Mission Update Spring 2023
We begin a new year wondering what the future will bring. We have just come through an unusual three years of a world pandemic that has changed many people’s view of the world. During this time, all ministries have been tested in a variety of ways. Our ministry has seen a number of restrictions placed upon us during this time. This includes no fundraising events, shutting down the warehouse to receive or send materials, problems finding containers to ship, shipping by train disrupted by a computer virus attack on their system, a dock strike in Montreal that held up shipments, and problems with customs and clearance of shipments at point of destination.
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” Jer 29:11
Electronic documents and information have increased the pace of communication. At CSM we have set up a link whereby you can donate to the ministry online, our newsletter is accessible through the internet and/or can be sent to you by email. Requests from ministries overseas are arriving with documentation provided by electronic documents and requests directed to their email addresses. Books and reference materials are now being downloaded off the internet, instead of purchasing books at your local book store. During this period, there has been a rapid change in business practices that have seen many positions in all organizations opting for work from home as an option. We are definitely entering an era that is ushering in a “new norm”.
I am sure you are wondering about how CSM is going to be impacted by this changing norm in the world. The answer is we are going to stay the course we have chosen in our mission and vision statements, to bring Bibles and evangelical literature to people in need throughout the world. The key to the ministry is people. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11). God uses each one of us to carry out his plans.
Electronic material may become common place in society today, but there is an entire generation that was brought up on print material, and they are eager to share their love of the Lord with others. So as ministers and pastors retire they are passing on their libraries to missions overseas, as well as many other individuals that have books to share as well. CSM is well served with a volunteer force that collects, sorts, and ships material to those searching for Jesus. The ministries around the world continue to request material and state that there is an overwhelming need for as much material as possible to be sent. CSM has sent nearly six (6) million pounds of material to ministries over the years, and the demand for material continues.
CSM Canada continues to act as the conduit for people to share the Gospel with those who have not heard of Jesus through ministries around the globe. We thank everyone for your prayers and support in doing God’s will.
Blessings,
Dennis Cheredar, CSM Board Chairman
What's New at CSM
Hands-down our most requested book is the Bible. Study Bibles are especially sought after, but any and all Bibles are the top ask. In fact, I have no doubt some of our recipients would be pleased as punch to receive an entire container of them!
We never know exactly what we will receive as donations from day-to-day, but have been incredibly blessed to receive a large number of Bibles recently! Of course we love and appreciate every book that is joyfully donated for us to send; we know you’ll agree that Bibles are the most valuable of all books to be had.
As we head into this new year we hope to be able to ramp back up to full capacity. That means we need more help in our Hamilton warehouse to sort and pack books. We have more than enough books to be able to give a container of books a month, but we need help in getting them ready for shipping! If you would like to come give a try helping out, please contact the office so we can set up a date and time. It helps if you can lift heavy boxes, but we have several volunteers who can’t and they are also amazingly helpful! – Valerie in the office
Recent Shipments
We’ve been busy since our last update!
October – MALAWI – we provided 2,151 lbs. of books for a smaller ministry located in rural Malawi. You can find out more about the Good Hope Ministries at their website https://goodhopeministry.com/
October – CAMEROON – this container was a very long time in the making! Initially planned for 2018, the internal strife in Cameroon made sending the materials impossible. We were so very happy to finally send 29,010 lbs of books! The cost for this shipment was $7,780.
November – ZIMBABWE – we were blessed to provide another smaller amount of books, 1,560, for a church outreach.
December – GHANA – our last container of the year headed out with 28,070 lbs of books for a ministry in Ghana. The cost for this container was $7,310.
Retirements & New Helpers
After 15 fruitful years of collecting book donations in the Owen Sound, ON area, Albert and Eleanor Reed are retiring. Coming on in their place are Bill and Wilma Frost.
John and Lois Mose, who have cared for collecting books in the Lakefield, ON area (also for 15 years!) have also recently retired.
Our prayers are with the family of long-time supporter Darlene Dunbar, who passed away in late 2022.
We also would like to express our loving prayers for our founder, Lauren Redinger, and his family as they mourn the passing of their beloved daughter Lois Marie Redinger (James).
Thank you to our faithful volunteers, new and retired!
Testimonials
“I am very happy to write to you this letter. I hope you are doing well. I am writing you this letter to thank your outfit for the wonderful work you are doing. I was able to receive 6 boxes containing Children’s Bible Story Books, Our Daily Bread booklets, a full Bible commentary set, and some Bibles. I want to thank you for the resources you supplied to support our ministry, especially the children’s service. May God richly bless … Christian Salvage Mission for these wonderful resources.
YOURS, Evg.VICTOR, Ghana, Africa”
“It’s great joy here to see many people trooping in for Christian books and Bibles to either support their ministry, convert in prisons, or for their families who needed it. Our ministry receives several requests from different institutions across the country all of them looking for different types of books and Bibles to support their organization and we’re proud to be in the position to support them in their times of need. We’re grateful to God and to you CSM for shipments of Christian Books and Bibles you to our ministry which is impacting generations across the nation. We thank you for your continuous support and may God richly bless you and you great and stronger.”
– Pastor Daniel, Ghana, Africa
2022 Wrap-Up
CSM shipped SEVEN 20′ sea containers this year, in addition to two smaller shipments (around 2,000 lbs. of books each) that were added into larger humanitarian shipments.
Our shipments reached ministries in FIVE countries for the year, including CAMEROON(1), GHANA(4), LIBERIA(1), MALAWI(1), THE PHILIPPINES(1), and ZIMBABWE(1). Additionally, there were two smaller shipments that were provided to other ministry’s containers: one to Malawi and one to Zambia.
Volunteers packed up 4,410 boxes of Bibles and assorted evangelical literature.
All told, CSM sent 210,503 lbs. of books. This is an increase of 31,923 lbs. from 2021, however around 100,000 lbs. short of our pre-pandemic reach.
Looking Ahead in 2023
We know we aren’t alone in still experiencing residual hardship from the pandemic. All ministries have been effected to some extent; many have been hit financially, but our hardship has been feet-on-the-ground support. Without a large base of people to come sort and pack books, we are left short of our capacity to ship a container per month.
We are hopeful to be able to meet our pre-2020 level of yearly shipments again. We started off the year with a bang and shipped our first container filled with 29,589 lbs in late January. It has been increasingly difficult (not to mention much more costly) to schedule containers, so please keep this in prayer with us.
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