Nonprofit Publisher Launches Help for Haiti Campaign

ST. LOUIS—Christian companies want to be involved with the ongoing response in Haiti. That value for care and contribution has led Christian publisher, Concordia Publishing House to announce a unique program to connect customers with new ways to help.

Partnering with The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod World Relief and Human Care, the nonprofit publisher announced the launch of its Help for Haiti campaign, which will be coordinated out of Concordia’s evangelism ministry, Concordia Gospel Outreach.

“With school suspended indefinitely in Haiti, we’ve heard reports [from those serving in congregations] of parents asking for printed materials for their children, in addition to continued needs for food, water and basic necessities,” says Gretchen M. Jameson, who directs corporate communications at Concordia Publishing House. “The CGO Help for Haiti plan is going to meet a real need, and that matters to us.”

Concordia Gospel Outreach provides Christ-centered materials to meet specific evangelism needs around the globe. Customers can donate to Help for Haiti now through Easter week (April 11, 2010). Every $10 donation received provides six copies of the children’s Arch Book Jesus Blesses the Children, translated into French, for distribution along with material aid. Out of every $10 donation, $4 will be given directly to help fund relief efforts. The company is producing the book with a heavy duty, coated paper that will be better suited to last through the rainy season. The goal is to send 20,000 books.

To donate, visit ConcordiaOutreach.org or call 800-325-3040. Contributions can also be mailed to Concordia Gospel Outreach/Help for Haiti at 3558 S. Jefferson Ave., Saint Louis, MO 63118.

With its emphasis on Christian books and products, Concordia Publishing House’s signature ministry within The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod is not immediately linked to disaster relief. “Our role is to provide a publishing ministry,” shares Dr. Bruce G. Kintz, the company’s president and chief executive officer. “But we also know that because of the nature of our business, we have daily connections with thousands of customers online and on the phone who are looking for ways to support disaster relief in Haiti, while also sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ. We want to connect these people with a way to help.” When the company learned from workers on the ground in Haiti that there was a need for books and printed materials, it decided the time had come to launch this program.

“We waited to announce our efforts so that our involvement would be of the utmost help and in no way a hindrance to the work happening on the ground in Haiti,” Jameson explains. “Physical needs had to be met immediately. Working with our partners, we know it is now a more useful time to start distributing these resources along with the extremely important material aid being provided.” The company sent 200 copies of the English-language version of the book along with The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod President Gerald B. Kieschnick on an early March visit to Haiti. According to reports received by Kintz, Kieschnick was “mobbed” by eager parents and children who viewed the book as a “priceless possession.”

The children’s book, from the best-selling Arch Books line, will be given to local youngsters and families and is to be distributed through congregations connected with The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Haiti, a sister synod of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Jameson adds, “We want to help with body care and soul care, and this is what we know how to do best.”

Concordia Publishing House is a not-for-profit publishing company and the publisher of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. The company offers more than 8,000 products for use in Christian congregations, schools, and homes. Visit CPH.org.