Eli




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!