Couriers for Christ

Working with fundamental Baptists

*Ministry Head*	Rev. Donald Stertz
*Mailing Address*	Couriers for Christ 3030 Witzel Ave Oshkosh, WI 54904-9371
*Office Phone*	(920)235-5400
*Home Phone*	(920)685-6285
*Fax*	(920)231-3348
	Ministry Overview
	Latest Newsletter
	Informational Brochure
	Shipping Policy
	Financial Information
	Special Events and Features
	Statement of Faith

Ministry Overview

Getting the Gospel to Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union

The following is a brief history as to why and how Couriers for Christ ministry came into existence, as well as some of the ministry's accomplishments and goals.

by Don Stertz

In the early 1970's, our church's founding pastor, Dr. Howard Nelson, had a burden to reach Communist Russia and Eastern Europe with the Gospel. At that time most mission boards called that part of the world closed, but the Bible said "Go ye into all the world..." and Dr. Nelson believed that if God gave the command, He would provide a way to accomplish the task.

In October of 1974, our church had a mission conference. Among the missionaries present was a man from an Iron Curtain ministry who presented Russia as a mission field. During that conference God called my wife and I to take up the burden of getting the Gospel into Communist Russia. In January of 1975 we became representatives of that particular Iron Curtain ministry and worked with them for four years.

In 1978 I had the opportunity to make my first mission trip to Communist Eastern Europe. On that trip, while I was in a church service in Cluj, Romania, God touched my heart and I promised Him that I would do all that I could to get the Pure Word of God to that part of the world.

In 1979, after much prayer and counsel, we decided to start a local church ministry out of our home church, Wyldewood Baptist Church, and Couriers For Christ was born.

Two key things separated us from other Iron Curtain missions that had sprung up: First, we believed that the King James Bible was and is, in fact, the Pure Word of God without error. Secondly, that the local church is the sending and governing agent for a missionary and the mission board.

Our purpose was to locate the Pure Word of God in whatever language the various country used; such as, Russian, Hungarian, etc. Then publish that Scripture and by using secret methods deliver this precious cargo to local Baptist churches in Eastern Europe and Russia.

When the wall came down in 1990, it opened the door for our ministry to work on a personal basis with the national Baptist pastors and their churches. We saw immediately a need for doctrinal literature and started getting such literature translated and printed.

In 1992, the first American missionaries started arriving in Eastern Europe and Russia. As they did so, they saw the great hunger the national people had for Spiritual things. But unfortunately, missionaries could not meet that need because of the breech of language.

So, until they could effectively learn the language, they could not communicate and thus needed the "silent witness" - the printed page. Many missionaries began to contact us and request tracts, John & Romans, New Testaments, Bibles and doctrinal literature. We found fundamental Baptist missionaries want to distribute like-minded literature so they entreat us for such material. Church planting and literature go hand in hand.

Just how far has the "silent witness" of literature gone? Right after the wall came down, on one of our literature shipments to Russia, we included about 75,000 John & Romans with our return address in it. These went into the Ukraine. We started getting letters from the Ukraine, then Moldavia, Georgia, Belorussia, Russia, Baltic States, Kazakstan, border of China, Siberia - all over the former Soviet Union. About 1 1/2 years after that shipment we received a few letters from the area of Russia near the coast of Japan - 9,000 miles from where we dropped them off! What was said in these letters? Things like this, "I want to know more about this Jesus. Please send me a Bible or New Testament. I've taken Jesus as my Savior. Please send me Bible helps," and so forth.

We are still getting letters years after that shipment went to Russia. How many were saved as a result? Only God knows.

What do the American missionaries say? Here are a few excerpts from letters:

David Mathew, Magadan, Russia

"Thank you so much. I can't say that enough! No sooner than we had ours (the Bibles and Gospel literature) arranged, my doorbell started ringing. We had a stream of followers. It brings tears to my eyes as I write this. They are so grateful. I wish I could put their words in this letter with their faces, too."

Jim Pranger, Palatka, Russia

"As the Lord leads, guides and provides, we need Bibles, New Testaments desperately, and John & Romans and discipleship materials." Three months later Jim writes, "I want to thank you for everything that was sent in the containers."

In my files I have many more requests and thank you's from missionaries and national pastors from all over Eastern Europe and Russia.

While many former Iron Curtain missions have decreased their outreach, and some even cease to exist, Couriers For Christ, by the grace of God, has continued to launch out into the deep and capitalize on this great opportunity. We've seen the Gospel of John & Romans translated into Croatian and Serbian and a host of tracts and doctrinal literature translated as well.

Since 1991, Couriers For Christ has been able to ship about 75 ton of Gospel literature each year to Eastern Europe and Russia.

As we see these open doors slowly closing to religious influence, we'll continue by the grace of God to get His Word to those people. And if the doors should shut, Lord willing, Couriers For Christ will continue, by other means, to get the Gospel to Eastern Europe and Russia.

