(By Helen Knox)
Three women are sitting in a basement laughing and chatting together. This is no casual get-together though; they are there to work. One is sticking name labels on papers, the other two are filling envelopes.
A few days earlier, a couple sat and stamped envelopes for this day. Another alphabetized two thousand papers by name to make this day easier. Soon another sister will come to help seal the envelopes and put stamps on. Not very glamorous jobs by any means. Actually rather monotonous, but necessary.
You see, it is the beginning of the month. It is a time to bless others. A time when two thousand adults and children across North America will have Bible lessons mailed to them from this basement.
The children will pick up their mail at the post office, tear it open, and pull out a lesson with questions that they will have to search God’s Word to find the answers. They will read about who God is, what He has done, and what they must do. The seed will be sown in homes and hearts.
The envelopes also include the students’ corrected lessons from two months earlier. Over two hundred Christians have diligently corrected these from their own homes, encouraging the students in their work and most importantly, encouraging them to follow Christ.
And some will. Many have. Some in cities, others in rural areas. Some from religious groups, others in prison.
But the majority of the daily work of opening hundreds of envelopes each month, entering data from thousands of lessons into the computer, liaising with the teachers and students, and keeping it all running well is done willingly and diligently by one person: Elaine Smith.
And this isn’t some short-term work. She and her husband have been doing this faithfully for almost forty years. The first twenty years in England, the latter in Canada.
This is PBS—Postal Bible Studies—offering free Bible lessons to children and adults by mail, as well as online lessons for Sunday School teachers, ESL workers, and others to print as needed. It is fueled by the passion of sharing God’s Word with today’s world.
This PBS center is just one of many centers across the globe. PBS lessons are in over sixty-five countries, in thirty-five languages, and are reaching millions of people each year with the gospel. Each center consists of committed Christians, just being faithful in the little things…being faithful in their God-given responsibilities.
So while the three women sit and work on their small repetitive tasks, they know that whatever they do, they are part of a much larger team—administrators, lesson markers, and many covering the work in prayer. Ultimately they are part of fulfilling the Great Commission by being involved in the spread of the gospel and blessing others with the message of God’s great salvation.
Do you have children or grandchildren who would enjoy receiving free Bible lessons through the mail each month? Would you like to deepen your own knowledge of God? Visit bible-n-more.com to learn more about PBS and to sign up today!
“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ” (Colossians 3:23-24).