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I wanted to tell you the good news first. But now I have
to tell you that God's Work faces the most critical financial
problem of the 35-year history of this Work.
This CRISIS we face has been precipitated by TWO factors:
1) The overwhelming and unexpected SUCCESS of our new
advertising program. In the 35 year history of this Work, I have
learned that when the HEAD of this Work, the living Jesus Christ,
opens a door, the Work undergoes a SET-BACK unless I walk right
through that door in FAITH.
When I have hesitated, lacking faith, waiting until the
money to pay for it had already been received, the door was slammed
shut and the Work suffered. But when I TRUSTED God to supply the
need, and walked right through the doors Christ opened, the money
always came.
True, God does not rain the money down supernaturally from
heaven, like manna. Always He has used HIS CO-WORKERS (of which
YOU are now one) to supply it. But, as I wrote you last month, the
difficulty has not been caused by the cost of the advertising
space. Of course, with a readership of 150 MILLION PEOPLE in these
world's largest mass-circulation publications, the cost of the
advertising space has been perhaps much larger than you would think
-- yet our budget provided for that.
But it has forced us to open new offices in different parts
of the world, made necessary an expansion in number of employees in
all offices, renting additional office space, increasing the
payroll. It is increasing PAPER COSTS by perhaps a half million
dollars a year. It means heavier postage expense -- multiple
thousands of dollars. It means the purchase of additional giant
web-fed presses to print all the additional copies of The PLAIN
TRUTH.
That is ONE factor!
2) The second one I also wrote you about last month. It is
the large amount of loans from Co-Workers that have accumulated on
our books. It is absolutely VITAL to the future of the Work, if
our financial integrity is to remain high and unquestioned, that we
either make a reduction in these, by more and more Co-Workers
following my personal example in cancelling the loan, and turning
it into an outright donation, or, changing the status of the loan
from a demand basis to, say, a 5-year loan, so that we are not
legally bound to repay more than 20% in any one year.
My personal loan was a fairly large one -- all that my wife
and I had managed to save during our lifetime. I gave it all. Now
I own nothing -- I have nothing but a moderate checking account in
the bank. If any emergency should arise, I have no money or
property ahead as a reserve to meet it -- but what I DO have is AN
ALMIGHTY GOD TO TRUST -- who has PROMISED me that "My God shall
supply all your need according to HIS riches in glory by Christ
Jesus." (Philippians 4:19.) I can rely on that!