When a private donor came to Max Torkelsen, North Pacific Union Conference (NPUC) president, with an idea about a new witnessing tool, Torkelsen was eager to listen.
The concept was simple: develop a booklet on healthy living that could be customized and “bookended” with graphics and content pertaining to the unique audiences of varying trade shows. Every year, Adventist groups host booths at fairs and trade shows as a way to reach target audiences. They depend on inexpensive ministry resources such as books and videos, which they can hand out for free.
This summer, the first book in the series, Live to 101, was produced as a joint venture between the NPUC and Pacific Press Publishing Association. Mark Finley, evangelist, and Peter Landless, General Conference health ministries director, served as editors. This initial version is targeted toward motorcycle enthusiasts.
This emphasis made it an ideal resource for regional motorcycle ministries here in the Northwest such as Adventist Motorcycle Ministries and Sabbath Keepers Motorcycle Ministries. Led by Richard Olsen and Paul Lattig, these outreach groups debuted the new sharing book at the annual motorcycle rally in Sturgis, S.D., during the first week in August. Several thousand copies of Live to 101 added to many other resources available for distribution there.
Lattig says while some who pass by their booths are skeptical, waiting for the “hook,” once they are convinced the literature is truly free without conditions, they gladly take it. “Hope must be given to the masses that there is purpose to life, the return of Jesus is near and that a choice for eternity is upon us,” he says. “These books may not cause an immediate conversion, but they do point the way to our God, who is mercy, justice and judgment combined and who knows each heart as He has created them, wonderfully made.”
At this summer’s Clark County Fair, the Adventist booth gave away more than 15,000 books and materials to fairgoers.
This new sharing book resource is designed to be easily and economically customized for additional trade show topics as well. Additional versions are already being considered on a number of other subjects. Adventist members who have a passion for trade show or fair book outreach should contact Jon Corder in the NPUC planned giving department with suggestions of other target audiences that could benefit from this gospel tool.
