The message came to me ten years ago today. I remember the experience as if it were yesterday. I was sharing in the Lord's Supper. It was the Sunday after Thanksgiving. I had just received the cup. I was sitting up near the front on the right side of the auditorium. After taking the cup, I paused and thought about the past week's disappointments. We would be discontinuing the Heartlight radio spots because the re-organization mania that was sweeping through the radio industry had driven up ad prices. Despite the impact of the little radio spots, we simply didn't feel like we could afford them. So as I sat there sharing my disappointments and confusion with the Lord in prayer, the congregation sang a quiet song. As I was praying — thanking the Lord for his incredible gift on the Cross and yet my disappointment at not being able to share his grace via the radio — a thought came into my mind.

"The Internet, dummy, the Internet!"

The message was as clear as it could be.

"The Internet, dummy, the Internet!"

The more I tried to push it away, the more it crowded back into my mind ... over and over again.

"The Internet, dummy, the Internet!"

I guess some folks have these incredible calls to minister for the Lord, but my sense of calling was down-to-earth and real to my world.

"The Internet, dummy, the Internet!"

While I wasn't sure exactly what to do with the concept, I did feel a need to do some serious investigation. About a month later, I met a young graphic artist that had a similar sense of calling. His name was Paul Lee. His call happened at the same time mine had occurred. The more we visited, the more the Lord made it clear that we were to work together on this project — Heartlight on the Internet.

We hurriedly secured several domain names, registered a service mark, began working on our non-profit status, lined up article contributors (Thank you Paul Faulkner and Randy Becton!), experimented some initial site designs, and starting learning to do web site development and server management. At the time, what we were envisioning didn't seem daunting even though neither of us had a spare penny and saw no possible means of support. In retrospect, our initial goals were not very visionary — 52,000 visitors the first year — but they sure seemed grandiose to us at the time. We just wanted to get Christian resources out there for those who had a hard time finding them, especially those in "mission fields" and small churches.

Over these last ten years, we've seen the hand of God bless the Heartlight ministry over and over again. We've been blessed to see our original www.heartlight.org grow into companion sites for Bible study (www.searchgodsword), a Portuguese site (www.iluminalma.com.br), and a Spanish site (www.laluzdelalma.com). We are beginning work a Russian site (www.heartlight.ru) and are prayerfully anticipating the start of a German site in January of 2007.

Those first couple of months, we were excited to get 50 visitors a day. The goal of 52,000 for the year seemed impossible. After all, we spent practically nothing on advertising. People would have to learn about us by word of mouth or by forward of email. Then by the Lord's grace, the last three months of the year saw the numbers soar and we finished the year well past our original goal. The best we can figure our numbers today, we reach well over 500,000 distinct users per month, send 180,000 daily devotional emails connecting with people in over 180 countries, and know hundreds of churches that are using our images and Scripture graphics as a part of their worship services. Knowing exact numbers is impossible because so many people forward the devotionals and articles to their friends and non-profit publications and churches reprint our articles for their friends and members.

Am I sharing this to brag on this ministry or myself? No, that would be as ludicrous as Tiger Woods' golf clubs bragging on how great they are, or Michael Jordan's basketball claiming how good it was! We've just been useable tools. God has blessed us, provided ongoing funds from amazing gifts that came at just the right time, brought us great writers willing to share their work, supplied precious proofers and editors who do the behind the scenes dirty work, opened doors for ministry in new areas, provided financial support at just the perfect time, and led us over many hurdles. No words are adequate to describe, however, the depth of our emotion and humble appreciation for being invited into this work that has so clearly been led by his power and influence. It has truly been a humbling experience. We thank God, and we thank you, for allowing us to do this work for God for the past ten years!

We wanted to pause and say a big thank you!
Even more, as we traveled through the incredibly difficult economic periods that impacted so many people at different times during the last decade, you have been so generous and gracious to help with your support. Thank you! God's grace, made real through your generosity and encouragement, has sustained us.

Please continue to keep Heartlight Internet Ministries in your prayers. We believe that God has called us to expand into areas where others are not going because it is not economically advantageous for them. However, we believe God has called us "to provide positive resources for Christian living in today's world." Since we are a non-profit organization, profits and economic advantages are not our goal. Sharing God's grace, Jesus' message of hope, and the resources of God's Spirit-inspired Word is our mission.

We will soon begin our end of the year fund raising drive, but right now, we wanted to pause and say a big thank you to the Lord for this dream planted in us ten years ago that has taken us places we never imagined we would go. We also want to say, "Thank you!" for your generous support, encouragement, and partnership. We believe we have experienced the apostle Paul's wonderful prayer-promise first hand:

Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen. (Philippians 3:20-21)