Same God!
New Year...
A local church Scripture publishing ministry of First Baptist Church in Milford, OH
It is hard to believe that 2013 is over and we are already well into the New Year. 2013 was a great year for BPS El Paso! We had more guests join us for mission trips than we have had in the last several years. We welcomed two new staff families into our ministry. But most importantly, we saw God do so many things to help increase our faith and bring glory to His name. Hundreds of souls were saved and we are thankful for the opportunity to work with national pastors and churches to help them reach their communities for Christ. As 2014 began, our plans were well underway for our summer mission trip season. One of the goals for our ministry is to be able to run trips throughout the year, not just in the summer. The Lord provided an opportunity for us to do that when a group of six young people from Minnesota came from January 4‐10 for our first mission trip of the season. Our staff always enjoys serving with church groups on mission trips so we were excited to have a group so soon into the New Year. The week started off encouraging for the group because there was a 130 degree temperature difference between El Paso and Minnesota. One of the advantages of a mission trip with BPS El Paso in the winter is the more mild temperatures. As the week unfolded, we realized that our group was small in number but we were serving a big God! While we did not have the man power to cover a large area in the neighborhoods, God brought double the attendance to the evangelistic services that we were anticipating. The services went very well and the Gospel was clearly presented. It was such a thrill to see God bless. Truly, little is much when God is in it. As we continue to plan and prepare for our upcoming mission trips, we are looking forward to one of the highlights of the year for our ministry—the Juarez Project. This is the fourth year that the Lord has allowed us to run this trip and we believe the eternal impact has been significant. The Project is run very similar to one of our mission trips, but the schedule is adjusted slightly to allow more time to hand out the Word of God. We invite anyone who desires to come and join us as we focus on passing out as many Scriptures as possible in Juarez, Mexico. We have seen the Lord bless each year we have done this and we know that He promises that His Word “shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11) While we may never realize the full fruit of this event in this life, we know that souls will be saved and God will be glorified.
▶ In 2013, Bearing Precious Seed printed Scripture in fifteen different languages.
Personalized Scriptures Available
We can personalize John & Romans and New Testament covers for your individual church needs. Church or ministry information can be placed in a pre-designed cover, or we can custom design a cover to fit your outreach needs. To view sample covers, please visit our website: www.bpsmilford.org. For more information, contact Vickie Money at (513) 575-1706 Ext. 710 or by email at vmoney@bpsmilford.org.
▶ Armenian, Nepalese, and Slovenian were printed for the first time at BPS in 2013. ▶ The Sinasina version of Genesis and Exodus was printed for Papua New Guinea in 2013. BPS had printed the Sinasina New Testament in the past, but this was the first printing of Genesis and Exodus. ▶ This year, BPS will print the New Testament in Thadou for India, and the Japanese New Testament and John & Romans.
NEWSLETTER ISSUE 46, SPRING 2014
Producing the Message I recently read the 126 Psalm while studying for a ThursPreparing the Messenger day mid‐week service. The last two verses are often quoted around the ministry of Bearing Precious Seed. Verses 5 & 6 say, “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” But as I looked at the proceeding verses, I was drawn to a couple of thoughts….
(1) Verse 1: “… like them that dream.” My thought was of those God has used in the past to “dream” of what could be done in the area of publishing the Word of God as a church—the vision to set out and see it come to pass. God uses some to “see” what others cannot, and uses some to “use” that which comes to pass in a good way for Himself. (2) Verses 2 & 3 allude to great things the Lord hath done, and we can all attest to that statement. What God hath done! It is His work and His word; we’re simply His servants being used to accomplish His will for His Glory! God has been so good to First Baptist Church and Bearing Precious Seed by allowing us to partner with so many others whom God has done great things for, and letting us see Him do that which only He could do—over 130 million Scriptures through this one work. If you add that amount to the things God has done through His other works, and we can see God hath done GREAT things for Himself. (3) Verses 2 & 3 reveal the joy we can have by just doing for Him what He wants done. He blesses us through our obedience to Him and His word. His great work brings me great joy. He does it and I get blessed—you can’t beat that arrangement. Let each of us who are committed to Him, His work, His Word and His glory work together and enjoy the privileges we have in Him. If we can help you get your missionaries or church planters the Word of God, please let us know.
