Press Releases
Governor Fallin Celebrates New Ministry Home for Reaching Souls
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (December 15, 2011) - Governor Mary Fallin and Mr. Tom Hill, Chairman of Kimray, Inc., were among the hundreds of guests who attended the Open House and Building Dedication for Reaching Souls International.
Reaching Souls International is an Oklahoma based ministry working primarily in 7 countries in Africa with some involvement in India and Cuba. The ministry was founded in 1986 and just recently completed construction of a completely debt-free office complex to house their stateside headquarters. “The generosity of our supporters, led by God to give, has allowed us to complete this facility debt-free! With the donation of the land from Eagle Heights Church, we give God all the glory, we could not have accomplished this without him,” said Ben Manis, President.
The South OKC Chamber of Commerce provided the ribbon and scissors for this occasion and many members attended the celebration. The new offices for the ministry are located at 12625 S. Portland, OKC, 73170. For more information about Reaching Souls International go to www.reachingsoulsinternational.org.
PERMANENT MINISTRY HOME BECOMING A REALITY
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (April 27, 2011) – After 25 years of renting, the gift of an acre of land from Eagle Heights church in south Oklahoma City to Reaching Souls International was a miracle. Then came the gifts of the building plan, design improvements and landscaping and irrigation. Breaking ground for the future ministry home was a true celebration of all God has done to bring this project from a dream to a reality.
On April 14, 2011, the Board of Directors, staff, and friends of Reaching Souls International broke ground where the new office will be built on South Portland Avenue. The anticipated completion date is late fall of this year.
From left to right: Harold Fahrlender-Board Member, Gary Storm-Board Member, Larry Sanford- Board Member, Ben Manis-President, David Aduddell- Board Member, Glen Fullbright- Board Member, Dennis Napier- Board Member, Jimmy Hodges-Founder, Dustin Manis-CEO
CHURCH GIVES LAND TO LOCAL MINISTRY
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (December 15, 2010) – After almost two years of consideration, meetings, prayer and counsel, Eagle Heights Church has deeded 1 acre of land to Reaching Souls International on which to build a permanent home for their ministry.
Brent Parsons, COO for Reaching Souls, approached Brad Davis, Pastor, and Worship Pastor Joel Snow in January 2009 asking them to consider the idea of leading Eagle Heights to gift some land to Reaching Souls. “We get requests like this frequently,” said Davis “and the answer is always no. You don’t give away land. But for some reason when Brent asked, I paused. I believe God was giving us the opportunity to partner with something bigger than we were.”
Pastor Davis took the request to his staff, church leaders, elders, and small group leaders throughout a year long process of seeking counsel. “We wanted this to be a church decision, led by God and agreed to by the body.” In July 2010, the church voted and by a 99% positive vote, approved.
On December 15, 2010 the deed was signed by all parties involved.
Reaching Souls trains pastors internationally and supports nationals reaching their own countrymen in places of great opportunity such as Africa, India, and Cuba. “We are proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the greatest number of people, as quickly as possible, and using the most efficient methods available to us,” states Ben Manis, President. “The vision this ministry was founded on has proven itself effective, with exponential growth being witnessed now unlike ever before in our history. This land will allow us to provide a permanent base from which to continue our efforts. Our focus remains unchanged after 25 years. We are very grateful to Pastor Davis and the body of Eagle Heights for their partnership and generosity.”
For more information on the ministry of Reaching Souls International go to www.reachingsoulsinternational.org or call (405)917-7000
From left to right: front-David Clack, Mark Gaines, Lloyd Woodland, Ben Manis, Dustin Manis, Brad Davis back-Joel Snow, Brent Parsons, Robin Palesano
(High res photo available)