Tom ministering to the sick in Nepal last year.

Dear Ministry Partner,

Thank you for being a part of God’s work through Tom Shanklin Ministries in 2014!

I’m blessed to have you as part of our team. I can think of no better way to expend our time and treasure than in the preaching of the Good News of Jesus Christ. I’m excited about this coming year and the great possibilities that lay before us for extending God’s kingdom in the earth. We continue to see much fruit from our endeavors overseas as well as here in the United States.

God has been sending us to unreached or under-reached areas with the Good News of His Son. Whether it be a remote village in Nepal, an impoverished Indian reservation, or into a small community in the U.S., we are often sent to the neglected areas and peoples of the world. From the high mountains of the Himalayan range to the level plains of the Dakotas, partnering with churches big and small, with your help, the glorious Gospel is being proclaimed. Your giving has made a real and tangible difference in the lives of people around the world. People are coming to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God is expanding, and believers are being trained and encouraged to reach their world for Christ because of your giving.

As we continue to travel and minister, we are increasingly recognizing the value of ministering to leaders. According to Operation World: the Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation, “leadership training is possibly the most urgent need in the Church” in Nepal. The same is no doubt true in all third-world countries. And, as persecution and opposition increases, it is important that we put an emphasis on training believers to reach their world for Christ.

By experience, we are seeing that leaders conferences coupled with evangelistic events are an effective way to ignite the church to do the works of Jesus in the earth. During our mission to Nepal in November 2014, a leaders conference was held in a remote village in the Far West Region. Our team in Nepal was not comfortable with holding an open air service in that particular area because of the potential for persecution and opposition. So, on the last day of the conference, we encouraged the pastors to go about the community and invite people to come to the place where we were meeting for a healing service. The crowd more than doubled for that service. About 25 people made decisions for Christ and many more were healed by the power of God.

We saw with our own eyes hundreds of others rising to their feat to proclaim Jesus as their Lord on that mission to Nepal. We also received a report that 14 families were added to a church in one of the villages where we ministered. Evangelism works! Similarly, we received a report that 20 families were added to a church in Andhra Pradesh, southern India, where we ministered in 2013. And the church continues to grow where we ministered in West Bengal, northern India. Praise God! We are seeing fruit from our labors!

While in Nepal this past year, we also distributed over 500 copies of the Nepalese translation of the book which I authored on evangelism, “You Can Touch the World” to church leaders. More copies have been distributed since and we are already hearing positive reports from Nepal that pastors are excited about the book and are asking for more copies to use in training and encouraging their church members in personal evangelism. We also have requests to translate it into Telugu and Hindi for use in India. The English version of this book has lit a fire in ministers who are able to read English in several nations of the world. For example, we have sent two boxes of the books to a minister in Kenya, who is using it to train others in evangelism wherever he goes.

The Lord has been progressively teaching us how to become more and more effective in fulfilling the Great Commission to reach the lost and make disciples. We also see that the Lord is giving us divine partnerships with ministries from various denominations and streams to accomplish his work. That is why I am excited about the future for our ministry and also for the big picture for the work of God in the earth. I believe many of the walls that divide us are coming down and we all are becoming more interested in finishing the task of world evangelization than protecting our own turf and building our own kingdoms.

We have seen this happening in practical ways in our own ministry, like our ongoing strategic partnership with Bible Living Ministries, which is effectively reaching many people for Christ in India and Nepal. Another example is an investment from our ministry of $200 a month in 2014 to help establish a new church in Hyderabad, AP, India, a church which has a vision to become a missions center to reach India and the surrounding nations. We are also supporting other missionaries and ministries, most of whom we personally know, as they reach out with God’s love.

But our hearts are not just tuned to the far away places of the earth. Our own nation desperately needs a touch from God. Through media ministry, encouraging churches and leaders, conferences, evangelistic events and our Believers School of Ministry, we are reaching out to the good old U.S.A.  Actually, I am expecting a move of God in our nation. It looks dark, but the light shall arise, and many shall see His glory in our land. I believe that you and I will be a part of it.

I’m happy to say that my wife, Susan, continues to plow, plant, and harvest with me in this ministry. I see that our hearts are being drawn more and more together into God’s plans and purposes for the nations. As we pray together, minister together, and sometimes agonize together for those who are hurting, I see the Lord developing us as a team for Him in these last days. Susan doesn’t always travel with me, but we are always together in spirit. She remains my number one prayer partner and chief advisor (her words). She continues to minister to individuals, preach the Word, and write articles which always seem to have greater popularity than mine.

You, too, are a vital part of this team. Some of you we have not even seen face to face, but I guarantee that  you are in our hearts and minds as we pray daily. We want you to know that the team bus is rolling, and we are on a winning team. Jesus is our coach and we cannot fail!

I would like to ask you to pray for Tom Shanklin Ministries, that we will continue to successfully expand our mission and reach many souls for the Lord in the coming year. Our vision is to take the Gospel to the United States and the nations of the world and to train and encourage leaders and believers to reach others for Christ. At this time, we are asking the Lord for a significant increase of support in this new year specifically for:

• Expenses for evangelistic outreaches and leaders conferences.
• Printing of our books and other materials for use in third-world countries.
• Strategic ministry projects for world evangelization.

We welcome you, as you are led by the Lord, to continue to link arms with us through prayer, finances, and mutual encouragement to accomplish the vision that the Lord has given us to “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel.” Thanks for all you do, and for the huge part that you have already had in Tom Shanklin Ministries. May God richly bless you in this coming new year and in the years to come!

Tom Shanklin

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