Dr. Delron & Peggy Shirley
Teach All Nations Mission (TAN) is a global evangelical educational ministry birthed from the teaching ministries of Delron and Peggy Shirley. The name Teach All Nations Mission was chosen to carefully indicate exactly what the heart of Delron and Peggy’s mission is.
TAN’s commitment is to establish a solid foundation in the national pastors and leaders so that they can help enrich the people. The vision is Christian teaching materials (in English and the local languages) in printed form and on audio and video, providing scholarships to Christian colleges and Bible schools for promising students, assisting in establishing and building of Bible schools, and broadcasting via the internet, radio, and television.
In our March newsletter, we shared a principle from one of Delron’s books about doors and windows – that when God opens doors of ministry (I Corinthians 6:9), He also opens the windows of heaven to provide all the needed resources for that ministry (Malachi 3:10). We are excited to share with you that He has done just that for the work of Teach All Nations.
In recent months, He has opened many new doors of ministry to us – including some exciting opportunities behind the Quran Curtain to minister to Muslim Background Believers in the Middle East. Because we had used all the donations that came in during the pandemic to support our ministry partners around the world while they were in lockdown, we found ourselves having to borrow money to pay for the publishing costs of the materials we needed to distribute in these nations, the conference costs, and our travel expenses as we ventured through these newly opened doors. We had to borrow fourteen thousand dollars from our savings account and over six thousand dollars from a special account where we had been saving the proceeds from our book sales to cover the cost of reprinting all the books that we re-edited during the time we could not travel due to the pandemic lockdowns.
At the same time that we were struggling with our own expenses, we began to receive urgent requests from our ministry partners who were facing dire situations with no one else to turn to for help – a cyclone seriously damaged the roof of the church and parsonage in Myanmar, a worker in Liberia was facing two major challenges (His truck, which he depends upon for his ministry in the “bush,” was inoperable and his wife needed major surgery.), and an evangelist in Niger was out of evangelistic and training materials in the languages of the people he ministers to.
The Apostle Paul introduces chapter twelve of I Corinthians with the admonition that we should not be ignorant of spiritual things. Although most translations use the word “gifts” in this sentence, that term is in italics indicating that it is not part of the original Greek text. Actually, Paul wants us to learn about more spiritual realities than just the gifts. In I Corinthians 12:7, Paul speaks of manifestations of the Holy Spirit. The use of this term makes us keenly aware that he is not talking about human ability, but divine ability operating in these functions. The verses leading up to this passage suggest that the manifestations can be subdivided into three categories.
Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. (I Corinthians 12:4-7)
Gifts are given by the Holy Spirit. (I Corinthians 12:4) Administrations are given by Jesus, the Lord. (I Corinthians 12:5) Operations come from God. (I Corinthians 12:6) Paul goes on to list the specific functions within each category. These listings may not be all- inclusive in that we see other lists in other portions of scripture that seem to complete or augment the items enumerated here. The gifts of the Spirit are listed in I Corinthians 12:8-10. These are the supernatural abilities that we have already mentioned in other contexts. From Ephesians 4:11, we can understand that Jesus is in charge of placing individual believers into positions so that they can minister with the supernatural gifts that the Holy Spirit has placed inside of them.
The Apostle Paul introduces chapter twelve of I Corinthians with the admonition that we should not be ignorant of spiritual things. Although most translations use the word "gifts" in this sentence, that term is in italics indicating that it is not part of the original...
In our March newsletter, we shared a principle from one of Delron’s books about doors and windows – that when God opens doors of ministry (I Corinthians 6:9), He also opens the windows of heaven to provide all the needed resources for that ministry (Malachi 3:10). We...
I’m no expert on wine. I simply don’t imbibe. However, I do have a background as a chemist; so, I enjoy fun facts about how chemicals interact and make things happen. Well, enough of that. I do understand that grapes grown under draught conditions actually produce...
In John 16:7, Jesus said that it was expedient for us that He should go away because, unless He left, the Holy Spirit could not come. What is this advantage that Jesus spoke of concerning having the Holy Spirit in our lives? The book of Romans is actually the closest...
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit,...
Although our host in this Muslim-dominated country has some horrific stories to share about his life as a Christian convert from the majority religion – tales of rejection, persecution, torture, and attempts against his life – we found that our stay in his country was...
