Celebrating 60 Years of God’s Faithfulness
“The Lord gave the word; great was the company of those who proclaimed it.”—Psalm 68:11
For 60 years World Missionary Press has been providing topical Scripture booklets for believers worldwide to proclaim the Word of God to their families, communities, and nations. Millions have received the clear presentation of the gospel in their own language, learning of the God who created them for eternal fellowship with Him. Society has changed, nations have risen and fallen, technology has made great strides in communications, but the Word of God stands forever the same, as powerful and relevant as ever.
As we look at requests for Scripture booklets and Bible studies—from individuals to international ministries—we find that the need for printed scriptural material is greater than ever. “Paper missionaries” give the same message year after year, and the opportunities to share by handing someone a Scripture booklet far exceed those for individual conversation. And so, we look back over past years and say, “See what God has done!” and look forward in anticipation for what we believe He has positioned WMP to do in the coming years.
A man in Canada sent a succinct message which points to God’s call to WMP: “My purpose is to share the message with those I meet along the way and I pray that it may lead them to Christ. I have been searching for a purpose and found this booklet.”
God has not only called, but He has also provided. The past ten years have seen major growth in production, income, technology, ministry partners around the world, language projects, equipment, and facilities.
-Monthly production increased from an average of 5 million equivalency to more than 8 million, with several months at 10 million per month. As pandemic restrictions ease, we are prepared for a consistent monthly production of 10 million while planning and praying for the Lord to increase that even more. A generous gift of property from a WMP donor which sold last year has provided the funds, along with regular monthly contributions, to maintain the 10 million monthly production level.
-Fiscal accountability and planning (using high-speed equipment and hundreds of faithful volunteers) have allowed WMP to produce a single 48-page Scripture booklet with approximately 250 powerful Bible verses for just 3½ cents! Donors of both small and large amounts are able to significantly impact the spread of the gospel, and all are blessed.
-Upgrades in software and digital technology have vastly benefited quality control and efficiency in production. In 2014 we were blessed with the addition of a 6-color press, adding speed and quality to the production of full-color booklet covers, brochures, and newsletters.
-Adjacent property purchased in 2013 has been used for staging an increasing number of container shipments and provided space for more efficient production of New Testaments. A building extension is planned, which will allow for a redesigned, more efficient production flow in our plant, while adding much-needed space to stage increasing numbers of 20-foot and 40-foot ship containers going to destinations around the world.
-By sustaining an increased level of production and container shipments, our ministry partners in 80+ countries will be kept better supplied for timely availability of Scripture booklets and Bible studies within each country.
Pastor N. is rejoicing over a shipment being produced for southern Angola, West Africa. “I am happy to receive this message and incredulous for such a blessing, such love and affection. I can only say that God will always bless you, bless your work, and always grant you wisdom and sustenance so that this work may continue and prosper. Hallelujah, this material will help a lot, because our church is a specifically evangelical church, committed to missions. . . . Our stocks at this time of pandemic are very weak and poor and this material will help, support, and strengthen greatly.”
“Praise God for what the Lord is doing in our country,” wrote E.E. from the Philippines. “Through the church partners in more than 60 provinces, WMP Bible booklets are being delivered to their doorstep. Others give out booklets while doing street evangelism. Our God is unstoppable, and His work in the lives of many people continues.”
WMP co-founder Watson Goodman had three goals for World Missionary Press 60 years ago when he and his family returned from 16 years of missionary service in South Africa:
1. Print Scripture booklets in 300 languages. That was realized in 2000. WMP has now produced Scripture booklets in 350 languages.
2. Print 1 million booklets per month. That goal was reached in 1977. WMP now prints 8-10 million booklet equivalencies per month.
3. Annual budget of $1,000,000. That goal was reached in 1982. Our current annual operating budget is $5,795,000.
God raised up World Missionary Press to print Scriptures for free distribution around the world. Through the Scriptures we learn who God is and who we are. We learn of His love and redemptive plan for us. It is the same for all people in all times and places. What a privilege to be His instrument for sharing this message with the world! What a blessing to trust Him for wisdom, strength, resources, and fruit for our labor! Praise the Lord! To God be the glory!
[You can help provide God’s Word for the world. Every donated dollar helps produce 29 powerful Scripture booklets for people around the world in their own language. An investment of $100 will touch the lives of 2,900 people; $1,000 will impact 29,000 people who need to know God. Your donation specified for our Building for the Kingdom project will also be very much appreciated!]
Grateful Quotes
“Making a sermon from every page”
“We praise the Lord because WMP booklets have been used for Sunday service, as the government did not give permission during this corona pandemic to worship in churches.“Especially they were in demand in rural areas, where online worship does not exist. The booklets were suitable for making a sermon from every page—one sermon, one page, with the combined verses.“We thank you so much for helping our people to know God in Jesus Christ. May the Lord bless WMP and its ministry to bring spiritual blessings to our people in Indonesia. Can we order more booklets in Indonesian and Javanese in the next two months?”
