by REBECCA GRACE | AFA Journal Staff Writer

For Pastor Carter Johnson a routine visit to a local barbershop in Dayton, Tennessee, became an answer to prayer and spurred the birth of a nationally-aimed magazine ministry.

After being challenged by Scripture, Johnson began asking God how he could creatively share the Gospel with the unchurched who make up 52% of the community in which he lives.

"Just when I was walking out of the barbershop," Johnson told the AFA Journal, "that’s when the thought hit me.

"Where do people go?" this pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church (PCA) asked himself. The answer: barbershops, beauty salons, doctors’ offices, auto dealerships — anywhere with a waiting room.

"Why not put Christian magazines in these places?" Johnson asks on the ministry’s Web site (www.ministrythroughmagazines.com).

"I really would like to see the truth of the Gospel permeate every area of our society," he said. "My vision for Dayton is that every waiting room have Christian magazines in it, even if it means I pay to have them. [If] it can be done here, why not elsewhere?"

With a vision in mind, Johnson immediately began bouncing the idea off friends and family. Johnson then contacted publishers in the Christian market to share his idea. Their responses were favorable.

And that’s what it took for Johnson to put his thoughts into action and develop Ministry Through Magazines (MtM).

Magazines they’ll read…
MtM was chartered in March 2004 and officially launched this past February. Since then, orders have been received for doctors’ offices, law firms, auto repair shops, public libraries and crisis pregnancy centers in Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi.

The ministry offers 19 top-Christian magazines, including World and Christianity Today, for purchase in packages of three or six for up to three years through one order. Orders can be placed on the ministry’s Web site or by filling out an order form attached to brochures distributed by MtM.

Lives He’ll change
With service at the forefront of MtM, the overall purpose of the ministry is to reach the hearts of people of all ages with the Gospel of Christ.

"In speaking with the publishers, they saw that this was really about ministry, and that is one of the main reasons why they were willing to be involved with MtM," Johnson explained.

According to researchers at The Barna Group, "Approximately 13 million unchurched adults read Christian magazines each month."

"Just think of how many people could be reached by placing these magazines in waiting rooms nationwide," Johnson reasoned.

For example, in 10,000 waiting rooms if only five people per day read one article from a Christian magazine, then 50,000 people per day or 250,000 people per business week will be exposed to the Gospel, he said.

In a study titled "More People Use Christian Media Than Attend Church," The Barna Group "noted that Christian media represent the most consistent means of evangelistic outreach by the Christian community."

"God has gifted some people with the ability to write, so why not put that instrument into people’s hands so they can read something that is written by somebody who has the ability to write and communicate biblical truth?" Johnson questioned.

He urges all Christians to take action and join him in his efforts. One way of doing this is to "adopt" a waiting room. This can be done by an individual, Sunday School class or other faith-based group.

"What I’m looking for are individual persons who might not fit the profile of having their own waiting rooms, but they go there," Johnson explained. "Get their [businesses’] permission…[and say] I’d like to serve you by putting some family-friendly magazines in your office.

"I want ‘normal’ Christians to know that they can be used of God in the lives of other people," he added.