Marathon Ministry News for September 2006 (archived)

September 25

- MEMORIAL GIFT – In Memory of Dr. Lewis Chisholm. Gift made by Audrey Chisholm.

September 21

- LADY SAVED THROUGH PRAYER OUTREACH – On September 19, Spencer Foster, a true prayer warrior, called up a young lady named Misty (age 21) as part of our Prayer Outreach Ministry. He called her up to tell her we love her and God loves her and to pray with her. When Spencer asked her what she would like to pray about, she said she wanted to pray about being saved. Chase and Rev. Cooper joined Spencer on the phone and Misty accepted Christ during that call. If you would like to pray with Spencer or have him pray for you, call the office, 276.762.2378, on Tuesday morning between 9:30 and 11:30 am.

- 3 SAVED AT SATURDAY DISTRIBUTION – On September 16, three people accepted Christ as savior at our 3rd Saturday monthly food distribution. At the 10:30 am distribution, a lady named Melissa (age 36) accepted Christ. At the 1:30 pm distribution, two young men got saved – Jonathan (21) and John (10). Praise God for these new brothers and sister.

- NOW ACCEPTING CREDIT CARDS – Marathon Ministry now has the ability to accept all major credit cards (Visa, Discover, Mastercard, American Express) either on our website, by phone or mail, and at the office or any other location. We can accept credit cards for your donations or as payment for one of our fundraising gifts available for your donation, made possible through PayPal. We can also set up a monthly recurring payment if you would like to contribute an automatic monthly donation to Marathon Ministry. Please CONTACT US to find out more.

- SHOP OUR GIFT STORE – Recently, Marathon has acquired many new items available for your donation. We have three different types of hand-carved olive wood nativity sets from Bethlehem, different sizes and styles. We have hand-carved olive wood Christmas ornaments from Bethlehem, packages of 10 ornaments each. We have 3-vial sets from Israel, which includes anointing oil, holy soil, and holy water – all from Israel. We also have the brand new “Scripture Mug” which features the Marathon logo on the back and our theme verse (Hebrews 12:1) on the front – “Let us run with patience the race that is set before us.” Please come by our office in Castlewood to check out these new items, and keep us in mind for birthdays and Christmas so that you can help the needy as you shop for friends and family.

- NEW CHURCH PARTNER FOR POOR – Sulphur Springs United Methodist Church in Dickensonville, VA has joined Marathon Ministry as a “Church Partner for the Poor.” Sulphur Springs has decided to take up a special offering during Sunday evening service to assist Marathon in providing food and witnessing Jesus Christ to those in need. Sulphur Springs is pastored by Rev. Charlie Killen. If your church is interested in partnering with Marathon to help the poor, please CONTACT US. There are various ways in which you may be able to help. Our current list of Church Partners now includes: Brick Baptist Church, Calvary Baptist, House of the Lord, Pleasant Hill Baptist (all in Castlewood, VA); Sulphur Springs UMC – Dickensonville, VA; and Harman Memorial Baptist – Maxie, VA.

September 11

- MEMORIAL GIFT – In Memory of William & Alice Saunders. Gift made by Rose S. Porter.

- MEMORIAL GIFT – In Memory of Homer & Nora White. Gift made by James E. White.

September 8

- AUGUST DISTRIBUTION NUMBERS – In August, we served 88 families consisting of 173 adults and 66 children with food, blankets, and most importantly – the Word of God. The number of families we serve increased 37.50% from July. The total number of people we serve increased by 45.73% from July. Please pray that the Lord continues to send us those in physical and spiritual need and that we will continually be able to meet those needs.

- REV. COOPER WINS BLUE RIBBON - At the Russell County Fair (where we live) in Castlewood on September 3, 2006, Philip won the First Prize Blue Ribbon for his butternut squash entry in the agricultural exhibits. Two were required, and the smaller of his two was three times the size of the next closest entry. Philip said, “I did the planting, I did the watering, but God did the growing (I Corinthians 3:7). So, the Blue Ribbon for First Prize goes to my Jesus.” “Being filled with the FRUITS (and vegetables) of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God” (Philippians 1:11).

- GOLF TOURNAMENT NEXT YEAR – Marathon’s First Annual Golf Tournament will take place April 21, 2006 on Rev. Cooper’s 75th birthday. It will be a golf tournament/birthday bash. Player’s fee is $75 (one dollar for each of Philip’s years). All proceeds from this tournament will go to help the needy in the Appalachian coalfields.

- COMMEMORATIVE BOOK – This year is Marathon’s 20th anniversary. God called Rev. Cooper on November 23, 1986 to feed the poor. Since then, Marathon has provided over 20 million pounds of food and many other items free of charge to those in need. To celebrate and raise money to help the poor, Marathon is creating a 20th Anniversary Commemorative Book. The book will feature some history of Marathon and its present role in serving Christ and the needy. There will be a minimum of 2,000 copies, 90% distributed within 50 miles of Castlewood, VA. If you are interested in taking an ad in the book, call us at 276.762.2378. The prices are $300 for full page, $225 for 3/4 page, $150 for 1/2 page, and $75 for 1/4 page.

- NEW TRUCK CAMPAIGN UPDATE – Since starting our campaign to raise money for a new box truck to take tons of food, blankets and other needed items into the poor coalfield towns, we hare raised $4,610 to date. We still need $27,890. Please continue to pray that the Lord would provide for this need. If you would like to help us in this effort so that we may better serve the needy in the coalfields, please CONTACT US. If you send a check, please note in the memo line for "New Truck."