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Change is Good

October 15, 2014
Change ahead sign

No Greater Joy Ministries is on the roll, and we (Mike and Debi) are moving along with it as well as can be expected for two old fogies. Here is a list of what’s up:

Good & Evil is now being downloaded in 44 languages through the ministry of the iMissionaries.org website, which is making a real impact around the world in places where missionaries cannot go. Right now, as you read this, Muslims in places like Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Yemen are discovering the gospel of Jesus Christ for the first time as they sit in the privacy of their homes and read the Good & Evil Bible stories.
The iMissionaries ministry is made up of folks like you who are putting ads on Facebook or other social media that offer a free download of the Good & Evil book. Hundreds of millions of people from around the world can now read the gospel with a simple click. The video production is also in full swing and will soon be seen for free around the world through many different venues with just a simple click.

Our other books such as Created to Be His Help Meet have exploded with international sales. For the first 20 years of the NGJ ministry most of our sales were to homeschooling families here in the USA. Then NGJ book sales transitioned to mostly wholesale through brokers. The large majority of our USA sales are shipped in boxes on pallets addressed to distribution companies. But the international sales have again changed our dynamics. In the past year we have had more sales in foreign countries than here in the USA. In China alone, last year we sold 6 times more Created to Be His Help Meet than were sold here in the USA! These books are printed in the Chinese language right in China and sold in China. They simply send NGJ the royalties (we give all royalties from our books and other media to NGJ). The royalties are not much in the way of income, but it only takes one very savvy man (Mel Cohen) working with an international agent to manage these contracts.
Ministry gifts have declined this year along with domestic sales, and that has limited our ability to finance the reprinting of G&E in some languages. When we ministered to individuals (homeschoolers) those individuals were blessed and blessed NGJ in return. Now, we are ministering to people who “knew not Joseph” (people buying from Amazon and other retailers), or people in different countries that consider us a business rather than a non-profit ministry. The decrease in direct domestic sales and the decrease in gifts has prompted us to reduce our staff and find ways to cut our overhead.
So we are relocating No Greater Joy and the newly-formed Good and Evil International to an office building in the small town closest to us. It will reduce our overhead significantly, allow us to access much faster internet service, put us across the street from the post office, and give us access to a commercial loading dock. There are many overhead expenses we will be able to cut out altogether, as we will be sharing services. We expect to save about $200,000 each year with the changes. That is $200,000 we can put back into the ministry. We are excited about the possibilities. The move will also reduce the stress on Mike and I, allowing us to spend more time writing. We have several half-finished books that need our attention.

Here are the visible changes:

  1. January 2015 No Greater Joy will no longer occupy the buildings that we have been operating in for the last 20 years. Our new headquarters will be in town. MANY Visitors who neglect to read this will go to our previous headquarters to visit and will think NGJ has closed. To entertain himself, Mike will doubtless put up some sign to throw them into a panic such as: “Closed due to the RAPTURE.” “What? Did you not hear the trump?” or, “Attention: Quarantined Due to the Impending Apocalypse.” So, when you hear rumors, YOU will know where they originated and why. Please be a good NGJ friend and tell them Mike is funny and NGJ is going strong.
  2. After the New Year, when you call to order from NGJ, a young voice will answer. If you have a question the girl will decide if your answer can be found on our website or if it is a shipping issue they can deal with it. If not they will decide whether it is necessary to refer you to one of the two NGJ staffers on duty
  3. If you write us a letter, an NGJ staffer will direct or answer the letter but there will not be counseling or extensive letter writing as we offered in the past. Our days of long hours are also past. Mike is now in his seventieth year and I am not far behind.
  4. Hopefully, sometime in 2015 we will have a private office and studio set up where we can broadcast Nathan teaching, and conduct the Good & Evil ministry.
  5. These changes will result in Mike and I having more down time to spend with our 22 grandkids. We will keep you updated on this new adventure. We might even have the time and energy to go on some speaking tours. We will still write the NGJ magazine although we are considering only publishing four times per year, as it is very expensive and time-consuming. This adjustment is really a step upward, and will to allow us to minister to more people more efficiently and with less stress. Please pray for us and those who are taking more responsibility in this venture. May the peace of God rest upon you.

I know this is a change of subject, but this is so important. There are still untold millions waiting for YOUR ad on Facebook to point them to the gospel message, and there is no better homeschool teaching project than becoming an iMissionary. Mama, open a map and let your children choose a country each week to place an ad. They are learning geography. Do a web search and let them hear the language they are reaching with the gospel. Help them save money so they can invest in a $10 ad. They are learning money management and investing in the eternal. Let them watch you make the ad. They are learning to use the computer as a tool for God. Then show the children each day how many people saw the ad and how many opened the Good & Evil book in their language. (If you don’t know how, then it is time to learn!) Pray with your children (out loud) for the folks that read the book online where you posted the ad. You will be teaching your children to have eternity in their eyes. You will be teaching your children to have a heart like God’s heart

“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (II Peter 3:9)

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16)

“And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet (and hands) of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” (Romans 10:15)

Then get on social media and tell others how you and your children are bringing glad tidings of good things and making an eternal difference! Encourage others to go and do likewise. This is good. This is really good.

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