Bible Text: Matthew 9:35 | Speaker: Bonnie Sala, Dr. Harold J. Sala | Series: Guidelines For Living | And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.  Matthew 9:35

Today my daughter Bonnie Sala joins me here in the studio, along with one of our Guidelines Board Members, Don Thompson.  For the next few minutes, we’re going to be focusing on Guidelines’ outreach for ministry.

Don:  Well, Harold, this year you stepped back as Guidelines’ president.   You’ve been out of the hot seat for a while now.  How does it feel?

Harold:  Well, honestly, it feels very, very good!  This has given me more time for speaking, for writing, and for encouraging people.

Don:  Writing?  You’d think after 52 years, and over 10,000 commentaries and 60 books you might have run out of things to say!

Harold:  Actually not, Don.  It just gives me time to write some of the things I’ve been saying for 53 years.

Bonnie:  You know; I’m really looking forward to my dad’s next book.  It’s called The Living Book That Changes Lives and it’s coming out in just a few weeks.  I’m excited about it because I know what a great storyteller my dad is and true stories of the impact of God’s Word are so powerful!

Don:  That sounds really interesting.  When will that be available?

Harold:  OMF Lit in the Philippines will be releasing the book in September 2016.  And we will also make it available on guidelines.org here in the United States.

Don:  Bonnie, what about you?  What has leading the ministry this year been like for you?

Bonnie:  It’s been fantastic!  I’m so grateful for this opportunity and for my team.  I love telling the story of how God has used and is using Guidelines to change lives and build His Kingdom.  You know, we’re forging partnerships with believers all over the world and are using both very high and very low-tech methods to reach people. And I have to say, it’s very satisfying to be building on my parents’ life work.  We’re determined that the focus of Guidelines ministry, what I like to call our “ministry DNA,” and our methods will remain unchanged from what they’ve been in the last 53 years.

Don:  Bonnies, what do you mean by “ministry DNA”?

Bonnie:  Guidelines was founded as a faith ministry, meaning that we present each of our proposed projects to the Lord and wait on His provision.  That means that we don’t solicit funds on air and we don’t begin projects until we have the funding.  We try to keep our focus on our mission.  At the heart, Guidelines is a mission-minded organization.  And, Don, that’s why we recently realized you were a good match for our board!

Don:  I am passionate about missions!  It’s been a great joy to lead mission trips and to work alongside my wife, Karolyn, with rural churches in West Pokot, Kenya.

Harold:  Guidelines has been active in what we call “touching” ministries in Kenya and a number of other countries for decades.  But I’m encouraged to see our broadcast ministry, what we call “reaching,” is growing internationally, especially in areas of the world where there’s no Christian broadcasting.

Bonnie:  Yes, God seems to be opening door after door for our programming.  The Commentaries that are your life’s work, Dad, they’re being used in places where the Gospel has not penetrated.  Our broadcast partners in places like Indonesia, Cambodia or Turkey just don’t have access to the amount of Christian resources that we have and they’re asking to translate, produce and air our Guidelines’ programming.

Harold:  God’s Word and the truth of His Word apply across time, place and culture.  That’s what I’ve tried to convey through the microphone to each one of you listening.  If God chooses to use our commentaries around the world and into the future, I’m all for it!  Let’s go for it!

Don:  Well, I’m happy to be on the board for the journey!  It will be exciting to see how God provides for these new opportunities to reach the unreached through radio in places like Turkey, Indonesia and Cambodia!

Harold:  Hudson Taylor once said, “God’s work done God’s way will never lack God’s supply.”  Visit our Guidelines website at guidelines.org to see more about what we’re doing.

Resource Reading:  Romans 10:14-15