History of the Wake Up America Newsletter
Dear Wake Up Family:
This month, I thought about some of the newsletters we have printed in January over the past years. Wake Up has sent out a monthly mailing for 32 years. When we mailed the first newsletter in January 1990, no one from Wake Up could have anticipated that we would be mailing our 387th monthly mailing this month. Over a million words in three decades. The Lord has richly blessed Wake Up and we rejoice that we can continue providing biblically and timely relevant materials.
Larry Wilson chose the name Day Star for our first Wake Up newsletter. He selected this name from a century-earlier newsletter that Enoch Jacobs, a follower of William Miller, printed. Jacobs started a periodical he called The Day-Star between 1845 and 1847. The Millerites believed that Jesus was going to return in 1844. Jacobs owned an iron foundry in Cincinnati, Ohio, and through The Day-Star, predicted other dates for the Second Advent. However, in 1847, he joined the Shaker movement and no longer believed that Jesus’ return was a literal event. Interestingly, after he died in 1894, he was buried at a cemetery in Corwin, Ohio, just eight miles from our office in Bellbrook.
We printed the Wake Up Day Star for over ten years. For the first six years, we printed the newsletter in a full-sized black-and-white layout, but in 1996, we began printing a smaller-sized color newsletter with an improved professional look. At first, we used a small printing shop one block from our office to print the Day Star until we printed the final issue in June 2003. The Lord blessed us during the ten years, allowing us to keep proclaiming that Jesus is coming, five times longer than the original Day Star nearly 200 years earlier.
The original heading of the Wake Up newsletter included the Bible reference, “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.” (2 Peter 1:19, KJV) Our original purpose was and is to continue sharing the light of bible prophecy until Jesus returns.
In July 2003, we entered a new phase of our printing endeavors with the Wake Up Report. Larry wanted to devote more time to producing monthly video tapes and ostensibly reduce the length of his articles. Larry’s efforts to reduce the size of his articles became a source of humor in the Bellbrook office. Often, our efforts to make Larry’s “shorter” articles fit on a legal-sized sheet of paper were impossible, and we had to print on multiple pages or print parts of Larry’s articles over multiple months. We were blessed to obtain a used high-volume copy machine which allowed us to print and fold many copies of the new newsletter on legal-sized paper. For the next 16 years, we printed the Wake-Up Report at the Bellbrook office and used copy machines to print thousands of copies of the newsletter.
In May 2019, Larry began a phenomenal program to distribute one million dollars of prophetic materials and make one million contacts over three years. So, in June, we again changed the title of the newsletter to report the activities of this distribution program more accurately. We just changed the title and named the newsletter Wake Up Events. Unfortunately, Larry had contracted bulbar onset amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the most severe form of ALS that affects the neurons controlling the muscles of the face, head, and neck. While he was with us, Larry continued writing when he was able, but we dedicated a significant portion of the newsletter to reporting how Wake Up was reaching people through the free booklets, YouTube videos, and internet contacts. After we successfully completed the goals of the three-year program, we continue to offer most of Larry’s prophetic materials, including books, DVDs, booklets, and study materials, for only the shipping costs.
After printing over a million copies, our antiquated copy machine quit working and we were unable to obtain replacement parts. Fortunately, we also had a color printer we had purchased in 2013 that could print on legal-sized paper to show the vibrant, new booklet covers. The September 2019 Wake Up Events was the first newsletter we printed using the color printer. However, because the printer could not automatically fold the newsletters, we had to use a folding machine, which was much less efficient. Also, our color printer was not designed to print the high volumes we needed for the newsletter, so each month we risked a printer breakdown that might have prevented us from mailing the newsletter on time.
We have always tried to have a backup option in case our primary method of duplicating newsletters fails. When the copy machine failed, we used our backup printer to continue the newsletter. Since the printer was nearly ten years old, we needed a high-volume color copier we could use for the newsletter. In 2022, we began a search for a copier that would meet our needs. Initially, I hoped that I could find a local vendor who would sell the copier and provide local support. I was shocked that the prices for the machines ranged from 40 to 90 thousand dollars. We could not justify spending that much! Finally, one vendor offered us a demo machine that had the options we needed for $41,287.
While we needed a machine like this, I still could not justify the expense. However, Wake Up has always been a faith ministry and I knew the Lord had another option for us. Many supporters unite with us to pray for Wake Up and our efforts to share Revelation’s story. Jesus said, “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” (Matthew 21:22) We praise the Lord that he provided the means to purchase a used version of the same copier from another vendor at a 60% discount. Last March, we made the most recent change to the newsletter using the new copier. With our color copier, we can print, fold, and staple Wake Up! Monthly in just a few hours. Also, printing envelopes with mailing addresses and custom headings works spectacularly.
The printer we previously used for printing Wake Up Events hung in there for a few more months, but it failed and is no longer a backup option for the new copier. Thankfully, the Lord knew our needs and we have just installed a replacement machine. We found a slightly used color printer that can fold and staple the Wake Up Events newsletters with many more options that cost $2,000 less than we paid for the previous printer. Amazingly, the seller agreed to spend 16 hours on the road and install the printer at our office for a delivery fee of just $300. God provided us with this backup printing option at an 85% discount.
While we can prepare newsletters, print new books, and distribute prophetic materials, we can accomplish nothing without two significant factors. First, Diana, Rex, Donna, Eunice, and I cannot personally share all the materials that Wake Up produces. We depend on you to share all the written and video materials Wake Up has developed over the past three decades of ministry. When we used to print new copies of books, Larry sometimes said, “He who prints his own books ends up with a garage full of boxes!” You have helped us to empty the garage! Second, the Lord recognizes our needs before we know they exist. He has provided Wake Up with the resources and equipment for all the materials we share and helped us produce 386 timely Wake Up newsletters. He is faithful in meeting all our needs. I know that he will continue to provide the means for Wake Up until He no longer needs Wake Up to proclaim His soon return.
“I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’ . . . I am bringing my righteousness near, it is not far away; and my salvation will not be delayed.” (Isaiah 46:9–10, 13)
Blessings,
Marty
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