Happy New Year! As we enter 2019, I want to begin by saying thank you to you for your amazing generosity to our ministry. Your prayers and gifts have made you a vital partner in our work to win people to Jesus and strengthen Christians in their faith.
The purpose of The John Ankerberg Show is to present the truth that God exists and sent His son Jesus into our world to pay for every person’s sins so that they can have a personal relationship with God. We broadcast to people in more than 200 nations and territories worldwide. Our goal is not only to present this truth, but to defend it in every way we can, leading people into a personal relationship with Jesus so they can follow Him.
Because of your partnership, you have helped us reach many people in 2018. For example, through your support you have helped us provide audio Bibles for 1,816,053 people in 39 nation and 85 languages who have never had a Bible in their own language.
The breakdown of your gifts includes impact across the following regions:
Africa: 13 nations, 20 languages, 389,674 people
Asia Pacific: 11 nations, 27 languages, 750,116 people
Americas: 6 countries, 15 languages, 399,526 people
Eurasia/Middle East: 4 countries, 6 languages, 111,676 people
South Asia: 3 countries, 8 languages, 199,446 people
Deaf Video: 1 country, 1 sign language, 333 people
U.S. Military: 5 locations in 5 states in English and Spanish, 11,929 people
In addition, approximately 908,000 people in these new groups have come to faith in Christ as they have listened to God’s Word! This year, our goal is to provide enough audio Bibles to reach a total of over 3 million people.
Second, your gifts also made it possible for us to present and defend the Christian faith on television in 200 nations and territories in 10 languages to more than 4.5 billion potential viewers. This is important, as this year God has also helped us make some of the strongest TV programs in our ministry’s history. These present and defend the existence of God, as well as the facts surrounding Jesus’ life, death, burial, and resurrection. More about these programs in a moment.
Third, your generosity has also helped us to buy a neighboring building to expand our Global Communications Center. For the past 30 years, a local Christian businessman has operated a local art gallery in this location. When he planned to sell it, he graciously contacted us and asked if we needed the extra space his building would provide. By God’s grace, we were able to purchase the building without taking on any debt.
His timing was perfect as we are completely out of space for additional staff members. This building will give much needed room for our telephone operators, office space for more staff members to work, much-needed parking spaces, and extra shipping space as we continue to increase the number of resources we send worldwide. With our ministry reaching people in nearly every nation and in multiple languages, this extra building is a powerful answer to prayer!
However, we must remodel this former art gallery into working office spaces as quickly as we can. We need about $250,000 to renovate our Global Communications Center. If you would help us remodel this building, it would be a great encouragement to us this month.
Coming Soon on The John Ankerberg Show
Aren’t all religions basically the same?
Isn’t Jesus just one of many prophets?
Isn’t it unfair to claim that all the people who lived before Christianity are condemned to hell?
Is the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, that God is both one and three, a contradiction?
If God is all powerful, and all loving, why would He choose to create a world He knew would fall apart and bring so much evil and suffering?
Maybe you’ve had some non-Christian friends ask you these questions or have faced one of them yourself. In this series, you will hear how to answer these questions with conviction and compassion.
Then, starting in February we will feature a new series featuring Dr. Gary Habermas, the world’s leading expert on the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Since 1975, he has been tracking 4,000 of the top New Testament scholars in English, French, and German. Out of these 4,000, he has collected quotes from 2,000 of the most influential scholars about 12 historical facts concerning Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection appearances.
It’s amazing that 90% of these most influential scholars believe that there are 12 historically true facts about Jesus’ death and resurrection. What I want you and many non-Christians to hear is that Dr. Habermas says with only five or six of these facts, he can prove Jesus rose from the dead.
These scholars believe Jesus died on the cross, was buried in the tomb, and the tomb was empty on the third day. They believe there were appearances of Jesus to Peter, James, and Paul. They also believe Jesus appeared to the 12 apostles, to 500 people at one time, and to “all the apostles.”
Many of these scholars are still atheists. If they believe these facts are true, how can they hold this view? The answer is that even though the facts are true, they do not want to follow Jesus personally. You won’t want to miss this fascinating series.
A Final Challenge
I find myself taking it for granted that I can pick up a Bible in a variety of versions and styles to read it anytime. Yet in many parts of the world, having access to God’s Word is a luxury that people speaking 4,000 languages do not have.
When I recently spoke by phone with Morgan Jackson, the director of Faith Comes By Hearing, he shared that God has opened a new opportunity for him to legally distribute Audio Proclaimers to pastors and church leaders in China. So far, he has secured funding for 4,000 Audio Proclaimers. However, he is asking us to help provide 4,000 more Audio Proclaimers for China as soon as possible for his upcoming trip.
Bringing God’s Word to China is very important. I hope you will be able to help. As you will see on the response card, for every $500 you give, you can provide an Audio Proclaimer that reaches an average of 100 people in listening groups. Approximately half of these people will accept Christ as their Savior.
Would you consider meeting this special need in China this month? If you will give a gift of $50,000, you will help provide 100 Audio Proclaimers and help us organize 10,000 people in audio Bible listening groups. This will result in approximately 5,000 people coming to faith in Christ. What better investment could you make that has an eternal impact?
Imagine the impact of an even larger gift. For example, if you will give a gift of $100,000, you will help provide 200 Audio Proclaimers and help us organize 20,000 people in audio Bible listening groups. This will result in approximately 10,000 people coming to faith in Christ.
If you will give a gift of $250,000, you will help provide 500 Audio Proclaimers and help us organize 50,000 people in audio Bible listening groups. This will result in approximately 25,000 people coming to faith in Christ.
This strategic giving opportunity will not last for long. The Lord has given us an open door for ministry in China. Will you be the answer to bringing God’s Word to people in China this month?
Thank you again for all you have done to change lives for Christ. I pray God will lead you to partner with me again this month. I am deeply thankful for you and our friendship together. I am praying for you and look forward to hearing from you soon.
For those still waiting to hear,
D