Shipping Policy

Couriers For Christ has adopted the following shipping policy to assist Fundamental Baptist missionaries to get established in Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. We are not a business, but a nonprofit Baptist ministry supported by like-minded churches with the purpose of assisting in the establishing of Bible Believing Baptist churches in Eastern Europe and the CIS.

This policy must be strictly adhered to.

1. As God enables, we will ship Scripture, evangelistic literature, doctrinal and teaching material, and any other Gospel related materials free of charge to any missionary of like faith in Eastern Europe (E.E.) or The Commonwealth of Independent States (C.I.S.).

Please note: All Scripture must be from the Textus Receptus and doctrinal materials must be in agreement with our church's statement of faith.

2. As space is available, we will ship medical supplies and humanitarian aid for evangelistic purposes to missionaries in E.E. or the C.I.S. Shipping costs must be paid by the missionary / sending church / group or organization (Contact Brother Donald Stertz {donstertz@wyldewood.org} for the current shipping rates). All supplies must be appropriately boxed, taped and labeled (see boxing instructions). When supplies are brought to our warehouse in Oshkosh, WI a *check to cover the cost of shipping must accompany the contents.

3. As space is available, we will ship a missionary's personal articles at the current shipping rates. These items must be appropriately boxed, taped and labeled (see boxing instructions). A *check to cover shipping expenses must accompany the contents. Personal items include: study books, clothing and cooking utensils. NO FURNITURE!

Missionaries must make arrangements to pick up their personal items at the shipping destination or customs station. Usually - Riga, Latvia; Minsk, Belarus; Budapest, Hungary; Odessa, Ukraine. Closer destinations may be arranged, depending on space available (at added cost to the missionary for trucking or rail and customs fees).

Please note: Couriers For Christ reserves the right to make the final determination as to what will be shipped.

*All checks are to be made out to Baptist Couriers For Christ.

ARRANGEMENTS FOR SHIPPING

Any missionaries / groups / organizations wishing to ship through Couriers For Christ will be given a SHIPPING DATE and all items must be brought to our warehouse in Oshkosh, WI, sometime prior to that date. The missionary must contact Couriers For Christ and arrange a time when their items will be arriving so we can make preparations to receive the materials into our warehouse.

Please note: ALL ARRANGEMENTS FOR RECEIVING AND SHIPPING MUST BE BY LETTER OR FAX.

CUSTOMS FEES

Any customs fees incurred while bringing personal items into the missionary's respective country must be paid for by the missionary. Couriers For Christ cannot be held responsible for any damage incurred during shipping or for any lost or stolen items. THEFT IS EXTREMELY HIGH IN THE EAST BLOC COUNTRIES! We will do our best on this end, but there are some risks in all international shipping.

BOXING INSTRUCTIONS

1. Boxes must be double-walled for strength and durability, also a consistent size, such as banana or apple boxes (free for the hauling from grocery stores). When banana boxes are used, place a piece of sturdy cardboard over the large hole in top and bottom to secure the contents.

2. Slightly overpack the boxes or else they will collapse in the center and may damage the contents.

3. Secure all boxes with fiber tape, wrap at least 1 1/2 times around no less than 2 ends of each box .

4. Label top of each box clearly in large letters (1 inch high) with your last name and country of destination and a number, i.e. 1 of 10, 2 of 10, etc.

Please note: Literature boxes each need to be labeled with language and contents, i.e. Russian - John & Romans, Ukrainian - Creation Books, etc. (Do not abbreviate).

5. Shipping List. On a separate piece of paper please provide weight of each box and general contents. The shipping list can be hand delivered, faxed or mailed to Couriers For Christ.

Financial Information

Couriers for Christ is a ministry of Wyldewood Baptist Church. Fiscal policies are overseen by the pastor, deacons, trustees, and treasurer of the church. As the sponsoring church, we support the ministry financially, but the majority of the resources are given by other churches and individuals. Our representatives serve as home missionaries, and they each must raise their own personal support. All other money given to the ministry is utilized to further the work, and no money is ever used to benefit the general fund of the church. All designated funds are used for the purpose that they were allocated for. Any supporting church or individual can obtain a copy of this ministry's financial statement by requesting it in writing to the church. If you would like to view a page that clearly defines the relationship between this ministry and Wyldewood Baptist Church, click here.

Support checks can be made out to:	Couriers for Christ
They should be mailed to:	Couriers for Christ
	Wyldewood Baptist Church
	3030 Witzel Ave
	Oshkosh, WI 54904-9371

You should write on the check which representative you wish to support or which project you want to designate your gift to. Undesignated gifts to this ministry will be used to publish and distribute more Scriptures for the foreign field. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the church or the head of this ministry. Their phone numbers are listed at the top of this site.

Statement of Faith

To view a copy of Wyldewood Baptist Church's short statement of faith, click here.

To see a list of the missionaries supported by Wyldewood Baptist Church click here.

	Wyldewood Baptist Church
	Preaching the Word Reaching the World