There have been those who have asked if they could help with this ministry. This section was added to address the subject.

PRAYER IS NUMBER ONE

The greatest thing anyone could do is to pray for me, this ministry, those who help, and those who come in contact with us. Besides this web site ministry, we also have our online support group, Christian-Koinonia, which is co-moderated by other individuals and myself: Anne, Susan, Denise and Jenni. Since the start of the support group in May of 2000, it has taken precedence over this web site as it involves direct and continual interaction with people.

In your prayers, I would appreciate your praying for the following:

• Pray for wisdom, direction and knowledge for myself and that God would lead whoever would benefit from the site or support group to us.

• Pray for my co-moderators and those who share their writings directly on this site.

• Pray for all that have been hurt or damaged in an unhealthy church environment.

• Pray that those who are hurting will be comforted and find healing in God.

• Pray that those who are struggling with teachings would receive clarity and allow God to speak to them through His Word; that confusion would leave and they would be able to read and study the Bible without preconceived ideas.

• Pray that those who now question if the Bible is God's Word will once again see that they can place their trust in it.

• Pray for those who have a distorted view of God due to their unhealthy church environment that they will be able to discern between what they were taught with what is true concerning Him.

• Pray for those who have left Christianity, or are questioning if they should remain a Christian, that they will be able to discern any error they were taught and see that it is not supported by the Bible and therefore is not representative of biblical Christianity.

• Pray that those who are battling anger, bitterness or an unforgiving heart will find complete healing and deliverance.

• Pray that people are delivered from following religion and that they would instead develop their relationship with Christ.

HELPING BY SENDING OLDER UPC/APOSTOLIC PUBLICATIONS

I would especially be interested in receiving any year version of the UPC's Ministerial Manual (I have copies from 1952, 1989, 1991, & 2003 through 2007). Any older UPC church directories would also be appreciated. (I already have ones from 1952, 1987, 1988, 1990-1992 as well as from 1999 to the present.)

Older copies of the Pentecostal Herald or the Forward magazines or similar publications may prove helpful.

Any of these may be mailed to the P.O. Box given near the end of this page.

HELPING BY SHARING YOUR EXPERIENCE

One may also help by sharing their experience in an unhealthy church setting. I would like to include more experiences dealing with how people have recovered after leaving their former group and how they have gone on in their walk with God. I prefer experiences that focus on spiritual abuse, erroneous teachings, and the effect of these as opposed to those that may appear to be just lashing out at people.

HELPING BY WRITING AN ARTICLE

We are always looking for articles to post directly to the web site. If you feel you are able to address any of the issues involved (those concerning spiritual abuse as well as those specific to UPC teachings), please feel free to submit such for consideration. You may remain anonymous or use your name or only your first name. Unlike other sites, we will also consider the writings of current UPC/Apostolic church members.

HELPING BY SPREADING THE WORD

You may help by telling others about the web site and support group. If you operate your own web site, a link from your site to this one is appreciated. We have business cards available that can be used to give to people you know who may benefit from this ministry.

HELPING WITH LINKS

Links continually change, so you can help by informing us if you find a link that is no longer valid. We are always looking for new articles and sites to link to which may prove helpful to our visitors.

HELPING WITH EXPENSES

You may wish to contribute to the financial expenses of this ministry. Since our inception in 1997, I have been very reluctant to respond to this subject as all too often we have seen ministries that continually beg for money as well as ones that have misused contributions or promised all sorts of "blessings" should you contribute.

For years I paid for the expenses of this ministry from my personal income totally by myself. Regardless of whether anyone financially contributes to this ministry, we will continue as long as the Lord wills. The site was never set up to be a "for profit" one. Even with donations, expenses usually exceed our income.

In 2000, we obtained our own domain name and had the site hosted by a Christian ISP. There are times when information or books have been mailed to people at no charge. In 2007, we gave away numerous books and Bibles in an effort to help members of the online support group and continue to do so in 2008. There is the cost of Internet access, a link checking service, long distance phone calls, post office box fees and office supplies. There are also costs involved with software and hardware.

Though I work, it is my desire to eventually be able to devote full time to this ministry. There are ways this ministry could expand, such as having an in-person support group as well as periodic conferences. Even if it never expands further, much more could be done with this web site and online support group if more time could be devoted to it.

There are a few ways one may help financially. The first is by placing orders through the links provided on our main page and book pages. We became an affiliate with Christian Book Distributors (CBD) in 2002 and with Amazon.com in 2003 and they each pay us a small percentage on any orders placed through the site as long as we reach a certain amount. CBD pays 10%, while Amazon pays much less. It's important to use the links on the pages in order for us to receive the proper credit for your order. You incur no additional charge for your purchases and would receive the reading material you desire and help this ministry at the same time. As of February 26, 2007, we’ve earned a total of $201.71 through Amazon.com and $189.58 through CBD sales through the first quarter of 2007. Our affiliation with CBD ended in January 2008 since we didn't earn the minimum amount required to maintain it. Please see the book page for links to place orders.

The second way you can help is by sending a direct financial donation. We are signed up with PayPal where people may have funds directly withdrawn from their checking account or charge card. PayPal deducts a small percentage (under 3%) of any contribution as well as a separate small transaction fee. If you wish to make a donation through them, a link is provided below.

You may also send any contributions to Lois Gibson, P.O. Box 1181, Ball, LA 71405-1181. Please note that credit card donations can only be made through PayPal.

We are very appreciative of the faithful monthly support which was provided to us during 2002 and 2003 and 2007-2008 by Christian Challenge.

Donations are not tax deductible.

You may also write me at the email address displayed in the image. No correspondence that seeks to debate will be answered as I have no desire to debate. Understand that due to the volume of mail, not every email may be acknowledged. If you are in need of support or a place to safely discuss various issues, please consider joining our private online support group.