We Need Your Support at A&O

Hello, my name is Rich Pierce, and I'm the president of Alpha and Omega Ministries. I am here in the Dividing Line studios, and I think of what goes on in this room. From this room, the gospel has gone around the world for more than 10 years, and I am just amazed by the reports that we get back from folks in places that I can't even imagine able to travel to, even to the point of people in airports recognizing James because of what goes on in this little room.

The Ministry’s Global Reach and Public Witness

From here, we have addressed the subjects of Islam, Roman Catholicism, Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, atheistic skepticism. James has confronted the liberalism and the secularism that seems to be infiltrating churches all around the world, and in each case, he takes them back to one thing.

From this room, the Scriptures are held high, and people are pointed to the Scripture. It is our sole, infallible rule of faith, and without the Scriptures, we don't believe we have a faith. We don't have a church.

We don't have a belief system from which to give an answer. As we do this ministry, James has often commented that we are the world's worst marketers, and there is an element of truth to that. There really is.

Why the Ministry Does Not Focus on Fundraising

It's not an exaggeration. Fundraising isn't what we do here. It's not what we've been called to do. James and I have been called to take the gospel out to the ends of the earth as best we have the ability to do, as best as the Lord has equipped us to do.

Fundraising isn't what we do, and at the same time, we also believe that God will lead his people to give, and that the giving that we've received and do receive and will receive is done cheerfully and not out of compulsion.

We believe that to the very depths of our soul, and as such, when it comes to the issue of fundraising and marketing, we don't. We just simply don't do that. We will never spam you. We will never call you up at dinnertime and beg you for donations.

Our focus is on the work at hand. It always has been, and it always will be. But because we don't do this, some presume that we're set, that Alpha and Omega Ministries is backed by some kind of giant donor or some large group of churches, and that's just not the case.

The Need for Consistent Monthly Support

The fact of the matter is, Alpha and Omega is completely funded by folks just like you, who give as best they can, out of the heart, and monthly. And you see, I'm here doing this today to point out that we actually do need your support.

We need you to stand with us financially, if you could. We need it to be consistent, and we need it to be monthly. Whatever that amount would be. The fact of the matter is, is that we need to continue this work, and we also need to grow this work in ways that are going to cost money, more than we've ever needed before.

We don't have a huge budget, because we've never had a huge income. We don't take loans out. This ministry has never been in debt. We have one credit card that we pay off monthly. As expenses come in, they're paid.

And if we don't have the money to cover the expense, then we don't spend the money. It's just that simple. We'd also ask that you bring this ministry before your elders or your missions committee. We have a number of churches that support us, and we're grateful for that.

Church Support, Gospel Ministry, and Equipping the Saints

And we'd hope to expand that. Keep in mind, when you look at Alpha and Omega Ministries and you see what's in this room, what you see is what you get. There's no ivory tower here. James isn't on some high plane where he's going back and forth with brilliant men, spending the time talking back and forth.

The point of this ministry is to bring these issues to God's people, the church. You see, we're churchmen. This is our focus. This is our calling. And we believe that God works within his church, and it is through his church that the gospel goes out to the world.

And we believe that is an important thing to focus on. So, sitting in an ivory tower, talking back and forth between the huge minds, if you will, has never been his calling. Taking difficult and sometimes ancient information and bringing it forward and making it understandable to folks like you and me has always been what he has been about.

You see, our purpose and goal is to edify and equip God's saints. Now, some folks have told us, hey, you know what? If you don't say something to God's people, they're not going to know that you have a need.

New Projects: Updating Tracts and Information Sheets

And that's what this recording is all about. There are new projects on the horizon. One of those—actually, two of those would be separate issues—is some of you go back and remember the tracks that we used to be able to print up out of our own little print shop.

And the methods were archaic. Back then, we actually designed tracks through the cut and paste method. No, kids, that doesn't mean using a mouse. It means using scissors and glue. And that's how we put them together.

And all of those tracks need to be put forward into the 21st century kind of technology. They've got to be scanned, and some of them can get pretty detailed. And they need to be converted through what's called OCR, Optical Character Recognition, scanning.

And somebody's got to sit down and go through the old track and look at the new track and make sure that every single word is exactly the way it was meant to be, and then retype set, then the graphics are redone, and then, of course, the printing process.

All of those things are going to cost money and funding, and we're in need of doing that again. At the same time, we used to have a rack, if you will, a bookcase. Picture a bookcase back here with little tiny gaps in it, just nine inches wide, two columns.

And from floor all the way up to the top of that banner, there would be stacks of information sheets, work that had been done on various subjects. All of those things need to be scanned in, and both the tracks and the information sheets need to be turned into web pages so that all that information can be made available once again, that used to be only available through mail order.

We've got some catching up to do. And so with that, I ask you, if you would, please support Alpha Omega Ministries. Stand with us as we do this ministry and continue to do it, as the Lord would allow us to have this privilege.

Thank you.