Thom S. Rainer
We tried something seemingly non-spectacular at our church.
We gave each of our members attending a loaf of bread and asked them to give the bread to someone in their neighborhood or community.
I was blown away with the responses, both from the members and the recipients of the bread. Those who received the bread were incredibly grateful; many came to our church the next Sunday. And our members were very encouraged by the responses. It helped them to see the fields are truly ready for a harvest.
So, I began to think. Could I leverage my position at LifeWay to help thousands of churches do the same? The answer came back as a resounding “yes”! Allow me to share with you my thoughts.
- I have authorized LifeWay to give away thousands, even tens of thousands, of Bibles to members of churches. We will be giving away the Bread of Life instead of the bread in loaves.
- Those churches need to be within about 15 miles of a LifeWay store, so the members can go pick up a free Bible. Without the investment of the members taking the time to go to a store, their commitment level for this endeavor will be low.
- Each church will have a designated week at a local LifeWay store for its members to get their free Bibles.
- The members will then give the Bible away in their neighborhoods or community and invite the recipient to church.
- We will provide specific instructions and promotional materials for this Bible outreach ministry for every church that participates. It will be undergirded by the power of prayer and activated by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Many churches have already signed on for this endeavor. One of the pastors asked me how LifeWay could afford to give away so many Bibles. I simply told him I was trusting God to provide. I have little doubt God will honor a ministry that gets His Word into the community and provides opportunities for powerful Gospel conversations.
I have to say, this ministry is one of the most exciting endeavors I have led in the 13 years I’ve been at LifeWay. Even more, I am incredibly excited about how God will use this ministry to impact both churches and their communities.
Let’s get the Word into our communities. Let’s invite people to our churches. Let’s have Gospel conversations. Let’s see what God Himself will do as we are truly Great Commission obedient.
If your church is not close enough to a LifeWay store, please hang in there as we try to figure out how to connect with you as well in the future.
Or, better yet, what if your church or ministry designed your own strategy for giving people a “Loaf of Bread”? This ministry is exciting. Incredibly exciting.
This article originally appeared here.