Please be in prayer for the ministry of BPS El Paso. As we continue to see the Lord work in and through us, we see Satan attacking even harder. Many needs have arisen that Satan would love to use to stop the work, but we know that God will provide all the needs that we have. If you desire to know more about the ministry of BPS El Paso or would like to contact us about scheduling a mission trip throughout the year, please visit our new website at www.bpselpaso.org. We would certainly count it a privilege to serve with you and your church on a mission trip as we take the Word of God to the lost!
In His work together,
William Duttry, Pastor
Kenn Winn, BPS El Paso Director
www.bpsmilford.org 1369 Woodville Pike • Milford, OH • 45150
BEARING PRECIOUS SEED FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH SCRIPTURE PUBLISHING MINISTRY
www.bpsmilford.org
Non-Profit US Postage PAID Permit 4959 Cincinnati, OH
PARTNERING TOGETHER TO ACHIEVE MORE What a joy it is to partner together for the cause of getting the Word of God printed and shipped to a world in need. I think of Luke 5:7 where it states, “And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.” The first thought that came to mind when I read this verse was a Partner’s task is not always one of convenience; however, the task will produce results which are not possible for someone to achieve alone. I thought of the monthly support churches send in which helps keep everything running. I thought of the volunteers who show up every morning to assemble John & Romans, to help bind Bibles, to run a trimmer or simply to help where needed. I thought of those who participate in National Bible Publishing Month by giving an offering to purchase the paper needed to produce thousands of New Testaments and Bibles for the year. Bearing Precious Seed couldn’t possibly print what it does if it were not for the help received from our partners. The second thought I had when I looked at this verse was the Partner’s task may be a challenge. Throughout the Bible, we see many who were challenged to do something which was beyond their ability. Consider Moses, Noah, Abraham, David, and Daniel. I believe these all faced humanly impossible challenges, but as God led them through the difficulties, He received all the glory. I realize many who partner with BPS financially and prayerfully face seemingly impossible challenges to help us. Many Seedline churches face steep challenges, yet God continues to see them through. To God’s glory, BPS has been able to increase printing production through the years because of many partners who have faced challenges in order to help us. The third thing I see in this verse is the Partner’s task will make a change in the final results. Your partnership results in the Word of God becoming available to someone who has never had an opportunity to hear the Gospel. I believe your partnership has changed the eternal destination for millions of people throughout the years. Together, we have produced over 130 million Scriptures since the beginning of this ministry. Going forward, we will continue to partner together and reach the unreached with the Word of God.
Al Braley BPS Director of Operations
NEWS: ◆ We rebuilt all three units on the Web Press with all new rollers. This resulted in about three weeks downtime, but the press is up and running full speed now. We have produced 1,136,700 Scriptures in five languages in four weeks since the rebuild. Doing the rebuild in-house saved the ministry thousands of dollars. ◆ We also had the Mueller Martini binder repaired in January. It has been running well since the repairs. ◆ We are currently producing 2,500 French Bibles for Africa on our Hardback binder. If you would like to help with this project, the cost to produce these hardback Bibles is $5 each. ◆ Quite a few groups have visited Bearing Precious Seed to tour the ministry and to help assemble God’s Word. We would love to show you what God is doing through BPS, so if you are ever in the Cincinnati area, please stop in for a visit. PRAYER REQUESTS: ◆ Pray for the Scriptures which are being prepared for the World Cup in Brazil. One million Portuguese Scriptures have been printed and most of them have been assembled by a number of Seedline churches. The last few should be assembled and shipped within the next few weeks. These Scriptures will be distributed June 12th - July 13th during the World Cup in Brazil. ◆ Pray for a successful National Bible Publishing Month. The funds which come in through NBPM allow us to purchase paper for New Testaments and Bibles. ◆ Pray for some equipment needs: (1) A single-pocket binder for binding small print jobs. (2) We need to replace the forklift used in the warehouse. We would like to thank those who support the ministry through their prayers and giving. BPS could not accomplish what it does without your involvement.
N A T I O N A L Our 2014 National Bible Publishing Month goal is to raise enough money to purchase the
paper needed to print 10,000 whole Bibles for Nepal, 20,000 whole Bibles for Romania, 15,000 whole Bibles for Sierra Leone’s military, and 20,000 New Testaments for Thailand. We need 15 truckloads of paper (32 rolls per truckload) at $20,000 per truckload to complete all four NBPM projects. Would you prayerfully consider setting aside a month this year to raise money for these projects? All funds which are given for NBPM are used solely for the purchase of paper, and do not go to meet any other expense needed for the daily operation of Bearing Precious Seed. Free promotional materials are available to help promote NBPM at your church. For more information about NBPM, please call 513-575-1706 or visit our website at www.bpsmilford.org.
