Tom preaching at Fairfax. Mireya Magallances interpreting in Spanish.

By Tom Shanklin

Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. (John 4:35 KJV) 

As we enter into the final month of 2019, I want to say thank you to everyone who has helped us to reach the lost and encourage Christians with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are together in this, and our united efforts are touching lives around the world.  

Just to catch you up a bit, I will mention some of the places we have been recently: 

Susan and I were at the Iglesia de Casa de Misericordia (House of Mercy Church) in Fairfax, Minnesota. This was our first time there with Pastor Fransisco and Mireya Magallances. Susan shared in her exuberant way, and I spoke on the woman with the issue of blood from Mark 5. Almost the whole church responded to the altar call, and a number of people were touched physically and emotionally. It was a wonderful meeting!

I held a healing service for spiritual, emotional and physical healing at the Jehovah House Retreat Center in Pelican Rapids, Minnesota. Once again there was a great response to the Gospel, and many were touched by the Lord. 

It was great to return to New Life Fellowship in Tolna, North Dakota where I have been ministering for many years. I spoke on “My Real Home is Heaven” in the Sunday worship service. On Sunday evening, we had a wonderful session from our Believers School of Ministry on “Nurturing New Believers,” encouraging God’s people to take care of those who come to the Lord in their midst. 

Harold and Verna Gleason

At Tolna, I was blessed to stay with Harold and Verna Gleason, who celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary the week after I was there. It was great to spend some time with them and hear about the history of their family and also their part in helping to establish the church at Tolna. After the service on Sunday morning, I heard three of Verna’s sons talking about the godly influence that their mother had been in their lives. I thought of the scripture, “Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.” (Proverbs 31:28) It’s a good lesson for all of us to see that we can impact the lives of future generations by the way we live today.

We always enjoy visiting the Country Church in Ruthton. While there, Susan encouraged the people, “Don’t let the devil steal your lunch,” and I preached on “The Missions Vision of the Local Church,” based on the story of the church at Antioch in Acts 11 and 13. God has a great plan for local churches, and we want to be a part of it. The audio recording of this message is available on our website.

We praise God that our plane tickets are paid in full for our mission to eastern Europe in February 2020. Thanks to the local churches and individuals who have contributed, so that we can train leaders in evangelism and hold evangelistic/healing services in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Serbia. We appreciate your continued prayers and support for this mission! 

One of our prayer warriors sent this message about the mission to Europe, “I am praying that it will be the greatest outpouring of the Holy Spirit—God’s glory in every service—that you have ever experienced.” She also shared this scripture for this new season, “I am doing something brand new, something unheard of. Even now it sprouts and grows and matures. Don’t you perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and open up flowing streams in the desert.” (Isaiah 43:19 Passion Translation)

Since October, we have been living in the afterglow of our Harvest World Evangelism Conference. Now it is time to put the rubber to the road and make plans to put into action what we were inspired to do.

I am praying for the Lord to open new doors for Tom Shanklin Ministries in 2020, both in the US and in the nations of the world. We want to reach more souls, train more Christians, and encourage more churches. Please pray with me for those open doors and that we will be able to fulfill God’s plan for this ministry. 

Susan and I are praying for you continually and asking the Lord to bless you and your family during this Christmas season and to give you vision, wisdom, favor, and strength that you also can fulfill everything that God has for you in 2020.