Day One Publications

Jim Holmes reports from the USA

Americans do things big...

...impressively big!

Everything about America seems big. I recently drove from Greenville, South Carolina, to Louisville, Kentucky. On the map, it looked just a few inches. But, by the time I had driven there and back, the odometer told me I had travelled not much less than 1,000 miles.

Oh, and what was I doing in Louisville? Attending the fourth ‘Together for the Gospel’ conference. The first one I ever attended (along with Day One author, Simon J Robinson) was the inaugural one, held in 2006. On that occasion, there were 3,000 people in attendance. Figures have climbed since then, each conference hosting more and more attendees. The 2012 one had over 8,000 people there. The audience was from all over the USA, and from further afield, too. I had not been long at the bookstall where I was promoting Day One books when I heard a bright, English accent. ‘Oh, it’s nice to see Day One here!’ beamed the man. ‘I love Day One books.’ It turned out that he had come to the USA not only to be at the T4G conference (as it is affectionately known), but also to explore campus ministry, with a view to applying aspects of the model to UK churches. ‘What’s so impressive about the Americans,’ he continued, ‘is that they think so big! I’m amazed at how much space they give to these events…’ I enjoyed the time of fellowship with my fellow British brother, appreciating the freshness of his vision and concern to do what he can to enhance faithful, biblical ministry in his own circles of influence.

On the drive back, I found myself thankful for the vision and energy of a president such as Dwight Eisenhower who, as recently as the 1950s, put in place a massive grid of motorways, known in the USA as Interstates. These wide, multi-laned freeways make driving relatively easy over the vast distances that have to be traversed. And they serve the practical use of connecting the states themselves in an integral roadway system. A little trivia, if you are interested: if you were to join all the Interstates together, and somehow point them in the direction of the moon and then drive as far as you could, you would be one fifth of the way there.

Importantly big…

On another recent visit I made to a new customer, he told me of the radio ministry his outreach serves. He indicated that the reach is to some 50 million people (that is potentially one sixth of the population of the USA), and that over 90% of the USA could be reached if each person or family who had a radio were to tune into one of the stations.

Another customer in a different city told me that his denomination includes some 16 million people. Think of that—it’s equivalent to about one quarter of the population of the United Kingdom! That is not to say that each church person is truly a believer, but it represents, nevertheless, a huge number of potential Christians.

On a different occasion, I was with the leader of a major creation ministry and I was impressed by the fact that there are tens of thousands of subscribers to it. That means there are huge numbers of believers who have not been overpowered by the distorted thinking of people who refuse to consider the evidence for the Bible’s teaching on the age of the earth and its clear presentation of a literal six-day creation—including the importance of the Lord’s Day as a creation ordinance.

Influentially big…

But when we think of size and extent, it is important that we consider the fallenness of human beings. The fall is cosmic in its extent and effects. There is no part of nature that has not been affected by the fall of our first parents. Day One’s initiative in America spearheads a series of direct ministry tools in supplying materials that give practical help to people living in a fallen world—whether in the form of the ‘Living in a fallen world’ booklets (another eight have recently been released—see below*) or in a series of small books which help people in church leadership to be engaged in ministry after the pattern of our Lord Jesus Christ. These are books which we have placed in a series known as ‘Ministering the Master’s way’ and which encourage people to be Christlike in the way they serve their congregations.**

Please continue to pray for the ongoing initiatives we take in North America. This is a vastly needy nation. It has potential for both good and evil. It was once said that ‘When America sneezes, the world catches a cold.’ May I rephrase this in a different way? ‘When America gets good books in circulation, the world gets the benefit!’

*Living in a fallen world, most recent eight are:

Help!  I Am Depressed; Help! I’m Living with Terminal Illness; Help! I Feel Ashamed; Help! I Can’t Submit to My Husband; Help! I Want to Change; Help! Someone I Love has Alzheimer’s; Help! I Can’t Handle All these Trials; Help! I Can’t Forgive

** Ministering the Master’s way: Most recent are:

Pray, Plan, Prepare, Preach: Establishing and maintaining priorities in the preaching ministry (Iain D Campbell; Make the world your parish: Increasing your global influence for Christ (Reggie Weems)

 Jim Holmes, Director of Publications and Marketing, reports from South Carolina:

‘Black Friday’ is strangely named. Being the first day after Thanksgiving, it marks the countdown to Christmas, and is especially characterized by high-discount sales. That day, some shops open as early as 2am, and it is not uncommon the night before for people to camp out at the shop from which they wish to purchase. Why? Because they can leave with a hyper-bargain, purchasing normally high-value items for phenomenal discounts. A small inventory of large flat-screen TVs, normally retailing for several hundred dollars, are available for under $100 each; bed and linen sets may be sold for a dollar or so… and so it is that hordes of people crowd the entrance and there can be a stampede to buy these great bargains. The reason for the name ‘Black Friday’ is said to be because it marks the point in the year when retailers begin to be ‘in the black’ and start making a profit.

In Scripture, we are exhorted to buy the truth and sell it not (Proverbs 23:23). There is a sense in which this is a core principle of our mission at Day One—to encourage people to acquire the wonderful treasures of God’s word, to value that word, and to live by it, encouraging others to do the same.

Undergirding the thinking and planning of Day One in the development of the American work is just that—not only the broadening the base of sales in North America, but also encouraging and promoting writers from this region, in order that truth may be disseminated all around the world. In encouraging writers from this continent, last year we brought into print a couple of illustrated children’s books (The Adventures of Peter and Leisel), with more to follow soon. We have also another eight Living in a fallen world booklets recently released, and the range of books in the Ministering the Master’s way series is growing. Last year, there were contributions from existing American authors such as Brian Croft and Mike Abendroth

In all these developments, we prayerfully intend to maintain a global perspective. Dr Reggie Weems’ book, Make the world your parish, reflects something of the spirit of this intent. As our God has so wonderfully promised, ‘My name shall be great among the nations, declares the LORD of hosts’ (Malachi 1:11)! It is our privilege in serving the King to be positioned so that we may serve a global readership.

In working out some of these details and achieving best operational efficiency, the American Day One office moved late last year from a shared facility with another publisher and now operates independently from a small warehouse and office complex in Taylors, South Carolina, just a few miles from Greenville.

We covet the prayers of friends as we endeavour to develop the work in these days of remarkable challenge and opportunity. Please pray that through our efforts, many people would lay hold of the truth—absorbing it into their spiritual systems—and be instruments well used in the Master’s hands.

Day One Publications

Day One is now one of the leading Christian publishers in the UK. From small beginnings, it now has a very substantial range of titles. These cover Bible commentaries, biographies, children's books, study guides, topical issues - not forgetting the diaries, calendars and cards.

Their Ethos

• Faithfulness to the Bible - it is the Word of God

• Relevance to the Modern World - God's word needs to be applied

• Excellence in publication quality - everything needs to be honouring to God

They also have a striking common look - most have a white cover with a red stripe, easy to find on any bookshelf! To see for yourself, go to the books website Day One Books