Latest News from The
Pocket Testament League
What’s Happening
There's always something going on in this dynamic ministry. We recommend that you check back regularly to see what's new. Here's a list of the most recent developments:
The Pocket Testament League now on Facebook!
The League understands the value of social media, and launched a Facebook page to better connect with its members.
Members can easily become "Fans" of the ministry by clicking a simple button. Fans receive updates about new products or other news about the League, which automatically appears in their Facebook News Feed. This is a great way to get word about the League out to a wider audience. more...
New Gospel of John cover for executives
The League introduced new Gospel of John cover, developed in partnership with The Master's Program and The Barnabas Group.
These executive ministries help focus leaders on how to use their influence for the cause of Christ, so this new cover is an effective way to help business and professional leaders reach others with the Word of God.
New Stonecroft gospel of John for women
Working in partnership with Stonecroft, a ministry that helps women connect with each other, their communities and God, The Pocket Testament League introduced a new Gospel of John cover especially oriented towards women.
Featuring an image of cups of coffee and the headline "Connecting," the gospel cover signifies the role of women discussing their lives and making an impact around the common setting of a coffee-house meeting.
New Gospel of John cover for youth
A new Gospel of John cover, produced in partnership with Found, was designed as a vehicle especially oriented towards young people.
The cover features the image of a skateboarder, pensively looking down, with the headline "Found." The message relates to the concept that we are lost until turning to the Father in humble submission. Found is a clothing company with a passion for Christian outreach.
Vision Video introduced
The Pocket Testament League has produced a new video presentation designed to share the vision of the ministry.
Featuring testimonial interviews with real League members, the video shows their heart for sharing Christ, along with inspiring stories of results of committing yourself to Read, Carry and Share the gospel.
Introducing the 21-Day Challenge
The Pocket Testament League launches a new online initiative to help encourage people to get back to reading the Word of God.
Working together with Anita Keagy of Joyshop Ministries, the League has developed an E-mail based program that helps members develop a lifestyle of Scripture reading. The program encourages you to read one chapter of the gospel of John each day, with commentary and a suggested prayer to accompany the reading of God's Word.
New gospel cover introduced in partnership with Focus on the Family
Working in partnership with Focus on the Family, The Pocket Testament League has launched a new gospel of John cover for sharing with families.
Featuring the headline "Finding God's Grace," the new cover includes information on the inside back cover about how to contact Focus on the Family's information resources and family crisis center.
Now iPhone compatible
Apple's iPhone and other smart phone E-mail programs have less screen real estate than normal computer-based systems.
That can be a challenge when viewing automated system messages, including Pocket Devotions. So we modified the look of our automated E-mails to ensure that they are easy to read on any smart phone without having to zoom in or scroll sideways. The Pocketpower web site has always been smart phone compatible, except for Flash elements which don't yet work on the iPhone.
100 Years of Putting Power in Your Pocket
This month, The Pocket Testament League celebrates 100 years of amazing ministry in the United States.
Since opening its first US office in April, 1908, League members have shared more than 100 million portions of Scripture.
New Gospel cover introduced in KJV version
The League released another cover design in the Authorized King James Version.
This design, originally introduced several years ago as an NIV cover, was brought back in response to requests from members to have a cover that openly communicated the religious content inside.
League gets involved in America's Giving Challenge
Steve Case, founder of AOL, along with his wife Jean and Parade magazine, lanched an innovative challenge to see which charity could collect the most online donations.
They offered a gift of $50,000 to each of the four top US-based charities. The Pocket Testament League only learned about this challenge seven days before it ended. While we fell short of the goal, 297 members and friends of the League made a donation in those few days, raising nearly $8,000 to put towards the sharing of Gospels. We also placed in the top 100 charities, which means the League receives a $1,000 consolation gift from the Case Foundation.
New online daily devotionals sent by E-mail
A new daily devotional program lets members start their day with the right focus, by getting deeper into God's Word.
The program is delivered by E-mail automatically every weekday (Monday through Friday). Written by Mike Brooks, deacon of community at South Shores church, the devotionals take you through a Scripture passage with commentary and application questions to help you apply them to your own life situations. Lessons are organized on a day-by-day basis rather than by date, so that anyone can start the program from Day 1 at any time. The program is free. Non-members can view the devotionals using their web browser, but members can have the messages delivered to their E-mail In Box.
New online training tool
With the help of Compass Bible Church, The Pocket Testament League offers a new training tool to help members get comfortable explaining the Plan of Salvation to others.
Using the metaphor of an umbrella protecting against sin, this Flash-based presentation uses audio and animation to get its point across. Members are invited to view it often and memorize the verses included so that they can quickly communicate the same concepts. They are also invited to create web links to this presentation as a way to lead people to Christ.
New western themed Gospel cover
The League introduced a new cover for horse lovers and anyone ministering to people who love the open spaces of the west.
The new cover, entitled "Let God Set You Free" (a reference to John 8:32), features a spectacular photo of horses charging towards the camera in a roundup.
Podcasting introduced
Our popular public-service-announcement radio spots are now available as podcasts.
Members and anyone interested in the League can listen from their computers to these short but inspiring messages, each one featuring a member story. A new file is automatically published every day using the RSS feeds.
New Gospel cover for construction industry
A new Gospel of John cover was announced, especially designed for ministering to architects or people involved in the building trades.
Featuring a photo of construction blueprints and tools, the headline is "Blueprint for Life." The cover is ideal for giving to roofers, contractors, plumbers, electricians or the clerk at your local home building supplies store.
