Calendar Outreach

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Please Support this vital Ministry

It was in 2002 that Emmaus Correspondence School, Queensland first began to provide the Emmaus Bible Gems Calendar as an instrument through which churches could promote themselves and reach out to their local communities.

The Emmaus Bible Gems Calendar is a quality glossy calendar provided at a highly subsidised and affordable price to churches and businesses for use as an outreach tool into their local community. Across Australia, through kind donations, over 45,000 copies of the calendars are distributed to prison inmates at no cost to the prisons or the inmates. An additional 20,000 plus calendars are purchased by churches and businesses.

In 2004 the Director-General of the Qld Department of Corrective Services approved the calendar for distribution into Qld Correctional Centres. Each year this is undertaken with the assistance of the prison chaplains and in conjunction with the Salvation Army’s annual care package provided to prison inmates.

These calendars are provided free of charge to inmates and we trust the Lord each year to see the needs of this outreach ministry met through the financial gifts of His people.

A prison chaplain said – “Thought you’d like to know that the Emmaus calendars have been very well received at (name of prison), and I hear the reaction is similar elsewhere. I tried to get around all units with the calendars, and was swamped wherever I went, even by guys who would not normally have anything to do with a chaplain. I’ve been thanked and wished a merry Christmas by so many guys. I felt I had to pass their thanks on to you…..”

Another chaplain had this to say – “Truly we thank you for the parcel of calendars just received for us to use in our …Prison Ministry. May God Bless you for this provision. We share with many in the prison and families associated…..”

A prisoner said – “Thank you for the fantastic Emmaus calendar with daily Scripture on it – what an excellent idea….”

Each calendar contains an offer of a free Emmaus Correspondence Course which people have the opportunity to write in for. The month-to-an-opening calendar is a 28 page A4 size high quality glossy production. When opened and hung the calendar is A3 in size. The A4 size top half contains an Australian scene with the A4 size bottom half containing that months dates and a Scripture verse for each day.

Over the years a variety of methods have been used by churches to distribute the calendars into their communities. In a small country town, the local ministers fraternal obtained enough calendars to hand out to people who attended their combined Christmas Carols function in the local park. Another church used them as a welcome back New Year gift. Along with the calendar, another group of churches added a Challenge newspaper and a packet of cookies, and issued a personal invitation to attend their Christmas function. One church leader had this to say – “It is a rare thing indeed to have the offer of such a calendar knocked back and in fact we often find that those we know would have little interest in God, accept a calendar with genuine appreciation and graciousness.”