Eli
by Elijah Raines
As the publisher of the Good News, I wanted to write a special
thanks to all our supporters.This is our 20th year of publishing
the Good News in the Spokane & North Idaho area. Over the last 20
years we have had many advertisers, writers, and readers and they
have all played a part in making the Good News possible & they
have also played a part in shaping what we have become in the
community.
Last year I had redefining moment as I was praying about the
Good News and what we are doing here in this community. In my
prayer I was asking (complaining) questions, particularly about
coming into our 20th year. To be in business for 20 years, someone
would think, well, you have made it, but that’s not how it felt.
We had had many good & even excellent years, but the last 4 years
prior were some of the hardest years we have seen, and some might
just blame the economy and move on.
The redefining moment came when I felt like God showed me that
I was doing it all wrong. I am not saying that everything I have
done has been wrong, but that underlying things have made the Good
News less than what it could be and should be in our community. I
felt like he showed me the secret needs to be in service. Serving
our advertisers, writers, readers, and even the rest of the
community that does not even read the Good News. Serving
ultimately every one in the community with spreading the Good News
of Jesus Christ through testimonies about Jesus and his work in
our lives.
Lets start with the last one first, those who don’t even read
the Good News. Here is a quote of what someone has said about the
Good News, “I’ve told the publishers that they have no idea how
important the ‘Good News’ is in setting a positive tone in our
community. The ‘Good News’ builds hope and faith in people’s lives
throughout our area.” - David Warnick, Exec. Pastor, New Life
Community Church. This made it clear to us how the Good News
affects the atmosphere of the community. There are two kinds of
people that don’t read the Good News, those who don’t even know
that it is there, and those who already have their minds made up
about the Good News. As a ministry we can have hope of reaching
these people, too. Ultimately we are not upset by these people
because we want the Good News to be about Jesus, and I hope that
the Good News being in our community (even for those who don’t
read it) when they see it that it would be a tool that would kind
of draw a line in the sand. I am not saying that their
relationship with God is determined by that one moment but we all
know that there are usually many times and chances that the gospel
is presented before a person finally calls out to God for his
salvation & deliverance. We hope that the Good News would be one
of those times that the gospel is presented, like a light in a
dark place .
Readers are another area which we serve directly. To these
people we hope to be a a clear representation of the gospel
message. We do not want the Good News to be about doctrine that
divides the body of Christ but about things that bring it
together. We want Jesus to be the cornerstone that that the Good
News is built on.
People say sometimes that it takes a village to raise a child.
In that same way the Good News hopes to be a village of writers
sharing the gospel through all the different voices saying the
same thing: “Jesus loves you & there is hope found in relationship
with Jesus.” Writers, both individuals and ministries, are saying
the same message through their different accents, experiences and
backgrounds. Jesus is the author of our faith and we know that he
speaks through the village of our writers with a message of hope
that can reach & help all people alike. The message of the gospel
reaches each person where they are at. The answer to the problem
whether political or personal is Jesus.
Our advertisers are the people that make this ministry
possible. Without them we could not share the gospel in the way
that we do. For the last 20 years we have been advertiser
supported which has been a blessing with trials. Some ministries
wait until their ship comes in before they start, but I believe
God has put us here to be closely attached to our supporters one
month at a time. It is interesting when I think about our writers
because every month we have enough articles to produce one issue
of the Good News; we rarely have an overabundance of articles.
That is how it has been to the most part in our finances, each
month one at a time. In a way if we had huge revenue we would be
less connected to our supporters which would not always be good.
Our supporters kind of keep us on track with our goals, mission &
purpose. Our supporters have been my biggest encouragement, as I
have had relationship with some of these people for almost 17
years.
This is our 20th year and we hope (God willing) & if he
doesn’t return first that the Good News will be here another 20
years. We want to turn a new leaf so to speak with service being
our first goal. We want to learn to serve our supporters, writers,
readers, and even those who do not read the Good News.
We know that God has us here for such a time as this, we hope
to take every opportunity to spread the gospel through word
(written or not) and deed.
If you have read this and paid attention, the Good News has
been in our community for the last 20 years and some of my
relationships have been for the last 17 years. Although I am the
owner, I am not the founder. The Good News was started in 1995 by
Jim Raines (my dad), and I started working for him in 1998. After
2 years he turned it over to me. He moved to Texas and has lived
there ever since, where he publishes another edition of the GOOD
NEWS.
This is a letter of THANKS!
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