Smiling faces of a family who just received free Christian literature. (Photo courtesy of Christian Resources International)
Philippines (MNN) — When God’s love begins to spread, Satan will do anything he can to prevent it from taking root.
That’s what Christian Resources International experienced last fall when it held a concert for 6,000 people and trained 700 pastors in the Philippines.
CRI shipped 6 steel sea containers containing around 3 million dollars’ worth of Bibles and Christian books to be distributed to the pastors, concert goers, and the wider community.
“We currently have one of those [containers] only released and distributed as the port authorities and corruption in the Philippines has held back these five,” CRI Executive Director Jason Woolford says.
Now, CRI is continuing to fight for the release of these containers. And slowly but surely, it’s seeing progress.
“We are in conversation with the President and also the president of the Department of Education, asking them for approval,” Woolford says. “They approved a letter that then is being sent to the port, basically…reminding them of the impact this is having and the blessing that it’s going to be for the people of the Philippines.”
But that’s just the start. CRI has been negotiating a price with the Filipino authorities to release the container, but the ministry needs about $7,000 more to meet that suggested deal. Woolford asks that you come alongside CRI financially in its effort to free God’s Word.
(Photo courtesy of CRI)
“We’re talking about 3 million people–3 million people who are going to get the Word of God for absolutely free,” Woolford says. “Not only the Word of God, but Christian education discipleship material, seminary and Christian-authored books.
“You’re sewing into good ground. You’re giving into something that is eternal and something that doesn’t return void. As we know in Matthew 4:4, God says that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. The problem is: so many people don’t know what God is saying because they don’t have his Word.”
CRI’s goal is to send containers like these all over the world, where they are turned into distribution centers to which people can come and take what they want at no charge. Besides the Philippines, CRI has a distribution center in Nigeria and will soon have one in Kenya.
There are many ways you can support CRI in its ministry, by donating your gently-used Bibles and other Christian literature, volunteering, or donating.
Please remember to keep CRI in your prayers during this time. Pray for wisdom for staff members as they negotiate. Pray also that the Filipino authorities would view these resources as helpful to their country.
