Jun 14, 2022

Your Support Is Greatly Needed This Summer

5 Min Read

You are a visible expression of God’s kindness to Ligonier Ministries. And we give thanks to the Lord for you.

Dr. R.C. Sproul has said that we’ve been blessed with some of the most encouraging and faithful supporters a ministry could have. After nearly 18 years of service with Ligonier, I see the truth of his statement more than ever. Amid these past few years of global unrest, God has used the ministry of the Word to bring fruitfulness through your faithful, prayerful support.

I think of you often in Paul’s words to the Philippian church: “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you” (Phil. 1:3). But why did the Apostle thank God for those dear saints? It was “because of your partnership in the gospel” (v. 5).

Gospel partnerships flourish worldwide as believers join together to complete the Great Commission that Jesus Christ has given to His people. He does this through the power of the gospel applied by the Spirit as He works through His church, and He graciously raises up ministries such as Ligonier to assist these efforts.

R.C. never wanted Ligonier to languish as a museum ministry looking backward. Rather, he pointed us to a vision of growing service to the church around the world. With all transparency and candor, here is our goal:

At Ligonier Ministries, we are aiming to develop the world’s largest library of discipleship resources faithful to the historic Christian faith. In the next three years, we are seeking to distribute this trusted teaching in the world’s top twenty languages in an effective and sustainable way.

God keeps opening doors for us around the world. Just look at some of what your support has accomplished internationally over the past year:

  • You made the Reformation Study Bible accessible to more than a quarter of a billion new readers in Brazil and Africa with the completion of the Portuguese edition.
  • You’ve been pushing forward the French and Arabic translations of this study Bible.
  • You empowered the translation of more than 200 theological articles in Hindi on hi.Ligonier.org and made several of Dr. Sproul’s books available in Hindi for the first time.
  • You helped launch Ligonier’s dedicated Korean outreach website with articles and media at ko.ligonier.org.
  • You surpassed all expectations by nearly completing the Study Bibles for Africa initiative years ahead of our goal of equipping 100,000 African church leaders with the Reformation Study Bible.

The Lord is using your prayers and generosity to help people to know who He is. Every gift furthers the truth as the kingdom of God advances and local churches are strengthened.

Of course, this encompasses our work in America as well. God has also blessed Ligonier’s outreach in these United States. Just in the past year:

You stand with Ligonier because you know how vital this work is. What do we have that has not been given to us by our gracious God (1 Cor. 4:7)? In our brief lives on this earth, He sovereignly entrusts us with time, talent, and treasure while providing joyful opportunities to link arms with brothers and sisters in Christ. Ultimately, Ligonier does not come to you asking for financial support out of a place of need, for the Lord owns everything. We trust Him. And so we explain our need and God’s people generously respond. Would you please consider a timely gift to boost Ligonier’s outreach?

Under the Lord’s providential hand, the reach of the ministry is expanding, serving tens of millions of people each year. But with some eight billion souls on this planet, you and I know that there is much work to do. It is still far too difficult to find sound instruction in the deep things of God. We’re convinced that biblical teaching should not be reserved for the few but should be available to everyone, no matter their age and no matter the stage of their Christian journey.

That’s why I write to convey to you that now your gift is needed as we head into the summer months. Let the summer of 2022 not be a period of financial doldrums for ministry. Your support will mean that we can continue moving forward with our aggressive plans to proclaim, teach, and defend God’s holiness in all its fullness to as many people as possible. Your generosity will help make this continued growth possible. Because of help from friends like you, we’ve seen growth such as the following:

  • More people (especially younger people) are turning to Ligonier’s YouTube channel for Bible teaching. We’re already seeing a significant increase in video views in 2022.
  • As demand for trustworthy audio content continues to surge, our many podcasts are downloaded more than two million times every month.
  • Reformation Bible College has welcomed its largest incoming class on campus this year with a 58 percent increase over last year’s class. And it appears that there will be an even larger class in the fall. Our student residence hall is set to open just in time to meet this astounding growth.

Your engagement with the teaching we produce, your prayerful and financial support, and your advocacy for this ministry form a true partnership in the gospel. You and I want to see the good news of salvation proclaimed and for people to know God more deeply. Let’s move forward, trusting God together in obedience to Christ’s Great Commission. Thank you.