Participants in The Tide® Ministry’s ‘Year Beard’ Challenge Find Community with a Common Goal
December 13, 2021
CHAMBERSBURG, Pa.— With the Christmas season in full swing, children around the world are looking forward to Santa Claus coming to reward the nice and rebuke the naughty. And while Santa might be the most famous bearded man in the Christmas season, there are other bearded men who—like Santa—are trying to make a difference. These bearded men, however, are looking to make an eternal impact.
The Tide® (www.thetide.org) ministry has spent the past year challenging men to stop shaving and share the Gospel through their “Year Beard®” initiative. Even as the year is coming to a close, men are still putting razors down and growing out their beards to raise awareness for The Tide®ministry so that radio broadcasts can continue to expand around the globe.
The Tide® ministry records and broadcasts Gospel programming on three continents in over 30 languages,reaching millions of people including those in Afghanistan, Albania, Bhutan, India, Kosovo, Mozambique, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Thailand, and Zimbabwe. With more than 7,000 languages spoken worldwide and more than 2,000 people groups that have been unreached by the Good News of Jesus, the opportunities are tremendous, and the need is great.
“Year Beard” gives men an opportunity to continue The Tide® ministry’smissionin a unique and interesting way.Long beards are easy conversation-starters and an excellent way to begin sharing both the work The Tide® ministryis doing and the love of Jesus in local communities.
The Tide® Director Don Shenk commented, “You might not realize it, but beards are a regular topic of conversation around the holiday when you think of Santa! We’ve taken that discussion and given it an eternal purpose through The Year Beard campaign. This initiative is such a great opportunity to start conversations about the Gospel and what the Tide® is doing around the world. Year Beard is a whole new way for everyday men to get involved and helps raise funds to continue our ministry to all corners of the globe.”
So far this year, participants have raised over $25,000, all of which will be used to buy more airtime for The Tide® ministry’s Gospel radio broadcasts in Asia, Africa, and Europe. Joining the challenge not only gives men an opportunity to share the Gospel and help raise money for The Tide® in their daily lives, but it also offers a community of godly men all working toward the same goal. A motivating factor is the knowledge that for every dollar given, 20 more people worldwide can hear about Jesus.
Depending on the time they commit, participants receive t-shirts, beard combs, beard oil and a devotional book called “Bearded Gospel Men,” along with conversation starters such as country fact sheets, a testimony sheet and a pocket info card so they can speak to potential donors about The Tide® mission. Those who raise the most money for The Tide® ministry throughout the year will be eligible to win sporting event tickets and gift cards.
The Tide® ministry is currently celebrating its 75th year of global mission, all while looking forward to the next seven decades with their plan called “The Tide® Diamond Vision:”
- Amplify – The Tide ministry will increase ministry initiatives so that more people can experience God’s grace.
- Magnify – The Tide ministry will work to grow its support base to an expanded demographic.
- Solidify – The Tide ministry will develop and supply more resources to help new believers to grow in their faith and live in right relationship with God.
- Verify – The Tide ministry will measure the effectiveness of its activities to both manage them well and to demonstrate the efficient stewardship of resources.
- Glorify – The Tide ministry will strive to ensure that all it does to achieve its vision will bring glory to God.
For more information about The Tide broadcast projects, history, radio programs around the world, special year-long campaigns, the weekly Global Update radio features or other news, visit its website at www.thetide.org or its Facebook page.
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To schedule interviews with Don Shenk, director of The Tide global radio ministry, contact Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, Beth Harrison, 610.584.1096, ext. 105, or Deborah Hamilton, ext. 102.
