September 2019
An Amazing Fact: The community of Coober Pedy is one of the hottest on earth—literally! Temperatures in this remote Western Australia mining town can reach 127-degrees Fahrenheit in the shade. Most of the people live underground in caves to escape the scorching heat. The town still boasts a fine hotel, bookshop, museums, and modern homes—all underground. If you look carefully, you’ll see satellite dishes poking out of the ground, and several of them are tuning into Amazing Facts each week!
Dear friend,
Imagine you were so isolated that you couldn’t attend church with other Christians. What would it be like, week after week, never having the chance to connect and study God’s Word with likeminded believers on Sabbath?
Well, millions of dear souls are in that very situation through no fault of their own. But through Amazing Facts, you are connecting these out-of-the-way, isolated brothers and sisters with the body of Christ! With your love and sacrificial gifts, the last-day essential truth is leading souls “out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).
Each week, Amazing Facts receives testimonies from people telling us that we are their “church home” and “family.” Why? Some of these friends are locked in prisons with no way to attend a church. Others must hide their faith in oppressive countries. Some, because of age or sickness, are too frail to go to Sabbath School or worship. And others simply live too far away from a church.
Here’s just a small sample of them …
- Laura cannot attend church because of her health. She tells us, “You are my church!”
- Philip teaches Sabbath School at a small church and deeply appreciates the weekly Sabbath School Study Hour program on AFTV to help him prepare.
- Bud from the Philippines is serving as a lay pastor and uses Amazing Facts sermons for worship services and teaching resources all the time.
- Evalina from Australia says, “I am one of your congregation,” as she watches the weekly worship services from her remote town in the outback.
- Tracey from Great Britain explains that her dad has Parkinson’s and is unable to attend church. Watching Amazing Facts instead “gives him the ability to hear God’s Word in his home, a service that is invaluable to him.”
- Frieda from British Columbia calls Amazing Facts her family, saying, “I’ve been unable to attend a church as I’m too far away with no vehicle, so I’ve adopted your church as my own.”
Praise the Lord! But this also illustrates the need for more “church experience” to be brought to more people around the world.
A Church to Build Churches
The Bible encourages us not to forsake “the assembling of ourselves together” (Hebrews 10:25). That’s why Amazing Facts is striving to bring an inspiring church experience to even more secluded seekers all around the globe.
How can that be accomplished? I believe through the Amazing Facts W.O.R.D. Center, a new church-based evangelistic training and worship facility from where we can broadcast the everlasting gospel into all the world with greater impact than ever before. Let me explain …
Amazing Facts’ vision has been to follow God’s leading to expand our reach around the world. Because of His blessing, we outgrew our old facilities and were led to construct a new headquarters that includes a worship, media, and evangelism training center.
We call it the W.O.R.D. Center because it will focus on World Outreach, Revival, and Discipleship. Recently, your sacrificial gifts made it possible for us to move into this new space—praise the Lord! But we are still working hard to complete the media and evangelism training worship center.
How will the W.O.R.D. Center reach more isolated people with the gospel and bring a church experience to potential millions of lonely members and seekers?
Thousands of small churches and individuals around the world do not have a weekly pastor. They depend on you and me to bring them quality Sabbath School and worship services through satellite, TV, and the Internet. This lifeline keeps them alive and growing.
But with the additional space for staff and equipment, the new facilities will greatly increase our ability to multiply all our best programming: revival and prophecy meetings, children’s programs, health seminars, discipleship training events—along with the regular weekly Sabbath School programs and worship services.
What’s really exciting? Up until now, most of these programs have been broadcast only in English, but built into the new facilities are translating rooms that can convert the growing library of new programs into other major languages of the world!
Almost Home
Now, as we approach the final steps of completing the building, I’m asking you—for the glory of God—to help push this vision to completion. Finishing the W.O.R.D. Center will facilitate a host of ministry connections with our brethren in Christ around the world. We would also like to create a new online church ministries section to our website, including:
- A link to easily play the current week Sabbath School study
- Provide video archives of inspiring music for worship services
- Link people to AFCOE Online e-courses and workbooks
- Include recipes for healthy potlucks and resources for men’s and women’s ministries, etc.
- Provide a section with sharing resources for local evangelism
- Create an Amazing Facts partners Facebook page … and more!
The W.O.R.D. Center will be a pulpit to the world and a church to build up churches. But if we are going to fulfill God’s great call, it will require great faith and sacrifice. Praise God, the W.O.R.D. Center is nearly paid for, but we still need $1,073,000 to help our new headquarters reach the finish line.
God has abundantly blessed! So far, Amazing Facts has no debt connected with this project, and we believe that with your help, we can finish it debt-free! However, in the summer months—when people are busy traveling—funds slow down for God’s work. Will you consider giving a “finishing the work”-sized gift this month to help complete this ministry expansion and keep our outreach programs going strong?
Through the power of the Holy Spirit and your involvement, we will see God multiply our reach into homes here and abroad—even to families who live underground in Coober Pedy!
We cannot turn a deaf ear to our searching neighbors and other seekers of truth around the world. I’m asking you to help generously, with a special gift that will complete the W.O.R.D. Center and send the everlasting gospel into every home.
Building for eternity,
Pastor Doug Batchelor
President, Amazing Facts