To My Brothers & Sisters In Christ, I just finished reading our first ministry newsletter from four years ago. I had shared some of my personal testimony and also the vision for Hope of Glory Ministries. I can wholeheartedly say that our God is faithful and is able to do exceedingly above and beyond what I can ask or think. I want to thank all of you who have prayed for us, given financially, volunteered, and have supported The Rock. Also, many of you have donated food, clothes and household items to God’s Gracious Gift, which in turn we distribute to those in need throughout our community. I praise the Lord for our ministry staff, both past and present, who have diligently worked to fulfill our God-given mission. It has not been easy but it has always been a labor of love. I can report to you that we have seen increase on all sides and that we have stayed the course with the vision. Our mission from day one has been to stand in the gap between our community of believers and the church, and between the church and the lost. We come alongside these three groups to proclaim the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ and minister through Christian resources, evangelism, discipleship and community outreach.

     The Rock is obviously how we minister through Christian resources. We have seen greater than 10,000 different customers who have graciously patronized our bookstore and mini-coffee shop. People come in six days a week purchasing bibles, books, music, gifts, etc. These resources help them and/or others to grow in their personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Your encouraging words to us about The Rock always confirm to us the blessing that it is to our community.

     Our evangelistic efforts have also been fruitful. We have sown the seeds of the Word of God in many lives in many different ways. We have organized and hosted breakfast and luncheon events, Christian music concerts, Kid’s Day movie premieres, tent crusades in Moyewood and on the campus of ECU, outreaches to our homeless shelter and its transitional housing residents, etc. But we are not just event driven because Monday thru Friday of each week we are blessed and privileged to share the gospel with many people who are coming to us for help with food, clothing and other household items. We have truly seen many people who have made commitments of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. To God be all the glory!

     Discipleship is another focus for us. We have continually offered community bible studies, some which were for women only, and the others for men and women. It is awesome to see people grow deeper in their walk with Jesus. We have been faithful to declare the whole counsel of God. The Lord has also used us to host community-wide men’s and women’s conferences. We have seen people attend these representing a number of different churches in our area. We are firm believers that the local church has the primary responsibility to disciple followers of Jesus Christ and our heart as a para-church ministry has been to stand in the gap as the Lord has led us.

     And lastly, but certainly not least, has been in our efforts in community outreach. Namely, this is God’s Gracious Gift, which is our full-service food bank, clothing, and household resource center that helps in meeting the basic needs of those people in our area who live at the level of poverty or are in crisis situations. This is a tremendous harvest field! We are not a revolving door where people come in and get food and clothes and they leave. Our focus is on sharing the love of God and the good news of Jesus Christ. We know that if a person is fed and clothed but does not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, then they are still hungry and naked. We pray with everyone who comes to us and share the hope that is in Christ. I praise God for the fruitfulness of this ministry! People are referred to us by social service organizations, Pitt County Schools, churches, individuals, and yes there are some who the Holy Spirit leads to us who no man or woman referred. Hallelujah! The Lord is enlarging our territory in this outreach by leaps and bounds. Approximately 2 1/2 years ago, I was praying about God’s Gracious Gift and the Lord gave me a vision of a tractor-trailer truck delivering a load of food. I found it humorous because we were just beginning to help a few people per month. But I did receive it as being from the Lord. Over time we have continued to seek the Lord in this as the number of people we serve is rising rapidly. Over the past few months our staff has had a real stirring and expectancy in the ministry. We believe the Lord has revealed that the time is now for the tractor-trailer loads of food. We are sensing in the Spirit that God is setting us up to be like a Joseph’s Storehouse. We will continue to serve individuals and families in our ministry center but we also believe we are to help supply food in bulk to other agencies and food pantries in our area. Some will be secular and others will be Christ-centered. I do not understand it all, but we have a strong witness that this is what we are to do. In the last two weeks we have been given a forklift and a walk-in freezer and refrigerator. Both of these gifts were unsolicited by us. Our ministry did not ask anyone for them. God knows we will very soon have need of them and so He saw fit to send them our way. We are working with a national ministry on securing these truck loads of food that will be delivered every two months. Please join us in prayer. A load of food (40,000 pounds) is estimated to cost $1,800. We have been talking to area agencies and they are confirming that food is in short supply. We believe where God guides He also provides! We will need to significantly raise our giving base to accomplish this work for God’s glory and the advancement of His Kingdom. We know many people will be reached with the gospel of Jesus Christ through this outreach. We are applying for grants and will also be talking to more area churches, businesses and individuals to help us. Would you please prayerfully consider giving to this work? We honestly believe we will touch thousands through this outreach. We also know to whom much is given much is required! By God’s grace and through the power of the Holy Spirit we shall see this come to pass.

     This ministry is not about us, but all about Jesus Christ! I am convinced our greatest days are ahead of us. Thank you again for your faithful support as we fulfill the mission God has given us!


Love in Christ,
Clark & Lisa Stallings