A Season of Hope

It’s banquet time again. This will be our 26th annual banquet. I can’t believe that we’ve actually pulled this off 25 times before! Of course, the Lord has helped us. I have to admit that each one takes its toll on me personally. Sometimes I didn’t have the full strength needed and it could be seen in the outcome. I had to lament that and move on. Praise God that each time we met our goal.
This year that goal is high at $70,000. We’ve only attained that amount one other time.  This occurred a number of years ago when we had a great number of business sponsors.  Unfortunately, we don’t have as many business sponsors this year.  We’re knocking on the door of that number again. Why? Because we need that money to carry on the work and to take Global Radio Outreach to the next level.  
It’s really a question of timing and the season that we’re in. Raising money has always been a struggle for me. It seems like we never have enough. That was true when we were doing shortwave broadcasts as well. However, this has never been truer than it is now.  God has called us to migrate over to internet radio broadcasting on websites. I began with only a dream. There was no one to help and there was no money to hire people to help. We had to take some risks.  This required us to spend more money than we were receiving in order to get those workers. 
One of our first new people was Joe.  He was a computer network guy who could figure out almost anything. Then Luke joined us. He was an experienced software writer who was studying computer science at a local Christian University. Between those two our blogging websites and our Internet radio stations were born. Ed joined us. Others joined us for seasons. A few have stuck in various positions. Two of my children work with us. Thank you, Jesus, for them all.
I was always hitting a ceiling with the fundraising, though. I didn’t have the time and energy to manage the ministry and raise enough money. I burned out. I slogged. I eventually learned to manage the burn-out. I kept slogging.  Some years ago, I came up with an idea to recruit workers who would come on as missionaries.  They would raise their own personal support. It’s been an uphill struggle finding such people, but it’s getting some traction. You can see a partial list of the jobs (people needed) on our website, www.globalradiooutreach.org under the ‘Get Involved’ tab. Please pray that we find those people. Maybe you’re one of them. 
One of those people to join us, agreeing to raise his own support, was Emmanuel from Zambia. He was a missionary with Campus Crusades. He was a software writer with experience in server networks and cyber security. He has a huge vision like me.  But unlike me, he is young and has a more modern way of thinking. He also has drive, vision and energy. He wants to get into everything. So, the old guy (me) shares wisdom with him and tries to keep him focused. His coming has brought new vision, new hope and a new set of hands to the mix.
Now we’re seeking other members of the team to come to us through the MissionNext agency. It’s a great missionary finding tool . . . almost like a dating website. People come there not expecting a job with wages, benefits, etc. They’re there because they want to be missionaries. The MissionNext agency helps to match them with mission agencies like ours. Please pray that as we fill our job listings the Lord will send us all of the people that we need to cause this outreach to Muslims to fly.  I want this to happen with all of the potential and all of the fruit that the Father saw when He called us to found it. As much as we’ve accomplished, we’ve only just begun.  I believe that, with the Lord’s leading, we’ll put a sizable dent in the Muslim world for Jesus.
Let me bring this full circle. What does this have to do with this year’s banquet and the almost hopelessly big goal in our Banquet Offering. As I mentioned, it is the timing and the season. We’ve moved from almost hopeless slogging to a season of hope thanks to all the workers who have joined us and all those that we’re hoping will soon join us through these people-seeking efforts. This year we need that $70,000 offering, not just to pull through, but to launch us into this hopeful season. I’m hopeful that we’ll raise the funds to get the things that these people will need to carry us forward to reach Muslims everywhere. I don’t have official numbers yet.  As I write this, the offering stands at somewhere around $7,500.  We’re about a tenth of the way there.
Please pray. Please become a part of this season of hope. You can send your gift for the banquet offering to GRO, PO Box 719, Everett WA 98206 or visit www.globalradiooutreach.org and click on the Banquet Offering button. You can do it on the Global Radio Outreach App. Please pray and help propel us in this season of hope. You’ll be part pf a miracle. Thank you.