This post is by Chuck McAlister, Evangelism and Church Planting Team leader for the Kentucky Baptist Convention.
I had just finished speaking at a duck hunting seminar at the Bass Pro Shop in Tulsa, Oklahoma. As we frequently do, we had a Bible table set up with waterproof Bibles which we were giving away to any active duty service members present.
One man walked up and lifted the display Bible that was submerged in a vase of water. I immediately noticed the tears in his eyes and asked him if he was active duty military. He stated that he was.
When I asked if we could give him one of the Bibles he responded, “No thank you. I was one of the first soldiers to enter Afghanistan. I was an Army Ranger. I received one of these Bibles and a care package my first night in country. I carried that Bible with me through seven deployments. It was in my pocket the three times I was shot, and it will be with me when I am medically retired from the service in March.”
Tears were flowing down his cheeks… and mine. He continued, “The words in this book have not only kept me alive – they have taught me how to live.”
On February 25, at our RISK (Reaching into the State of Kentucky) Conference, we will launch our Share the Light Campaign. We have formed a partnership with Operation Soldier Care out of First Baptist Naples, Florida, to distribute waterproof Bibles to our soldiers currently serving on the front lines.
For $25.00, you can purchase a Bible for a soldier. Tables will be provided for each person purchasing a Bible to write a letter to the soldier to whom the Bible will be sent. The Kentucky Baptist Convention will then mail the letter and the Bible to Operation Soldier Care which will put together a customized care package to send with the Bible and your letter to a soldier.
We hope that a pen pal relationship will develop and the gospel can be presented to the soldier. Our goal is to send 500 of these Bibles to soldiers this year from Kentucky Baptists.
If you are interested in adopting this project in your church to help us get as many Bibles as possible in the hands of our soldiers, please get in touch with us so that we can assist you in “sharing the light” with our military personnel. I am convinced that the more we can place God’s word in the hands of our service members, the more hope we can give them.
Join us February 25 at RISK as we help our soldiers—and Kentucky—encounter Jesus!