—J. L., Indonesia
Meet the Team
Amy L.
Finance Department
My husband, Jim, and I are good friends with Andrew B. and his wife, Diane. Andrew has worked at World Missionary Press for many years. One morning in Sunday school, another friend, Jeff V. (who also works at WMP), asked for prayer that WMP would find an accounting assistant. I wasn’t there, but my husband told me what he had said. I thought the job would be a good fit for me because I have worked off and on in finance since I graduated from Grace College in 1997. Also, as missionaries with Wycliffe Bible Translators, Jim and I are passionate about getting the Bible to people in their heart language.
Jim was a missionary kid with Wycliffe and grew up in Brazil. We met at Grace College in 1994 and were married November 15, 1997. We joined Wycliffe Bible Translators in 2005 and served three terms in Brazil before returning home in 2019. We changed our assignment to the U.S. in order to help support my parents and Jim’s mom. My mom, Trudy, has Parkinson’s and right now is having health issues related to her Parkinson’s. Jim’s mom, Donna, has also had some health issues recently. We both feel that God is asking us to do what Ephesians 6:2 says to do: “ ‘Honor your father and mother,’ which is the first commandment with promise.”
Since mid-March, I’ve been working at WMP as an accounting assistant. Every time I see boxes designated to go to Brazil, where we served, I pray for the people of Brazil, and thank God for the work WMP does. Even though I can’t be in Brazil right now, I love it that I can still be part of a ministry that is helping get God’s Word to the people of Brazil and to so many other countries around the world.
When I’m not working at WMP, I am a taxi driver and the biggest fan of our four children—Natasha (16), Jenna (14), Tomas (12), and Makayla (8). I also work as a bookkeeper for Wycliffe, helping with the finances for my colleagues in Brazil by keeping track of their bank accounts and paying bills for them. Jim and I also manage an 8-unit apartment building.
WMP Partners Around the World
West Africa Theological Seminary
Nigeria
For 30 years World Missionary Press has partnered with West Africa Theological Seminary in sharing the Word of God with the people of Nigeria. Strategically located in Lagos, they have received the equivalent of 30.9 million WMP booklets in 38 languages to meet the many requests from all over this most populous nation in Africa.
WMP: What is the ministry and vision of West African Theological Seminary?
WATS: Day after day, we are vigilantly carrying on one of the most crucial tasks imaginable for the Church in Africa—faithful, in-depth training of Christian leaders to carry the gospel to the lost.
WMP: How has WMP literature helped you meet this challenge to evangelize and train?
WATS: We greatly appreciate your effort and the good work of WMP to send the precious Word of God to us in Nigeria for propagating the gospel to the unreached. Distribution of the booklets has gone far and wide throughout Nigeria. The demand is high and [the WMP literature is] greatly appreciated. One 40-foot container (2 million booklets) is not enough for a year.
WMP: Can you share testimonies of the effectiveness of the Scripture booklets?
WATS: A woman who was about to commit suicide was given a Scripture booklet that made her see herself as in a mirror. The message changed her life, saving her from dying without Christ. God also saved her marriage from divorce. She is now an evangelist herself, sharing the booklets in hospitals, police stations, and villages. Many have repented and been followed up with Bibles, given food items, and assigned to different churches.
WMP: How does having free booklets encourage the local evangelists?
WATS: One evangelist reported that when he received booklets for the first time, he began to preach, and many people received Christ through the booklets. Many also came to Christ in his place of work as a policeman. He shared the booklets with his friends in evangelism and they are using them to preach, with the same positive results. He says, “The booklets really make the work of evangelism easy for me, because I use them to preach.” At a crusade in Kadura State, 86 people accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior. At another crusade, 53 new converts came to the Lord using the booklets. A booklet was shared with a man from Saudi Arabia who lived in Jos. He accepted Jesus, and when his parent came to Jos to see the one who had led his son to Christ, he became convinced and told his son to follow his heart.
WATS: This testimony came from a ministry in Lagos that uses WMP Scripture booklets not only in one-on-one evangelism, but also for evangelism in markets, banks, among the police and in prisons, hotels, fuel stations, schools, for film-showing crusades and feeding programs, as well as supporting surrounding churches and members outside their state. “We appreciate your support through the booklets in different languages that have won many souls to the kingdom of Christ. Lots of people have given their life to Christ and have the knowledge of God through reading the booklets. The booklets have brought great light to the world by increasing the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, and many gave their life without being preached to. The booklet on its own is a ministration that many read and surrender to Christ.”
[A new container shipment is on its way to Nigeria, with another set for production later in the year. The need is great. Laborers are ready and waiting for the Scripture booklets that will tell the story of God’s love and redemption.]