"Well done is better than well said."

We love sharing the stories of churches helping people with literacy needs. We do it every chance we get. But the truth is, there is a whole lot more "doing" than ever gets talked about.

Join us now in a look back at some of the faithful and quiet "doing" by volunteers in this ministry in the past 12 months. As you look at what was accomplished, please consider an end-of-year donation to help propel the work of Literacy Connexus into 2014.

Christian Chapel Temple of Faith family reading fair, Dallas

This year, our TEX (Teaching English with Excellence) trainers and apprentices trained more than 375 persons through weekend workshops. Survey results showed that more than 64 percent of those trained immediately began applying their skills in the ESL classroom. These newly TEX-trained teachers -- along with those from previous years -- reached more than 12,000 English language learners each week throughout the school year.

TEX Training in the Rio Grande Valley

Behind each one of those ESL students is a story. They are moms and dads trying to care for their families, students trying to pursue their dreams, refugees trying to start a new life, and persons of all ages trying to reach their potential and contribute to their communities. For most, learning English is the first step toward making a better life for themselves and their families.

ESL classroom

On the book front, we happily gave away thousands of donated volumes for use in elementary schools, family reading fairs, and summer enrichment programs.  We also sent several hundred books to an orphanage in Ghana in the suitcases of Baylor student missionaries.  

While those went out, box loads more came in from church and individual donations all over the state. To keep our heads from spinning, we collaborated with two churches to establish book banks for receiving and distributing books in their local areas. We hope to eventually plant book banks in every corner of the state.

Family reading fair at Western Hills Primary in Fort Worth

This year, church volunteers and others furnished more than 500 beginning home libraries to families in need. In so doing, they armed parents to fulfill their role as their children's first teachers, and gave young children the early exposure to literacy needed to prepare them for school.  New bookcases provided a

Baylor students reading to kids in the Eagle Pass H-E-B

perch for the newly acquired Bibles, storybooks, and resources, and carved out a special space for learning in the home.