I don’t talk about our ministry on my blog much. But God is doing remarkable things through Eternal Perspective Ministries, and every once in a while, I believe there’s value in sharing with others the glimpses that God has graciously given us of His work through EPM.
I often tell people who support EPM that they have had a direct hand in helping us fund missions, sponsor prolife causes, and feed the hungry. That’s because those who give to our ministry’s general fund free us up to continue giving away the royalties from my books to many worthy Christian ministries. So, in effect, they’re supporting those ministries as well. (90% of the royalties are given away to other worthy ministries, and only 10% go to EPM to help offset the costs related to writing and editing the books. To date, EPM has given over $8.3 million in royalties.)
But there’s more. Supporting our ministry also:
- Enables us to continue providing quality, Christ-centered content through my blog, our website, and social media.
- Helps fund the writing of my books, and the EPM staff’s work as they assist me.
- Supports our staff in reaching out in Jesus’ name to all those we come in contact with through phone calls, emails, and social media.
- Provides for our ministry to prisoners and allows us to continue sending thousands of books to inmates in facilities across the United States.
Rather than tell you more about how the support of our donors has allowed us to continue impacting eternity, I’ll let the words of some of those we’ve heard from over the last year speak for themselves. Thanks to Stephanie Anderson and other EPM staff who received and passed on these notes to include below.
A chaplain wrote us this:
Your ministry has had a great impact on what I have been doing in the Juvenile Detention Facility. I began last year in July as the chaplain to the youth. It was a very difficult start, challenges with administration, staff and the youth themselves not wanting ministry. Good News has a bible study program where the inmates can do written studies on their own. We have great success with the adults, and I wanted to implement these studies with the youth. Your comic book series [Eternity and The Apostle] was a powerful tool in having the youth do these studies. I made the offer that if they do the Bible studies, they could have the comic books. It spread like wildfire! The very same boys that refused ministry [are] now requesting to see me, do the studies and they [are] reading your books. Most importantly, they are reading the Bible!
A prisoner who received books from us wrote this:
My roommate has a copy of your Picturing Heaven devotional book. I draw and color pictures for my children (9, 8, 8, and 4) every week.
We heard from many readers after I wrote a blog about suicide, including these ones:
I lost my husband in June. As a new survivor of suicide, thank you for this. My husband loved Jesus and so do I, but this is a journey I would have never dreamt I would ever be on, and cannot put into words the pain and guilt associated. I wept when reading this, & believe God lead me to seeing this article tonight. Thank you for this.
I want you to know that your article couldn’t have been timed better for my family. My cousin killed himself this last weekend and when your article just “happened” to show up on my feed (not everything you post does) I shared it. Then my aunt (who found her son’s body) shared it because it was a comfort to her. He was a combat veteran who had been suffering from PTSD for quite a few years but he was also a believer in Jesus who even brought several of his brothers in arms to the Lord. Thank you! God is using you to build up His people.
These readers wrote us on social media:
I want to personally thank you for your books on Heaven. It's been 19 months since my 31-year-old son went to Heaven in an airplane accident. …After his death I found myself wanting to know more about Heaven. ...I bought about every book you wrote and I’m so thankful for them as they helped in my grief get a better picture of Heaven and it made me thankful he was there.
I've been finishing some talks I will be giving at our church’s ladies’ fall retreat (Lord willing!), and the studying I have done has been such a blessing to my ❤️. The topic is “How to Be Happy.” Happiness is one of my favorite topics, and I have made it a point of study for several years now. I became intrigued by the topic when I got ahold of Randy Alcorn’s book, Happiness years ago. His book was truly life-changing for me (BTW, as a lover of books, I read a lot of great books, but very few make it into the category of “life-changing”.)
Thank you so much for your contribution to the church in so many ways. I recently finished If God Is Good in preparation for a sermon on suffering and was so edified by your thoughtful and pastoral approach to suffering.
I read Safely Home (the first time) and it changed my life...I live in a town with a university that has 200+ Chinese students every year. …since reading this book (now many times) I have been burdened to get to know these students and have been privileged to have many in my home to bake, eat, and play games (and hear about Jesus).
The last book my husband read before passing of a sudden heart attack in June was your book Heaven. All he could talk about was your book. It gave me comfort that he was so excited to meet Jesus.
As always, I’m humbled and amazed at the ways God is using Eternal Perspective Ministries! John Piper says, “God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, and you may be aware of three of them.” The same is true of EPM. We get glimpses into what God is doing, but we anticipate eternity, where we’ll learn countless more stories. As you serve Jesus in your life, the same will be true of you!
That brings me to the next year. If you have found our books, articles, social media posts, and/or magazine to be helpful in 2019, would you prayerfully consider supporting EPM and being a part of this eternity-shaping ministry in 2020? As is true for many nonprofits, the donations we receive in December are vital to support our work in the coming year. (I encourage you to give generously this season. It certainly doesn’t have to be to EPM. We’re here to serve everyone without cost. As Jesus put it in Matthew 10:8, “Freely you have received, freely give.”)
Please know that those of you who’ve partnered with our ministry through both giving and prayer play a vital role in our outreach. We’re deeply grateful for you.
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” (Isaiah 52:7)
Finding Happiness in the Grace of Jesus,
Randy Alcorn
Please note that a tax-deductible online gift in 2019 must be received by 11:59 p.m. PT on December 31.
