A box labeled Stamps sits by the front door as you walk into the sanctuary of Rockdale Alliance Church off Old Salem Road in Conyers. The stamp collection box is new but the Stamp Ministry is not. Glo Horetz, affectionately referred to as the church historian, has been a member of the church since 1966 when it was originally located off Candler Road and moved with the church in 1972 when the church came to Conyers and became the Rockdale Alliance Church. Ms. Horetz said, "The Stamp Ministry began in the '70's and I've been collecting stamps for as long as I can remember."

Used and canceled stamps are collected and sent to the Alliance Women Stamp Ministry in Shell Point, Fla., where they are trimmed, sorted, and categorized to be sold to stamp collectors around the world. The sales of the used stamps generate funds to support missions and a special project in Latin America called the "Sunday School Curriculum Project." Publicaciones Alianza is a publishing house in Buenos Aires, Argentina, that is dedicated to creating Christian Education materials in Spanish and provide Sunday school lessons and teaching aids to teach scripture especially for children and young people throughout Latin America. The Stamp Ministry has raised over $700,000 since the ministry began.

Ellen Brewer, wife of Pastor Michael Brewer of Rockdale Alliance, has been collecting stamps herself for over 10 years. Brewer said of the Stamp Ministry, "It is an easy way to make a difference by spreading the gospel with something we would normally just throw away." She has been collecting stamps and getting others to participate by word of mouth over the years, but she said, "Any individual can start up their own stamp collection or just as easily be the spokesperson for their church (to organize the collection efforts)."

When a large collection of stamps is turned in, Brewer and the ladies in the church get together for what they call a Stampede to sort all the different stamps before they ship them to Shell Point, Fla. Brewer said, "The most important thing to remember when collecting used stamps is that they cannot be damaged in any way. If the stamps are torn, wrinkled, or ripped, they have no value to the collectors. They must be completely whole."

For more information on the Stamp Ministry or find out how you can start your own used stamp collection, please contact Ellen Brewer of Rockdale Alliance Church at (770) 483-6089.