Frequently Asked QuestionS

Do I need to pay in advance? No. You can take out a personal subscription (for 1 to 20 copies) which allows you to pay for a year's supply in advance if you wish, but for any monthly order of 25 copies or more, there is no need to pay in advance. We invoice you monthly or on a longer term basis if you prefer. But we do need prompt payment to keep our costs down.

Can I pay by credit card? Sorry, no, but payments can be made by bank transfer as well as by cheque.

Can I get a discount for quantities? Not regarding the cover price, as we have standardised that at 20p, however many copies you buy, in order to be as fair to smaller outreaches as larger ones. As a registered charity and a Christian mission, our aim is to keep the cover price as low as possible so as many people can be reached with the Good News as possible, and so it is already at the lowest we can make it while still covering our costs. However, the postage and packing price varies according to the quantity you order, and savings can be made by ordering a larger quantity, e.g. currently it costs as much in p&p to order 50 copies as it does to order 25, and the delivery cost is the same for 500 copies as it is for 100. For details of p&p charges, see the Costs page on this website or ring our orders department on 0300 102 7206.

As you are a charity, why do you charge for the paper? We don't fundraise, so that we don’t divert any resources from other ministries. Our ministry is financed solely by the price of the paper. All gifts we do receive we use to finance the distribution of free copies into prisons through Christian chaplains.

Can I make a one-off order? Yes, we supply one-off orders as well as regular monthly orders. For example, some customers like to order just four times a year – at Easter, July or August (summer outreach), September (Harvest) and Christmas.

How late can I order? You can order at any time but we can’t guarantee to have stock for you unless you place your order at least a month in advance of the month of publication. We do order a large stock of spare copies each month, for late orders, but they often sell out. So it is recommended that orders are placed five weeks early to prevent disappointment, e.g. in the third week of July for the September issue.

Can I subscribe to read the paper online? We do not offer an online subscription, although the paper can be viewed and read on our website every month, so customers can see what is in each new issue as it is published. The primary purpose of Good News is as a physical outreach tool because it is most effective when it is given personally, in order to create opportunities for a spiritual conversation to take place.

How do you ensure the testimonies are true? We use proven and reliable Christian journalists who have the highest ethical standards themselves, who interview people directly, and we try to verify each story independently wherever possible. If we are reporting on a story from another publication we usually make this clear so the reader can make his/her own judgement on the source. For example, if one of our stories says ‘as featured in the Salvation Army’s War Cry magazine’ you might trust that better than some secular publications.

Are people brought to the Lord through reading Good News? We regularly get reports of people who have made a profession of salvation, or who have been prompted to consider the faith, or have begun attending church or a Christian course as a result of a Good News outreach. We also get responses and enquiries direct from readers, either by them filling in the response coupon on page 7 or making contact by email or phone. The paper is just one link in a chain that God may use to sow seed, challenge people to consider Christ and eventually bring them to commitment. Only eternity will tell how much of a part Good News played in that chain, but we do know that Good News enables people to spread the Gospel and helps them reach people who they otherwise would not have been able to contact.