Long-time GLS Employee Retires
On September 10, 2008, an “institution” is leaving Gospel Literature Services, changing from the hectic life as GLS’s administrative assistant to the calmer life of a retiree (and moving from the cold Midwest to warm, sunny Florida). That person is Judy Emery.

Watch video about Judy’s ministry with GLS


Assistant to 4 Directors

Judy got in on the ground floor of GLS when she was working at the GARBC resource center as the main receptionist and as administrative assistant for Baptist Builders Club.

Mike and Jane Riley

Thirty-five years ago, Mike and Jane Riley began Gospel Literature Services as a fundamental Baptist source for literature distribution around the world. They were often away from the office, and Judy would take care of the administrative work while they traveled.

Mark Jackson

The Rileys retired, and Mark Jackson became director of GLS. In 1987, he asked Judy to join the GLS team full-time as administrative assistant. And Judy was happy to come onboard.
Judy’s husband, Gary, remembers those days: “The ministry of GLS, helping to provide missionaries with free literature, expanded under Dr. Jackson’s leadership. One of the interesting projects was the miniature Gospels of John done with the Georgi Vins group [Russian Gospel Ministries]. They were small enough to be handed to a person through a handshake. When the Iron Curtin came down, GLS was able to ship tons of literature to former Iron Curtin countries.”
If you have ever read a prayer-and-report letter written by Mark Jackson, you know that he is an ace with multisyllabic words. Judy says that her vocabulary really expanded while she worked on his letters!

David and Diana Crandall

David Crandall became the third director of GLS. Under his leadership, the ministry continued to expand, including outreach at worldwide sporting events. In cooperation with various mission agencies, GLS provided literature and the organization for distributing it at Olympic Games and World Cup Games. In 2004, Gary and Judy traveled to Greece for the Olympics to help make up a team of 140 who witnessed at the Games. This was one of the highlights of Judy’s GLS ministry.
Translation of Christian books and commentaries, tracts and hymnals, and other resources continued under Dr. Crandall. He caught the vision for the wide-open opportunities that technology provides and invited Chris Brown to join the GLS team to use his expertise with computers, the Internet, and other technologies.

Chris and Deb Hindal
Although the Lord led David Crandall to another ministry, Judy continued to work for GLS and was happy to see Chris and Deb Hindal join the team, with Chris becoming director not only of GLS but also of the GARBC International Ministries. Gary recalls: “When Chris became the director of GLS, Judy said it was an answer to prayer because he has a heart for missionaries and their work for the Lord, as the other directors did.”
Judy has enjoyed working with the Rileys, the Jacksons, and the Crandalls, and, more recently, with the Hindals and Browns.

Not Tied to Her Desk Chair
Judy’s ministry with GLS included helping to man the GLS booth at the GARBC annual conferences. “Judy has had the privilege of attending the GARBC annual conference since 1983 and has always enjoyed those experiences. These are great times of fellowship with friends and associates,” says Gary.
Along with attending the conferences and going to Greece to minister at the Olympics, Judy got to travel to Salt Lake City to meet with missionaries for the planning of Project Utah, a door-to-door ministry in and around Salt Lake City, and to see their ministries to the Mormons. Judy also traveled to Indiana several times to do administrative work for GLS banquets and fundraisers.

It’s All about People

But truly the pinnacle of enjoyment for Judy is working with the missionaries and church personnel themselves, helping them with literature and other material needs. Judy says that helping them to do their ministry for the Lord is very rewarding. And Gary points out that many people will seek out Judy at the conferences to thank her for her assistance to them.
Judy says she will miss the staff at the GARBC office—and so she should, as some of those friendships have lasted decades. Likewise, the Ministry Resource staff and all those she has ministered to will miss Judy for her quiet efficiency, genuine encouragement, and sweet fellowship.

New Secretary for GLS
GLS is happy to announce the appointment of Marianne Baltensperger as the new GLS administrative assistant. Marianne comes to the position with twenty-five years of experience working with the Regular Baptist Ministries. For sixteen years she served as the executive secretary for the National Representative, first for Dr. Paul Tassel and then for Dr. Mark Jackson. Chris Hindal expresses his gratefulness to the Lord for the privilege of working with Marianne and anticipates a smooth transition as they work together.

Click here to read about Marianne Baltensperger