Her number one passion after prayer, study and worship is helping to proclaim the gospel message by personally stocking and maintaining several newsstands in high-traffic businesses in the Concord/Kannapolis area.

Since the program began in UCG, Betty has set a continuous national record for the number of Beyond Today and formerly Good News magazines to be distributed in this manner. According to John LaBissoniere, newsstand distribution manager for UCG, “Betty is one of the most enthusiastic, capable, and diligent members involved in the Beyond Today magazine newsstand distribution.” For two decades, she has driven her 1976 Buick Skylark, lovingly restored and maintained by her late husband Jim (who died in May 2013), to personally open and maintain newsstands in local restaurants such as Golden Corral (her biggest outlet), the Mayflower, El Amigo and Los Arcos.

Over time, Betty has built an efficient routine, strategically choosing Mondays and Fridays as her main restocking days. This schedule ensures full racks over the weekends, when highest customer volume occurs. One year, noting to the assistant manager of the Golden Corral that she wouldn’t be back for over a week, he responded, “I think I know where you’re going—you’re going to Jekyll Island, aren’t you?” He grew up in the Church of God, so he quickly made the connection! Indeed, Jekyll Island is one of Betty’s favorite Feast sites.

But just two years ago, she missed keeping God’s Feast there due to a terrible and near-fatal accident. While loading brush from her property into a trailer, she lost her balance, slipped off her tractor and fell underneath it. She was run over about six times as the tractor continued, in gear, to go in circles. Finally, she managed to extricate herself and crawl over to the toolshed, where, with sheer grit and great presence of mind, she used the wall phone to call for help. Her injuries included a fractured pelvis and multiple cuts and bruises.

Only God’s intervention, coupled with Betty’s characteristic determination, enabled her to recover from what looked to be a permanent setback at best. In the hospital and rehab, what kept this indomitable widow going, along with many prayers and visits, was her strong determination to get back out and restock her newsstands. From her bed, she instructed a couple of willing brethren who filled in for her as substitutes. But she couldn’t relax until she was back in the saddle herself! Day after day, to accelerate recovery, she would go way beyond her prescribed therapy. And after just a few months, she was back at her beloved job!

It is partly due to Betty’s faithful work that the Charlotte congregation acquired a new member about 10 years ago. Back in about 2006, Betty had just gained an outlet for The Good News in her local Big Lots store. A few weeks later, she checked back and was informed she couldn’t have it any longer. Yet within that short time, a young woman, Terry McCullough, had picked up the magazine for the first time and followed up by attending church services. Some months later, Terry was baptized, and she has been a faithful and active part of the congregation ever since.

The lesson? Never underestimate the value of a single magazine; a few minutes’ work; one short-lived opportunity! Perhaps the door was open just long enough to call someone, and once it closed, God would open new doors elsewhere.

Betty also hasn’t limited her service to the newsstand program. At church, she faithfully sets up chairs each week, and often assembles the information table, serves as greeter, and helps to clean the refreshments table. During the week, she also serves as a prayer warrior and encourager to others.

Mrs. Bost’s powerful example shows that if we look, we can always find opportunities to use our talents and abilities to serve and to make a difference in the lives of others.