League activity mapping introduced
Using Google technology, the League has added live maps showing the locations on actual maps of the 100 most recent Gospel orders and the 100 most recent new member signups.
This feature can help encourage members to know that they are part of a huge community stretching across the continent, all sharing a common purpose of wanting to put God's Word into people's hands. In addition, a new virtual map shows the locations of people who have joined the League through each member's individual effort. This map is available by clicking a map link in the member activity report.
View a map of the 100 most recent orders
Virtual Museum Launched
It took years of work for our staff to collect, identify, scan and organize the many pieces that make up our Virtual Museum.
The result is a fascinating trip through the 119-year history of The Pocket Testament League, including newspaper endorsements from a 1913 edition of Harper's and warm letters of support on White House stationary from several US presidents.
New ESV Gospel of John introduced
In addition to the KJV, NIV and NLT English translations of the Bible, the League introduced the English Standard Version (ESV) to its product line.
This is a literal rendering of the Greek text, created by an international team of 100 biblical scholars committed to historic evangelical orthodoxy and to the authority of the inerrant Scriptures. Entitled "The Light," the cover was inspired by a suggestion from one of our members. Made possible by the gracious support of ESV publishers Crossway Books, this new Gospel cover is also an excellent alternative for those who like more literal translations of the Bible such as the NASB or NKJV.
Impact Club launched
Many of our members actively invite their friends to join the League and learn to share their faith.
Getting your friends involved is a great way to motivate you to put a Gospel in your pocket every day. You benefit from the joy of sharing your experience with those closest to you. Our new Impact Club is designed to get more people involved in sharing the Word of God. Members who encourage their friends to join benefit from free awards to recognize their efforts, including a leather prayer journal and even a Bible.
Free Evangelism Boot Camp launched
Since 1893, The Pocket Testament League has worked hard to equip people with free copies of the Word of God that they can give away.
Our vision is to equip every believer with the tools and training needed to make it a lifestyle to share their faith with others. We created a free online training system we call "Evangelism Boot Camp." This powerful 7-part program lets members work at their own pace to make it a habit to Read, Carry and Share the Word of God. Beginning with simple, non-threatening sharing exercises, members learn to engage people in conversation and answer questions and objections with confidence. This free program is only available to members of The Pocket Testament League, so you must be logged in to sign up.
Limited Edition cover for Independence Day
Our special limited-edition cover for Independence Day features the Stars and Stripes with the headline "A Message of True Freedom." Our goal is that our members share every copy by the end of the day on July 4.
Banner Ads now available
Members can expand the influence of their sharing ministry by encouraging others to share their faith.
Place one of our banner ads on your church or ministry site and get recognized for the referral when people sign up. Flash and static image versions are available. The Flash versions include detailed instructions for installation on your site.
New Gospel cover to meet Da Vinci Code challenge
Concerned about the impact of the book "The Da Vinci Code," and the upcoming motion picture release, The Pocket Testament League produced a new cover of the Gospel of John.
The story of The Da Vinci Code mixes fact and fiction to present a distorted picture of the life of Jesus, leading some to doubt on the eyewitness accounts of His death and Resurrection. In addition to containing the entire Gospel of John, written by an eyewitness to the events, and the usual plan of salvation (as do all our Gospels), this Gospel cover lists a number of web sites on the inside front cover that can help readers decode what they read or saw in The Da Vinci Code story to gain a handle on the truth.
Simplified Chinese Gospel cover
Our Chinese Gospel is now twice as much good news. This bilingual Gospel of John features both English and Simplified Chinese languages on opposite pages, making it perfect for teaching English as a second language.
Simplified Chinese is the written language used most commonly in mainland China and Singapore. These Gospels are designed for use in North America. We do not recommend our members take these publications into China because of strict visa requirements and other legal issues.
Bread of Life Club
With repeating donations, small regular gifts can add up to significant amounts over time. Our secure website now accepts recurring donations that take place monthly, quarterly, or annually.
The Bread of Life Club is a special monthly giving program where members can give $25, $50, $100 or more per month with special benefits. Club members receive advance notice of new products before they are announced to other members of the League. They also receive automatic E-mail reminders when it's time to re-order. In addition, club members at the $50 or higher level receive a small gift of appreciation. All members who donate online can view their past giving history, with printable receipts, and can edit or cancel their repeating gifts at any time.
Traditional Chinese Gospel cover
We introduced our first Chinese language Gospel.
This bilingual Gospel of John features both English and Traditional Chinese languages on opposite pages, making it perfect for teaching English as a second language. Traditional Chinese is the written language used most commonly in Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Member Survey
We asked our members to tell us more about how often they ordered Gospels, how they used them, how often they donated, and their general impressions of the ministry. We also wanted input on a financial decision. Almost 3,000 members responded.
Emergency services cover design released
A lot of League members are police officers, paramedics and firemen who share the Gospel in situations where hearts are truly broken.
In these settings trust plays a huge role in accepting not only the Gospel booklet but the message it contains. Our new Gospel cover designed for sharing in EMS situations is entitled simply "The Truth."
New motorcycle Gospel cover released
Produced in partnership with a motorcycle ministry, we introduced a special cover designed especially for outreach to those who love traveling on two wheels instead of four.
To people who love motorcycles, there's nothing quite like the freedom of the wind and the roar of an engine below you. Our new Gospel cover lets them know that spiritual freedom is even more valuable, with the title "The Perfect Road," alluding to the narrow road of faith that Jesus talked about.