BIBLE Publishing Month
Memorials have been received in memory of: Bob Bevington by Arlene Harvey of Dillon, MT Mrs. Ada Biggs by Pastor & Mrs. Baldwin and Bethel Baptist Church of Kenna, WV Mrs. Blanche Crowder by Victory Baptist Church of Panama City, FL Mr. Doc DuPree by Victory Baptist Church of Panama City, FL J.B. Jackson by Eaves Tabernacle Baptist Church of Leesburg, TX J.W. Johnson by Eaves Tabernacle Baptist Church of Leesburg, TX Jan Marquette by Calvary Baptist Church of Casper, WY Ruth McCord by Eaves Tabernacle Baptist Church of Leesburg, TX Ron Pearson by Eaves Tabernacle Baptist Church of Leesburg, TX Ruth Price by Arlene Harvey of Dillon, MT Dr. O. L. Shepherd by Pastor & Mrs. Baldwin and Bethel Baptist Church - Kenna, WV Jovita Sutherland by Blanca Aldredge of Loveland, OH
PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS AVAILABLE: • Posters • Bulletin Shells • Offering Envelopes • 4-Week Lesson Plan −The Structure of the Nations −The Sin of the Nations −The Scattering of the Nations −The Salvations of the Nations Created for Children, Teens, & Adults
I just returned from Sochi, Russia. We traveled to the 2014 Winter Olympics with the intent of distributing 30,000 John & Romans in eighteen different languages. Through a series of events the Bibles were held in customs for over a month. We prayed and asked many others to pray that the Scriptures would be released. As the date of our departure drew closer, it was apparent that it would not happen. My mind was drawn to a letter that we received over twenty years ago which is a great reminder that even when a shipment of Bibles is held or perhaps even lost, God is in control and He has a plan for every one of them. In the early 1990’s, a church in Westerville, Ohio assembled and shipped 20,000 Spanish John & Romans to a missionary in El Salvador. Months, then years passed and the missionary never received the Scriptures. Imagine the joy years later when the church in Ohio received this letter in the mail: I am an active duty Army Chaplain. In August of 1994, I was deployed along with hundreds of Military Police to set up camps for Haitian and Cuban refugees fleeing their countries. There was a total of 25,000 Cubans and 15,000 Haitians. When we arrived, there were no facilities, so we in the military set up living quarters and provided chaplains to the Cubans and Haitians to meet their spiritual needs. The problem was there were no Bibles printed in Spanish for the Cubans to read. What few Spanish Bibles that were brought were gone in a matter of hours. We were desperate for Bibles. I had been at Guantanamo Bay for about three weeks when a relief worker brought me to a warehouse and showed me boxes and boxes of Spanish Bibles. Stamped on the boxes was the name and address of your church. I have been saving one of the mailing labels so that I might correspond with you. The Bibles you sent were the beginning of a great revival among the Cuban people. You can imagine the terrible ordeals those people faced in fleeing Cuba. When we picked them up out of the sea, they were half dead and had hardly any possessions. We chaplains were able to preach the Gospel and use Bibles in their own language. I cannot tell you how many men, women, boys, and girls were saved, but I personally know it was over a thousand. YOUR BIBLES WERE THE FIRST TO REACH THE PEOPLE IN THEIR DESPERATE STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM. In Cuba, they had little or no access to Scripture. I do not know if the Bibles from your church were brought to Cuba or not, but when I found them I knew they were an answer to prayer. All the refugees that were at Guantanamo Bay are now in the USA. More important than being in the States is the number of souls that are now written in the Lamb’s Book of Life because of your church’s concern for souls. I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you very much for the sacrificial gift of the Spanish language Bibles that found their way to an Army chaplain at a Navy base in Cuba. This chaplain is truly grateful! In His Service, Chaplain G.B. This letter was great evidence that God has a plan for all of the Scriptures, whether we think they are lost or not where we believe they should be. We do not know when the Scriptures sent to Sochi, Russia will be released, but we can be confident that God does have a plan greater than we could ever imagine. Please pray that His will is done with these Scriptures.
Phil Taylor Seedline Director