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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.
Ministry and History:
Believers Bookshelf is 50 Years Old, having received its nonprofit status January 24, 1966. Believers Bookshelf USA was formed by Holden Shoop and a few brothers with the exercise to keep in print, and make available selected writings of "early brethren" as well as writings of contemporary authors who follow the same truths of Scripture taught by these earlier writers.
A goal in many of our books is to make them as easy to read as practical for younger readers and readers for whom 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 is 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.
Financials:
We are very thankful for the donations the Lord has led the brethren to give this past quarter. In January, the payments for calendars sold earlier continued to come in, and gifts remained constant. Please keep us in prayer, as can be seen in the chart below, funds typically start to decrease in March through May, and continue to be low until the end of the year when the calendar sales start up again, while our expenses continue.
This ministry needs an average of about $2100 every week to cover all expenses while, 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. Even with the great sales and donations, we still have not recouped these funds.
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.
We are preparing to send 500 Bibles from our stock to Nigeria even though the donations for the last shipment of Bibles and books were far below expenses. We are not able to send most of the books they requested as we do not have these items in stock, and do not have the funds to produce them in the quantities requested for this free distribution.
The Bibles we use for this work are starting to run low, and we are now looking into what Bibles to use to replace them with, and whether we can and should print custom Bibles for this work.
We only can continue free distribution through 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; Jean-Luc Coquerel 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; Roselle, NJ; and Chesapeake, VA 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 website is still going through a major revision , and you should be seeing the results of this work in the next few months. It has been taking longer than expected, but the results shall be worth the wait. The Ministry receives requests for literature from all over the world through the website.
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. Some of these needs can be fulfilled from a saint's home, like proofreading and editing.
Over the past 10 years, several people from the US and Europe have come to help.
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
New Publications:
This year is our 50th anniversary, and we hope to produce many publications as part of the celebration. The following is a taste of what we are considering:
Many tracts including 9 in Nepali
Inspiration of the Scriptures by Snell.
Satan by Jennings.
The Christophanies by PVW. (Renamed The Apearings)
1 John, Romans by Crain
Paul's Doctrine by Patterson
God's Evangel by FWG
Miscellaneous Writings of FWG I, II and III
How to be Saved by Brooks.
Advent to Advent (Luke), Tracings from John, & Psalms by Stuart
Psalm 84 by Miller.
Pasture for the Flock by Snell
Gospel of John, Epistles of John, Philippians by Evans.
And these books are currently in production:
Why I Believe the Bible by A. J. Pollock
The Bible the True University, How to Study the Bible, Person and Work of the Holy Spirit, & The Four Gospels by S. Ridout
Leaves from the Book by F. W. Grant.
Many more are being worked on, as some titles lead to others not originally planned.
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Sincerely,
Larry
Larry Rosen
General Manager
On Behalf of Believers Bookshelf USA Council and Staff.
