“Sharing your faith” is the focus of a special issue of The Lutheran Witness that is now available for the cost of shipping and handling from Concordia Publishing
The special January 2008 edition of the magazine was mailed free of charge to an extra 100,000 Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod households earlier this year, thanks to a grant from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.
The magazine’s regular monthly circulation is about 185,000. Individual subscriptions are $22 per year, and lower bulk rates also are available.
In the special issue’s introduction, Synod President Gerald B. Kieschnick encourages Lutherans to share their faith with others, even though, “at times, many of us fear our own inadequacy or fret that someone with whom we want to share the Gospel might ask questions or respond to our words in a way that would leave us speechless, or even embarrassed at our inability to respond properly.”
“And yet,” Kieschnick says, “God presents us with opportunities to be His witnesses.”
Kieschnick adds, “My prayer is that the stories in this issue of The Lutheran Witness will provide godly inspiration and motivation for your life and for the lives of those with whom you may be privileged to share the hope that is in you — your faith in Jesus Christ, Savior of the world and Lord of the universe.”
Rev. Scott Snow, the Synod’s national director of outreach, said he is “very excited” about the special issue because it “focuses on individuals sharing their faith, and it gives loads of practical, specific, and helpful encouragement for doing that.”
In fact, the April issue of The Lutheran Witness includes a story about Walt Timm, a member of Faith Lutheran Church in Jefferson City, Mo., who says that the special “sharing your faith” issue of the magazine “motivated me to keep talking to Will,” a friend who was dying of cancer. “It also provided me with something for Will to read.”
Will came to faith just weeks before his death on Feb. 19, according to Timm, who said he believes that he “was supposed to meet Will, be his friend, help him think about faith, and pray for him.”
To request additional copies (minimum of 10) of the January Lutheran Witness, contact Concordia Publishing House at (800) 325-3040.
Posted April 9, 2008
