Behind the Scenes

Paraclete associates are a busy bunch of folks. Keeping track of what everyone is doing on any given day poses daunting challenges. Summarizing into one report what they’ve done in an entire year raises apparently insurmountable obstacles. Fortunately, the operative word is ‘apparently.’

Our Communications Team, or ComTeam for short, spent weeks compiling all of our associates’ annual ministry reports. And, yes, those reports contain a lot of data. The first task was to determine the main theme of, in this case, 2023. This was not something a committee planned ahead of time. Rather, it was discerning how the Lord had used us collectively. What was the big picture of the Holy Spirit’s work through us?

After we digested many stories and testimonies, we could see that the Lord had used us to come alongside hurting people, the lost and desperate people Jesus cares for so deeply. Sometimes, we could meet the need easily—a bed, food, medicine, a warm coat, a new skill. But other times, we couldn’t heal the heartbreak or restore the broken relationship. Our skills and provision contained no concrete solutions for specific problems. In those cases, our job was simply to walk the hard path of grief, betrayal, or poverty alongside them while the leven of Christ’s love worked its way through them, spirit, soul, and body.

Next came the pictures—piles of pictures. Which ones conveyed God’s work clearly? Which ones were technically suitable for printing? Which ones didn’t invite persecution? We sorted, selected, discussed, and then selected again. The final choice wasn’t easy, but hopefully, they give the best feel of the most important points.

We dealt with the question of how to present the numbers. Our ministry is all about proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ in ways that transform lives. An early church father reportedly admonished believers to “Preach the Gospel always. If necessary, use words.” But summarizing how, exactly, the Lord used Paraclete to do that last year required counting and categorizing. Posting a list of numerals and data points would likely cause many eyes to glaze over. The information might be there, but if readers couldn’t receive it, it did them no good.

So, we distilled the stories, pictures, and data down to their essentials. Then, we asked a gifted artist to create a presentation that quickly and accurately communicated what we’ve been up to all year. We like her result and think you will, too.

All done, right? Not quite. Moving from the artist’s concept to producing enough reports for everyone to read presented unique tests. How do you create identical, high-quality copies that accurately duplicate the colors, pictures, and text we worked so hard to develop? Enter the master printer. Skillfully employing a high-tech press, he produced 5,000 beautiful copies. You’ll be able to see it soon.

Now, our behind-the-scenes hours of labor, spread over weeks, will enable us to share the good work Jesus does through those who choose to follow him.