Pastor Virgil Update 10/06/23

Moving Christians from the pew to the harvest.” Matthew 9:36-38

October 6, 2023

Let’s get hungry!

I’ve spent the last several days in a little cabin in the Catskills waiting on God and just spending lots of time in His Presence. Now it’s time to get back down to earth and get ready for a very busy season ahead. Thank you for your support and interest in what we do.

While teaching a class in Hermosillo, Sonora last month I was brought to tears by the hunger in the hearts of the people. Our “classroom” was a small church in a rough area. Although it was 7 PM, the outside temperatures were well over 100 degrees. I will not hazard a guess about inside, but it was hot (No AC, you see) In spite of this fact, plus gas prices north of $5.50 per gallon, the place was full. We had optimistically printed 50 course outline, and we ran out the first night. We all sang and prayed and studied and sweated together for 2 nights. No one wanted to leave. It was wonderful.

As of that last evening, I changed the way I pray for revival in our country. You see, I believe God is moving. Unfortunately, most of the church is oblivious. For a number of reasons, people don’t think they need to gather, certainly not on a weeknight. They are tired, busy, and distracted. Anyway, they have the internet, right? In talking with my Mexican friends, it dawned on me, “These people are hungry!” That’s what I’m praying for in our land: A church full of hungry hearts. I’ve seen what happens when people genuinely get hungry for God – He shows up! Lord, give us hungry hearts:

Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

Psalm 107:8-9 ESV

Tithe Class: The class on “The Tithe” is up on YouTube. I revamped the outlines, and they are available for download as well. This has been a huge project for me. I believe that one of the assaults on the local church has come in the area of finances. If you’ve ever heard the phrase, “Tithing was under the Law,” then you can benefit from this teaching. If you’ve never been taught the nature of tithing, the reason and the benefits, this is for you. And especially, if you haven’t taught your people on the subject, this is definitely for you. Know what you believe and why you believe it. Faith comes by hearing and …

To read some of the material in print form, go to www.pastorvirgil.com. In the search box on the right of the page, type in “Tithing,” and hit enter. There’s a lot of stuff there.

Special thanks to Pastor John Smith for doing all the work of recording, editing, and uploading the videos. That’s in addition to allowing the class to be taught at the Wednesday evening service for 8 weeks.

Help Wanted: Speaking of pastorvirgil.com, I could still use some help in remodeling the site. If you have talents and time, let me know. We want to refresh the look, and at the same time add a dedicated feed for Spanish materials. Our Spanish material in print and on video is increasing. This needs to have its own page.

IEMFe in Hermosillo: As you may have gathered, the trip to Hermosillo went very well. The classes on Powerful Prayer were enthusiastically received. We will return in November to finish the class. The Pastor’s Breakfast was excellent. We were able to stream the teaching and get it recorded. The question we addressed was, “As a group of ministers, what do we need from each other and from the organization?” I thought the responses were excellent. At the end of the breakfast, they surprised me with a birthday cake. We had a wonderful time, and again, no one wanted to leave. Precious.

Kudos to Pastor Randy Winkles and Rev. Joshua Taylor for helping with driving, teaching, recording, and then preaching in churches on Sunday. We were able to disperse to three different churches, as our number of interpreters has increased.

New York: As mentioned above, I am currently in New York, about to visit several churches with whom I have close ties. Last Sunday I was in Afton with Pastors Paul and Joanne Hauptmann. They have been faithful friends since first attending a bible study in 1986. They and the folks at Higher Ground Christian Church were a joy to be with. And they sent me back to my cabin with enough food for a couple of days. Thank you all. You can see the rest of the schedule below.

It’s still possible to register for the Effective Leadership Workshop. 9:30 AM- 12:30. Believers Church @Glenville 304 Swaggertown Rd, Glenville, Call the church and leave a message to let us know you’re coming so we can be sure we have enough printed material for everyone. (518) 399-0039

Coming Attractions :

Thank you for your prayers and support. We are continually blessed by all the folks who have confidence in us even though they know us well. I can’t tell you how much that means to us. Thank you for making it possible for us to continue building people of substance for works of power. You truly fit the definition of people of substance: consistency, loyalty, faithfulness. God bless you.

Financial support can be sent to Faith Christian Fellowship of Tucson at the address below or given online at www.fcftucson.org. Make checks payable to FCFT and designate missions or pastorvirgil and it will get where it needs to go.

Please follow us at www.pastorvirgil.com. There’s new stuff every week. You don’t want to miss it. Share it with your friends. You can help by looking at the Pastorvirgil.com Facebook page and hitting “Follow.” Whenever you see a post, share it. This will help us reach more people. We also maintain a Facebook page in Spanish @IEMFeonline.

We are yours in His service,

Virgil and Judy Stokes

3141 W. Ironwood Hill Dr.

Tucson AZ, 85745

520-792-3238

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