Project to Help U.S. Troops Spiritually Faces Financial Shortfall
by Randall Murphree
April 11, 2006
(AgapePress) - - Late last year, New Life Ministries initiated Every Soldier's Battle (ESB), a project to help U.S. military personnel maintain sexual purity and integrity. Dr. Stephen Arterburn is founder and chairman of New Life. New Life developed ESB kits in response to a chaplain in Iraq for materials for a Bible study among the troops there. As the critical need in this area became more evident, New Life began trying to provide the ESB kits to other chaplains as well. By the end of March, the California-based ministry had shipped 20,000 ESB kits, and received requests for 10,000 more.
It has created a fiscal crunch in the ministry because only 8,000 kits have been funded by contributions. Consequently, New Life has depleted the ministry's operating and critical ministry budgets to cover this new project.
New Life COO Larry Sonnenburg told AFA Journal, "It's a need based on the response we've been getting and the requests that keep coming in."
Each man's kit costs about $50 and contains the Every Man's Battle book and workbook, Every Man's Bible, a daily devotional book and one other book. A kit for women has comparable resources.
"We still need your help to continue this campaign," said Sonnenburg. "The demand for kits has far outpaced the support." New Life has been inundated with letters of gratitude from both soldiers and chaplains.
Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association, says "I can think of no better way to help our troops spiritually than this great project."
Randall Murphree, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is editor of AFA Journal, a monthly publication of the American Family Association. Learn more about or contribute to this campaign at EverySoldiersBattle.com (Toll free 800-NEW-LIFE; Mail: NLM, P. O. Box 1018, Laguna Beach, CA 92652).
