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Believers Bookshelf USA
2015 2nd Quarter Report

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

“Thus far the Lord has helped us” (1 Samuel 7:12).
This verse has been on our fliers and announcements for many years now, and it is just as true today.

Financials:
We are very thankful for the donations the Lord has lead the brethren to give this quarter. As can be seen in the chart below, funds start to increase around October when the calendar sales pick up, and continue into the late winter / early spring when they typically start to go down. Now that it is early spring, this pattern may start to repeat, but we look to the Lord for His continued help. (Just a note, the charts in previous reports showed a mistaken spike in Jan.2014, that is now fixed.)   

This ministry needs an average of about $2100 every week for operations, including pre-press, printing, inventory, free distribution, payroll, taxes, utilities, office equipment and supplies, etc. Of these expenses, sales of items from the store, website, and at conferences only cover about ½ of these needs. The remaining operational funding comes from donations. In July 2013, funds were put into our checking account from a worker emergency fund CD. Without moving this CD into our operating account, we would have depleted our available funds. Over the past 8 years, donations had been on a steady decline with the exception of special one time donations (estates etc.). Donations have increased as of late, but still have not brought us back to the level before the CD was put into our operating account. We are doing all we can to keep our costs down while still providing spiritually-helpful publications.

2nd Quarter 2015 Finance chart

New Publications:
There are many older books which have gone out of print which are being looked at for republication, as well as new titles and reprints in some stage of production including the following:
Excerpts from Exodus by Paul Palmer
Man + Woman: God’s Design, 2nd Ed. by Roger Daniel
The Woman’s Role by R. K. Campbell
Leaves from the Book by F. W. Grant
To the Chief Musician, Anonymous
The First Years of Christianity by Charles Stanley


Ministry and History:
Believers Bookshelf USA has now been operating for 49 years. The Bookshelf was formed to keep in print selected writings of “early brethren” as well as writings of contemporary authors who follow the same truths of Scripture taught by these earlier writers. An object in many of our books is to make them as easy to read as practical for younger readers and readers where English is not their first language, while still maintaining the scriptural truth presented. We also carry books and other worthwhile material from other doctrinally sound publishers.   

While Believers Bookshelf USA is a registered not-for-profit corporation, it considers itself to be a ministry operating in a businesslike manner. It seeks to keep the cost of books published affordable and below the normal retail price for similar books in bookstores to help customers and as an incentive to purchase books.  

We have recently started to sell used books on eBay, and plan to add many more items, both new and old, as there is a large body of believers who do not know Believers Bookshelf, but are familiar with many of the authors we print, and desire to read these books.

eBooks
We desire to make our most important titles available as eBooks free of charge, and other books as eBooks for a nominal charge. As we know that many, especially younger people, would rather read something that is free, it is our desire to give them doctrinally sound and easy to read books at no charge so they will be built up in the truth. But there is a cost to making eBooks, plus an estimated loss due to non-sales of paper books, which will still be available. The Church of the Living God is the first title to be produced, and is available now. It can currently be requested by email. Outside distribution channels are being looked into, such as Amazon and others.
Free Distribution:
Books and Bibles are sent free or at greatly subsidized price for prison ministry, work on various mission fields, at young peoples’ conferences and at EBC. Tracts, books and calendars have been sent free to assemblies and individuals for their outreach work. 1626 books were sent out to go to Nigeria, including 696 Bibles as part of the ECCLESIASTES PROJECT.

This free distribution also could not have been accomplished were it not for the prayerful support of individuals and assemblies.   

The Workers:
Larry Rosen, who is the full time manager and Karen Nassem, part time office worker, are paid a salary based on an hourly wage plus any gifts directed to them personally as servants of the Lord endeavoring in this ministry. The council of volunteers who guide the ministry (Paul Palmer, president; Phil Hanna, vice president; Roger Daniel, secretary and interim treasurer; Bob Costen; Fritz Geiger; Tom Senn and Larry Rosen) meet annually and also participate in bimonthly conference calls. Glen Balsiger represents us on the West Coast, while Al Groth represents us in the Midwest. Several additional brothers and sisters donate time to maintain day-by-day accountability, to have a continuing supply of newer books, and further streamline the operation.   

Conferences:
This past quarter Larry Rosen has taken a book display to the Mahwah, NJ and Roselle, NJ Conferences. Glen Balsiger has taken books to the California Spring Conference, and Al Groth distributed books and calendars locally.

Website:
Several volunteers, council members and staff have helped develop and maintain this website (www.bbusa.org) and are constantly trying to make it better. The Ministry receives requests for literature from all over the world through the website.  New gift items have been added to the website as well.
Please Pray:
Pray for the work and workers, and for the Lord’s guidance in every aspect of Believers Bookshelf’s service to Him and His saints. Pray too that the Lord may raise up authors, especially younger brethren, to write and help produce edifying books!   

Volunteers:
We seek volunteers to help at Believers Bookshelf. The needs are many and diverse, including all aspects of book preproduction; proofreading, editing, page layout, cover design, data entry, web upgrades, and small projects as they arise. Someone who knows marketing could be of great help to get these wonderful works to a much wider audience. Some of these needs can be fulfilled from a saint’s home, like proofreading and editing.

We had a brother from Switzerland come help for several weeks this past quarter. We had a wonderful time of fellowship together, and many projects were completed including getting all the Arabic magazine back issues listed on the website. 

Qualified would-be helpers may contact us at:
Believers Bookshelf
By Mail: P.O. Box 261, Sunbury, PA 17801
By email: email@bbusa.org  
By phone: (570) 672-2134  

“Give attention to reading...” (1 Timothy 4:13)

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Contact

Believers Bookshelf
PO Box 261 Sunbury PA 17801-0261

Phone: (570) 672-2134

Fax: (570) 672-7220