Well, it’s officially the future. Happy New Year! As we jump into 2016, we wanted to give you a brief update about all that’s happening with Mockingbird. What a year it’s been for our little organization! In addition to keeping the website humming with fresh content, we hosted three conferences (Tyler, New York and Kanuga), produced a pair of brand new publications (Law and Gospel: A Theology for Sinners (and Saints) and Mockingbird at the Movies), and released three issues of our quarterly print magazine The Mockingbird, (Work and Play, Forgiveness and Technology).

Meanwhile, our online audience grew by more than 30%, from roughly 720,000 unique visits in 2014 to over 950,000 in 2015. Recently we even launched a weekly podcast (The Mockingcast). All this with only two full-time staff and four part-time.

We have some terrific projects on tap for 2016: In addition to our annual Spring Conference in New York City (4/14-16), we’re hosting a follow-up in Tyler, TX (3/18-19) and hitting the Pacific Northwest for the first time to headline the Real Life Grace Conference in Bellingham, WA (7/29-30). There are rumblings of another summer SoCal event, as well as a Fall Conference in a new location–should be fun!

On the print side, issue seven of The Mockingbird, the Church Issue, is coming together beautifully and should be out in February. We’re currently in drafting mode for our next book project, which bears the working title of A Book of Mundane Prayers. We’re hoping to release it in time for the NYC Conference. More details on those as they develop. Suffice it to say, the beat goes on.

How You Can Help

Mockingbird relies on the generosity of individual donors and churches to fund its operations. Specifically, we need to raise $230,000 to keep fulfilling our mission in 2016. For more information about where the money goes, click here. Three easy ways to help might be:

1. Mbird currently has almost 150 supporters who give automatically every month, anywhere from $5 to $1200. We would love to see that number increase! Anyone who signs up for monthly giving (any amount) will receive a complimentary subscription to The Mockingbird. If you’re already subscribed but want to start giving monthly, we’ll send you the publication of your choice as a thank-you.
2. A handful of ‘partner’ churches support us every year with funds from their mission/outreach budgets. Others give via discretionary accounts. If you attend or work at a church that is benefiting from our ministry but hasn’t gotten behind Mbird “officially” yet, be our advocate! Email us at info@mbird.com if you have any leads.
3. If you’re not in a place where you can give, there are other ways to pitch in. Write a review of one of our books on Amazon! Or rate one of our podcasts on iTunes. Spread the word about Mbird events and articles on social media like Twitter or Facebook or Instagram. Use one of our resources at your church or in your small group (Law and Gospel is ideal for this). Above all, please pray for us!

If you believe in what we’re doing and want to ensure that it continues, please consider making a donation to Mockingbird today. Thanks for reading, and we wish you a happy new year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpBH1Dx2lI8

COMMENTS

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One response to “Mockingbird Update: What’s in Store for 2016 and How You Can Help”

1. Tim Peoples says:

   12/30/2015 at 9:37 pm

   Looking forward to the SoCal event! I’m happy to pitch in with local support!

   Reply