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The Legacy ofDesree Johnson Mass
D. Mass Christian Publishers, Inc. bears the name of Mrs. Desree Johnson Mass, a Missionary and licensed Evangelist in the Church of God in Christ who devoted more than fifty years of her life to the work of ministry.
That work of formation is the legacy upon which we build.
The Patient Work of Formation
Mrs. Mass was an able teacher of Scripture, a prayer warrior, a mentor, and an enduring source of spiritual strength and inspiration to those who knew her. Her ministry was concerned not only with helping people come to a saving understanding of the grace of God, but with what happened afterward. She understood that conversion was the beginning of the journey and that Believers required continuing teaching, prayer, encouragement, correction, and spiritual guidance if they were to mature to the point of experiencing God.
Much of this work occurred personally and relationally. It was the patient work of formation: teaching Scripture, praying with and for others, encouraging those who struggled, strengthening those who were growing, and helping Believers press beyond the elementary things of faith into a deeper walk with God.
Her ministry reflected a truth that remains central to our work today: the Body of Christ must not only bring people to Christ; it must help form them through their formation.
Extending the Work
D. Mass Christian Publishers carries her name because publishing provides a means of extending that work beyond the reach of a single teacher, generation, community, or Table. Through books, studies, teaching materials, and other resources, truths once communicated from person to person can cross geographic boundaries and continue speaking to generations yet to come.
Our Faith Ministries and International Table Ministries carry the same principle into fellowship and community. At the Table, Believers are not merely introduced to biblical truth. They are encouraged to remain with it, examine it, apply it, and allow it to form the way they live.
We therefore understand legacy as more than remembering the past.
A Continuing Reminder of the Work
We build upon Mrs. Mass's early work of formation within the Body of Christ by continuing to teach, mentor, encourage, and prepare a people capable of living and working under the government of the Kingdom of God. The methods may reach farther, the Tables may cross nations, and published materials may travel where she never traveled, but the essential work remains the same: helping people know God and continuing with them as that knowledge transforms their lives.
Her name upon this ministry is therefore not merely commemorative.
It is a continuing reminder of the work.