Henry and Ethel Goodband

Henry and Ethel Goodband were passionate about Jesus and supporting the ministries that they thought were important; a value instilled in them from equally passionate parents. Throughout their lives they invested their resources so that at the end of their lives they could pass on their earnings to build up the Kingdom of God. Much like the parable of the talents that Jesus told, they used what God gave them to earn more (Matthew 25: 14-30).

For over 30 years of their lives and through their final bequest to Biblica, Henry and Ethel gave $200,000 to give God’s Word to people around the world. The impact of their gifts can be roughly measured in the number of Bibles their giving represents: over 28,200 Bibles in the hands of people hungry for the Word!

Henry and Ethel were married and lived in New York for many years before retiring to the Tel Hai retirement home in Pennsylvania. We don’t know a lot about Henry and Ethel, but we do know that Henry passed away in 2003 and Ethel often volunteered at the retirement home doing many different things because she took the words of Jesus very seriously, “Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Luke 6:31). Even at the end, when her body was failing, her heart was for her friends and neighbors.

Ethel loved reading God’s Word and would often journal to share what various Scriptures meant to her. Ethel passed away in 2018. Biblica is confident she and Henry were overjoyed to hear their Savior’s words greet them, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” (Matthew 25:23).