The simple, unassuming and authoritative nature of the book changed my life

kangaroo_sign

A while ago, we received an email from Hayden* who lives Down Under in Australia. His story was a good reminder of two important factors in our outreach with others. First, our testimony in a community really does have an impact—for better or for worse. Second, we were reminded that simply giving a book away can also make a big difference in a person’s life.

Hayden shared how he had grown up attending church with his family, one of the few in his small community. While he was taught a lot about the Bible, he found himself ultimately rejecting God’s Word based upon what he saw in the lives of his fellow church members.

“I didn’t see the face of Christ in that place and the fruitlessness—in both numbers and maturity—was very confusing.”

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2015 New Year Greetings

Fieldnotes coverHappy New Year! We at GoodSeed want to thank the Lord for his guidance and provision in 2014 and we look forward to how he will direct our ministry in the coming year.

If you haven’t already done so, please download a free copy of Fieldnotes: stories of the gospel transforming lives. (The book is available as a PDF, epub or mobi file.) May the stories of ordinary believers bringing people to Christ inspire you to also be an ambassador for Christ to those God has placed in your lives. You have unique opportunities to reach into lives of friends, family, neighbours and loved ones. Prayerfully watch for those opportunities to give away the gospel message or guide someone through the Bible.

Let’s all continue to embrace our roles as ambassadors in 2015.

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Christmas Greetings

Christmas illustration from The Story that MattersWarmest Christmas greetings in the name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

As we reflect on all that has happened in 2014, we are very thankful for the way that the Lord has led and worked in our ministry, enabling us to reach more people with the gospel and to provide tools and training for ordinary believers, missionaries and pastors to share the good news of Christ.

We are very mindful of supporters like you who have prayed for us, given financially and even worked on projects with us. Thank you so much for being our partners. The work that we do is not possible without your unfailing support.

As we look forward to the new year with expectant hearts, may we as the body of Christ, continue to embrace the privilege of sharing the gospel with friends, family and loved ones.

From all of us at GoodSeed, we wish you a very blessed Christmas season!

Hope coming over the airwaves

Tea plantation in Sri LankaEarlier this year in June, we shared about our partnership with TWR in Sri Lanka. They had translated By This Name into Sinhala and were reading out the book in a weekly radio broadcast. They had a good response to the program as listeners called and wrote in to say how much they had learned about God.

Since then, TWR has continued to faithfully broadcast the program. The readers read out the Sinhala script and the program also plays appropriate worship songs. The power of radio is that it can reach into the lives of people living in remote areas who either have no access to books or who are unable to read. Just recently, TWR sent us more messages that they had received from people who called in.

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Recording of “By This Name” audiobook

By This Name audiobook recording
This is our audio studio. We have the director and our audio engineer in the main area. In the recording booth are our two voice talents.

We have had many requests for a new English audiobook and so we thank God for helping us start production on an audiobook version of By This Name. This is an important project as we recognize that in today’s world of growing biblical illiteracy, By This Name is well designed to answer the questions of those who have an Eastern, postmodern, or atheistic worldview.

We had several parameters for the project:

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Friendship with neighbours blossoms into opportunities

Lego and boy

When the Lord brings unsaved people into our lives, it is sometimes difficult to know when is the right time to share the gospel. This is when we must be prayerfully sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s direction. At times, it seems the Lord asks us to wait, patiently attuned to his timing. This is what the Martins* learned as they desired to minister to their new neighbours.

Bob* remembers clearly when Jessica and Chris moved in across the street a few years ago. The young couple had invited their friends and new neighbours to an open house. Bob and his wife, Martha, who view every relationship as a potential for blessing others with Christ, saw this occasion as a good opportunity to establish a relationship with these newcomers to their community.

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My grandkids actually paid attention!

Reading a book vs electronic entertainment

Computers, televisions, video games and smart phones monopolize children’s attention these days. So accustomed are they to the allure of a glowing screen that one wonders if something as simple—something as “old fashioned”—as a book can even hold a child’s attention?

We have found that, time and again, there is still nothing quite like a parent, grandparent, or other trusted adult sitting down, opening the pages of a book and reading aloud. Even in this digital age, young imaginations are swept along into a good story. Reading is still a captivating and highly effective way for children to learn.

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Grasp the Vision 2015

As ambassadors for Christ, what is the best way to share the gospel to an increasingly biblically illiterate world? And what does the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty have to do with biblical methods? In our latest Grasp the Vision video, John Cross, general director for GoodSeed, shares the strength of the historical narrative in sharing the good news.

John also relates how the ministry has been working with partners from across the globe, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, to Northern Ireland, to Thailand and Germany.

Watch Grasp the Vision 2015:

For a lasting legacy… consider having another child. (A Child called Charity, that is)

Tax laws are complicated and many end up paying a substantial amount in taxes even for a modest estate. But do you know that there are ways to reduce or remove the taxes you will pay on an estate?

The example below illustrates a charitable giving option, often referred to as “A Child called Charity”, which many people are adopting to leave a lasting legacy to both their heirs and charities dear to their hearts.

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Time was running out

time running outRecently, Nora* sent us an email. It began with:

“Hi there. One of your staff members visited us some time ago and left behind some of the GoodSeed resources so we could purchase them. I bought a copy of The Lamb to help me minister to my sister-in-law.”

Nora’s sister-in-law, Lucy,* knew very little about the Bible’s message because of a mental disability. At 63 years of age, without the ability to read or learn most things for herself, her childlike mind had kept her seemingly isolated from this most essential message. Nora had struggled to think of a way to reach out to this precious family member.

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