January 2025 MAP Update

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I will start by saying we were overwhelmed by the Christmas cards, encouragement, and gifts that came to our mailbox during December and into January. Thank you from the depths of our hearts! YOU are the best!

Seldom, in our twenty-five years of ministry, have we had to ask for money. We have always believed it is our responsibility to do the ministry, and it is God’s responsibility to pay for His ministry. If we spend His money wisely, He will provide. And He has, again and again.

This year, we celebrate twenty-five years of full-time ministry. It is hard to hold back the tears of pure joy as I look back to that unforgettable December day in 1999 when it all began. The memory of three of us (John Bouquet—our pastor, my friend Butch, and I) were sitting together at Perkins restaurant in Ashland, OH, discussing and trying to imagine a ministry to our people. At the time, it seemed so huge and so impossible. On the other hand, it felt like I had been living with the weight of a mountain on my chest. The burden I felt for the Amish was beyond anything I could put into words. Someone had to go and preach the gospel.

It is fair to say that since that day in 1999, we have shared the gospel atleast three million times and received close to 6,000 salvation testimonies.

For the last four to five months, Esther and I have visited and participated in about five garage and shop-like churches in Ohio. These little churches are often mixed with Amish, former Amish, and non-Amish. Many have been cut off from their Amish church and families. Most are struggling and yet full of joy.

We believe that God has called us to come alongside and love these people, weep with them, share in their trials, and encourage what the Spirit of God is already doing in their midst.

Everywhere we go (I’ll call them garage churches), people feel and hear the rumblings of revival among the Amish communities in America. Hundreds are getting saved every year. Bible studies are popping up everywhere. New gospel-teaching publications are being written and mailed out. God is moving and shaking crusty, old, hard-hearted men and women where it once seemed impossible.

In November of 2024, we held our 100^th board meeting. We celebrated with food, thanksgiving, praises, and prayer. We are beyond excited to enter what feels like a new season of ministry.

It's not a huge deal, but then again, it is: We came up with a brand new logo. I hope you like it! The logo is based on the large wooden horse and buggy that sits outside Beyond Measure Market.

We are also feeling the need to buy fifteen to twenty acres of land and relocate the ministry office. At our location, we have outgrown the property that is available to us. You will hear more about the need to relocate, buy land, and build as we go further into 2025. Please join us as we sincerely seek God’s heart for the future of Mission to Amish People and His leading.

I would—love, love, love—to put on a celebration event this year for all the people that MAP has helped over the last twenty-five years and invite all our donors and volunteers to come and hear.

Who wants to make this happen?

Step Out of the Boat Conference

We are gearing up for our 5^th Step Out of the Boat Conference on March 12^th-15^th. Twenty-five people, including people from Ireland and Germany, are scheduled and excited to share their story. If you need your faith increased, don’t hesitate another minute.

Register before February 1^st to take advantage of the early-bird price!

The conference is designed for the whole family. Bring your children and your church friends. The meals are home-cooked, and the fellowship is amazing. This year, the Bontrager family from Iowa is leading worship and providing a Friday night concert.

If you are on Facebook or YouTube, look for the twenty-five-plus videos that are being pushed out twice a week. These video intros are from the speakers who will be sharing their testimonies and preaching at the conference.

- Joe Keim

In 2024, the SonLight Club mailed 85,333 lessons to Amish students. We are pleased that 324 children professed belief in Jesus Christ for their salvation, the most we have recorded since 2018.

This year, the SonLight Club has impacted me as the director. God uses the staff and volunteers to teach our students, but He also uses the students to teach the teachers. It is mind-boggling that He can use the ministry both ways! Have you ever had this kind of a moment when you realized God’s lessons were extending in both directions?

As we disciple the students through the SonLight Club, we write notes or letters. This year, two students stood out to me as we wrote back and forth to each other.

Rachel is enrolled in one of our teen Bible courses and has been writing to me about some difficulties at home. I can relate to some of the things she is going through. Writing to Rachel made me realize that even when we feel alone or that no one understands us, there is always someone. Not only is there another person who may have gone through something similar, there is God. He is always with us even when we are at our lowest or don’t feel like He is present. I sent Rachel my favorite poem, “Footprints in the Sand,” and told her that God is always with her, even during her troubled times.

The second student is Rosetta, who is very inquisitive. Offering an answer that is simple enough for a child to understand is sometimes tricky, as Rosetta likes to ask hard questions! Her most recent question was, “Do Christians get mad?” I was led to Ephesians 4:26-32 for the answer. Yes, it is human to feel emotions, and even though Christians do, at times, get mad, upset, and frustrated, it is not okay to act in anger and thereby sin. When you start to feel angry, learn to forgive just as Christ forgave you. It will not always be easy, but if Christ can forgive our sins, we can learn to forgive others, as well.

In 2024, the SonLight Club struggled to keep up with the rising cost of postage—so did our students. A few families have written saying they can no longer afford to mail their lessons back to us to be graded. Last year, MAP spent $61,198 in postage to mail 85,333 lessons, 2,098 New Testaments, and 10 KJV Study Bibles.

Even though we are struggling to keep up with increasing postage prices, we are committed to sending lessons and Bibles to our students, believing that God will provide. He always has! Thank you for supporting the SonLight Club!

- Holly Tolliver, SonLight Club Coordinator