growing and reaching even more people with the truths of the Catholic Faith?

If your answer is “yes,” then you can donate through the “Donations” page on our website: http://www.biblechristiansociety.com/donations.php, or by sending a check to: Bible Christian Society, POB 424, Pleasant Grove, AL 35127. And remember, we are a non-profit corporation and all donations are 100% tax-deductible. If you can give $18 now, and $18 each time I send out an appeal, that would average out to the $3.00 per month I mentioned above. If you can do more…wonderful! If you can’t do that, but can give something…wonderful! Any help you can give is greatly appreciated!

And, most of all, I would like to ask for your prayers for the Bible Christian Society. Pray that we can continue reaching an ever-growing number of folks with the truths of the Catholic Faith.

Testimonials

“I am 20-years old and a Junior at the University of Illinois. Your series of tapes have been just what I have been searching for these past 2 years. Thank You! I left the Church my junior year in High School…My mom ordered your tape series for me because she knew I had left the Church. I have listened to all but 3 of them over this summer and they have changed my perspective and expanded my knowledge like none other…When I return to campus in a couple of weeks, I am taking your tape series with me. I have some friends who have left the Catholic Church…I am planning to meet as a group with these people to listen to your tapes…” Korie Treven; Champaign, IL

“I heard a presentation of yours at St. Paul Parish in North Canton, OH. Thank you for the work you are doing! Your tapes have touched several people (family and friends, non-church goers and Catholics) in my life.” Brandy Moorhead; North Canton, OH

“I have been married to a Catholic for 15 years, and attending mass regularly. My brother-in-law who is a very devout Catholic recently let me borrow a set of your cd’s. They touched me in a very profound way. I am now receiving instructions at my local parish, and have every intention of becoming Catholic…” Jason Larrimore; Thomasville, AL

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