When people think of Our Daily Bread Ministries, they usually think of our pocket-sized devotionals. People all over the world have personally encountered Jesus by stumbling upon a printed copy of Our Daily Bread in coffee shops, churches, hospitals, and prisons.
Many people know that the long-lasting devotional originates from Grand Rapids, Michigan, with contributing writers from the US, Canada and around the world. But do they know how these booklets end up where they do here in Canada and elsewhere?
Our Daily Bread Ministries in the US wants to share a story with us to help answer that question.
Staff there say they are “overwhelmingly grateful to partner with 145,000 Our Daily Bread Ambassadors.”
Just like in Canada where we have more than 10,000 Our Daily Bread Ambassadors, these are people who are committed to spreading the gospel by ordering a self-selected number of devotionals and distributing them to their neighbours, local businesses, churches, and various other people encountered in daily life. It’s because of our Ambassadors that the Our Daily Bread devotional is reaching nearly every corner of the globe.
The US staff are introducing us to one such Ambassador: Bob Morris.
After serving 26 years in the US Air Force, including a tour in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam era and later supporting Desert Storm and Desert Shield in Iraq, he retired as a full colonel. After investing 31 years so far at the Salvation Army, Bob has also served as a loyal Our Daily Bread Ambassador for 30 years, distributing and placing somewhere between 50,000 to 60,000 devotionals.
“My favourite aspect is being used by God to distribute His Word through a nondenominational devotional. I also love witnessing the joy and excitement people have when they’re presented with an Our Daily Bread devotional. In the 30 years I’ve distributed the devotional, I can think of only four people who declined a copy.”
Bob receives 500 devotionals every three months and places them in colleges, universities, hotels, motels, airports, doctor’s offices, copy centers, banks, transportation centers, museums, and wherever else he can.
Over the years, Bob has accepted the help of six friends, all with varying backgrounds, to hand out and place the Our Daily Bread devotional all over the Illinois and Missouri area.
His favourite experience of placing the devotionals is seeing young people pick them up. Another meaningful experience was when he used to be able to go to airport boarding areas and leave the devotionals on seats for passengers. “I saw the Our Daily Bread taken by passengers to read as they flew to their destinations sometimes overseas,” Bob shared. “I don’t know the impact my personal distributions have made, but I know I’ll find out someday in heaven.”
Sometimes Bob gets to speak directly with the devotional recipient. While he usually leaves printed copies in public places for people to pick up, Bob has also had the opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus by getting to listen to various people’s stories. He says, “I’ve had the privilege of discussing spiritual matters with people from all walks of life using the Our Daily Bread devotional and other Christian material.”
While Bob acts as a humble servant of Christ, willing to listen to anyone’s story, he made it clear that none of it was by his own doing. “The people who talk to me do so because of the Holy Spirit, not because of me. . . . I get the publication into the hands of the public and God does the rest. I just plant the seeds.”
When asked why he likes to read Our Daily Bread, he said, “It provides spiritual insight and even application to situations and circumstances that readers relate to in their everyday lives.”
Similarly, when asked about the importance of digging into God’s Word daily, Bob also shared this passage: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16–17 NIV).
Today, Bob resides in Saint Louis, Missouri, with his wife of 55 years, enjoying time with their eight grandchildren, and serving as members of their local church. He’s still a member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, the Experimental Aircraft Association, and the Greenville Pilots Association, and while he no longer is a command pilot, he is still a licensed pilot.
Our Daily Bread Ministries is so grateful for the devoted partnership with Ambassadors. If Bob’s story inspired you to join our Ambassador Program, he recommends praying about it first and asking God if He wants you to do this.
In Canada, we have two levels of commitment for Ambassadors: 1) Our Daily Bread Ambassadors order and hand out the devotionals every three months; and 2) Ministry Ambassadors connect with us more regularly so they are aware of our wide variety of ministry materials and can equip their church or organization as needed.
If YOU are an Ambassador in Canada already, please consider sharing your story with us so we can showcase what God is doing through you here in Canada! Just email info@odbm.ca and let us know the best time to connect with you!
