By Tom Shanklin

Each month in our ministry update, I like to share what we are doing and where we are going with this ministry. Susan and I want you to be a part of what we are doing, and we want to be a part of what you are doing. There is miraculous power released as we unite our hearts.

The mission of Tom Shanklin Ministries is to unite with the whole body of Christ to reach the whole world with the whole Gospel.

The whole body of Christ is made up of all those, regardless of denominational affiliation, who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus. We have found that fellowship is where you find it, whether it be in the most traditional of churches or in an informal gathering of saints in a living room or a rented hall.

The whole Gospel is the message of the redemptive work of Christ, spirit, soul, and body. It includes the New Birth, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, divine healing and deliverance, and the progressive transformation of the believer into the image of Jesus Christ. When God instituted the Passover, He told Israel to roast the lamb and eat all of it. I believe the message to us is to likewise “eat the whole thing” and leave nothing out.

The whole world is all the inhabited regions of the planet. It includes our local communities and the uttermost parts of the earth. It includes the largest cities and the smallest villages. It includes institutions of higher learning and the local cafe, corporate America and a subsistence farm in the Himalayan foothills. It’s every soul on the planet. No limits!

Our overseas missions work in the last 10 years has been primarily in Asia, especially the Indian subcontinent, but I have sensed the call to reach out in other parts of the world as well. Europe has been on my heart, and especially England, which at one time was the great missions sending country of the world, but now has become a great mission field.

I am excited to share with you that Susan will be traveling with me to England on January 30-February 13, 2017. With your prayers I am expecting that this will be a very fruitful journey, according to the will of God.

We will be working with a very missions-oriented pastor in Highbridge in the south of England. Then we will be traveling to the New Life Baptist Church in Northallerton, Yorkshire in the north of England for a missions conference. And finally we will be working with a missionary/church planter from the Czech Republic who is working among the Roma People in several places in western England. God is moving powerfully among this group of people. Some analysts estimate that as many of 40 percent of the Roma People in England have left a life of alcohol abuse and fortune telling to become fervent followers of Jesus. The movement is growing, too, as more and more Roma People are being brought into the harvest. It’s exciting that Susan and I can be a part of this.

Another way that God has enabled us to reach the whole world is through our media ministry. We receive a constant stream of email correspondence from ministers around the world who have landed on our website and who are fervent in their desire to reach their nations for Jesus. When it seems appropriate, we send them materials from our ministry, especially the book, “You Can Touch the World.”

Leaders in a number of nations have used this tool for training others in evangelistic work. We have sent boxes of books to ministers in English-speaking nations and have also had the books translated into other languages to extend this outreach into the far reaches. We know that God uses literature in a very powerful way, especially in third-world countries and remote regions. I have no doubt that many will be found in the Kingdom of God as a result of our literature going to places where we may never be able to travel physically.

Pastor Davis Juma (left) preaching the Gospel.

One man whose ministry has been impacted by this tool is Pastor Davis Juma of Kenya. We sent a copy of “You Can Touch the World” to him several years ago. He wrote: “Since the time I read your book I was really challenged to do evangelism because God’s heart is throbbing for the lost souls.” Since that time we have sent him boxes of books which he has used a tool to train others in evangelism. He has also traveled to neighboring countries with a burning desire to reach the lost with the Gospel.

Because of the sincerity and fervent desire that we recognized in this man, we began to send some regular financial support to help him with his ministry. Recently, however, he needed some extra help. After traveling to the Congo, civil war broke out in the country. When I heard about the war, I wrote to him by email to see how he was doing. He wrote back saying it was unsafe to travel out into the villages. He was stuck in a dangerous situation. We prayed and sent his some funds to help him travel home. Here is what he wrote after returning home:

“I would like to thank you so much for your support which got me out of the Congo where I came face to face with war. It was hardly a week when the villages I was doing door to door evangelism were surrounded by the rebels. They were everywhere on the roads and towns. My hosts were cut off  from me and I was left in a hotel wondering. Guns were  heard firing from all sides as I remained holed up in my hotel room. I resorted to praying and I also discovered that we do not know how to pray as the apostle Paul says. I found myself saying repetitively, ‘Oh Lord, Oh Lord, Oh Lord…’ I thank God for hearing my meaningless words and provided help through you. I had been detained for not paying the accommodation fees as I had lost everything I had. I look at how I came back to Kenya alive and see a miracle from God. My dear Brother Tom and Sister Susan, I am so grateful for sending me help. I praise the Lord for you. He made a way through you and I can continue reaching the world for Him.”

These are the kinds of things that we are able to accomplish because of our partnership with you and connections with other ministries around the world. For example, we are helping to support a ministry that is training believers to reach multiplied villages in India and Nepal, a church and missions organization in Hyderabad, India, an international evangelist, a ministry to prisoners and nursing home residents in southern Minnesota, a ministry to developmentally disabled people in the Minneapolis area, a ministry to refugees and disaster victims around the world, a missionary to China, and much more. This is another way that together we are reaching the whole world.

Thank you for your friendship and your partnership as you are led by God. May you find joy in finding your part in helping others to come to know the Savior of the world.

Susan and I want to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a very Happy and Prosperous New Year! You are in our hearts and in our daily prayers.

Let’s Reach the World Together!

Your prayers and financial support for this ministry help us to reach the world with the Good News of Jesus Christ through preaching the Gospel, strengthening churches, training believers, giving to missions and publishing. Thank you being a part of fulfilling the Great Commission though this ministry! All gifts in the United States are tax-deductible.