Difficult times uncover true needs and the real answers.

I am writing this message during the first week of October, sitting in a beautiful rental home on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Hurricane Ian passed here with little damage, yet devastated parts of Florida and South Carolina.

Our prayers are with the families who have lost loved ones and with many who have lost their homes or suffered severe damage. It will be years before some can recover.

The United States and most of the world have pretty much weathered the perils of Covid. Many lost loved ones. Many more suffered the vicissitudes of shutdowns, lockouts and other intrusions on daily life thrust upon us during the last 30 months.

Tough times uncover true needs
These unusual times have brought out some interesting aspects of behavior by some individuals and some institutions. The true character and inclinations of many have been exposed.

Some in authority have manifested a thirst to control beyond reason. Many individuals have sought answers to life-changing and spiritual questions. All of this has brought about an increased seeking of answers of eternal consequence.

This has brought about a substantial increase in visitors to CFO booths. It has also increased those praying with us to begin a new life following the Lord Jesus Christ.

Many are looking for answers to life questions. We are blessed to have that answer – following Jesus Christ. With all the turmoil in our present international and national political and social areas, I thought Billy Graham’s sermon from 1956 was appropriate to include, beginning on Page 4.

Ministry’s outreach growing
This past year has brought increased participation in venues such as agricultural shows plus state and county fairs – all to present the Gospel message. With this fall’s first booth at the Virginia State Fair, CFO now has an annual presence at 17 Mid-Atlantic venues.

During 2022, we helped launch a CFO group in North Carolina pursuing the vision we believe the Lord has given us. That group is now launching booths in even more venues. See Page 6.

CFO also has a regular weekly presence at three farmers markets in southeast Pennsylvania. Learn about these unique ministries on Page 17.

All the above was made possible by the faithful support of so many of you who donate money and time to this ministry. With the thousands of people reached with a personal presentation of the Gospel, you can be certain each dollar donated has eternal rewards.

Requests from around the world for CFO materials by our partners (churches, missionaries, other groups and individual believers) are returning to pre-Covid levels. See map on Page 12.

We would really like to have more volunteers for our efforts in Mid-Atlantic and to continue to pursue the vision to establish CFO units in more states. Inflation and supply chain issues have caused a 50% to 100% cost increase for all supplies we use.
With the interruption of activity in the two previous years, we built up a reserve supply. But we are now back to our normal flow of materials for our use and distribution. It is our practice to get the best use of every dollar donated. Thank you for the privilege of being a part of this year’s ministry.