August 2025 Member Letter

August 7, 2025

Dear Brethren,

Before getting to my subject for this member letter, I want to give you the latest update on my health. As a result of a birth defect affecting my aortic valve, I underwent surgery to replace the valve on July 1 at the Plano Heart Center. On Monday, Aug. 4, I returned to the Plano Heart Center for my follow-up visit with the surgeon who performed the valve replacement. The surgeon was very pleased with my progress and stated that it appears I am already 85 percent healed from the surgery. However, he still wants me to go through the cardiac rehabilitation program held at the hospital before clearing me for work and a return to normal activities, including travel. He stated that after I finish the rehab, there will be no restrictions on my activities. Since the malformed valve had limited the blood flow from my heart, I’ve been told that with the replacement of the old valve, I should be “better” than before. The sobering part of it is that I had no physical indications that anything was wrong until the past few months. But obviously there was something wrong.

Aug. 1 was the 30-day mark since surgery, and I have been slowly returning to normal activities. On Aug. 7 I will begin cardiac rehab for one month, which will take me to the first part of September. The doctor believes that at that point I will be able to return to work with no restrictions. I believe God has indeed intervened, and I am looking forward to finishing the rehab, which will consist of classes each day (five days a week) in the gym at the hospital. I will be hooked up with electrodes to monitor my heart during the entire period of exercise. There is a good chance that I will be able to return to services and to work during the second week of September, which is a full month prior to the Feast of Tabernacles.

As you can imagine, over the past 30 days I have had a lot of time to think. In this letter I want to share some of my thoughts with all of you. When I was working 10 to 12 hours a day and traveling the world, it seems that my prayers were primarily focused on the work I was doing. But now as I assess my life and hear the cries of others, I approach my prayer life differently. Please don’t misunderstand, I believe the work I have been doing is very important, and I am excited about returning to that work. But as I consider the trials that individuals are going through, the suffering they are enduring personally, I am focused on the need for God’s intervention in all our lives. 

During the past month, I have been able to focus my attention more on others who are suffering from various ailments, from heart issues to various forms of cancer. I won’t list names for fear of leaving someone out, but all of you are aware of the prayer requests that have come out recently. My prayer list has expanded, and I believe that my prayers are more personal and heartfelt. It is hard for me to accept the mercy God has shown to me while others are still suffering. The doctors are amazed that I had few prior symptoms and experienced no pain from the surgery. The only issue I have experienced since the surgery has been fatigue. When I become tired, I just have to stop and rest. But I see that as nothing compared to what others are going through.

Recently, I have been considering the verses found in James 5 about the importance of prayer as it relates to healing. These verses aren’t controversial, and I believe they mean exactly what they say. God listens to our prayers, and when we pray fervently on behalf of someone else, God hears and He promises to answer. Of course, we all know that the answer God gives may not always be the answer we had hoped for, but the important thing is that God does hear and He does answer: “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:14-16).

I encourage all of us to give additional thought to the various prayer requests we receive each week. I encourage each of us to think about the individuals who are suffering. The one thing they share in common is that they are facing a serious crisis with their health, and they are desperately in need of God’s intervention. With my health crisis, I find myself relating to these requests and taking their situation to God with deeper feeling and emotion. I don’t want to give the impression that I did not pray for others prior to my surgery, but I have to admit, I have a different perspective now and a more meaningful attachment to each person I read about.

Before concluding this letter, let me give you some updates from the Church. The work of the Church is moving forward. I am very happy that we have men and women who are dedicated to getting the message out to the world and developing church leadership around the world. Doug Horchak and his wife Tanya just returned from a two-week trip to Africa. His report on our leadership development programs in countries such as Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Kenya and Uganda was very inspiring. Clyde Kilough and our Media department continue to produce quality material that is provided free to the world, and we’ve seen good growth over the past couple of years in personal correspondence. Dave Myers and his wife Pam continue to travel the U.S., working with the ministry and developing new ministers for the future. Our finances are strong under the oversight of our treasurer, Britton Taylor. Of course, we give God the thanks for our current financial position. We have other men and their wives who travel the world on behalf of the Church—our regional directors, Leon Walker, Joel Meeker, David Baker and Arnold Hampton; and our senior pastors, Paul Carter, Tim Waddle, Doug Johnson and Jon Pinelli. And there are many others. We are a team of men and women working toward a common goal.

I also want to confirm that all the building permits are in place, and on Tuesday, Aug. 5, we closed on a loan, which should be the last document needed to allow us to begin construction on the new auditorium/education center. Even though we have the funds to fully pay for the new building, we have chosen to take out a construction loan for half the amount rather than using our own funds. The construction loan will consist of interest-only use of funds during the construction period. When the building is complete, we will pay off the construction loan either right away or within a short period of time as we did with the office building.

During this month of August, we will begin another year of Foundation Institute. Our 14 students for 2025-2026 constitute a nice increase over last year. The new students should arrive in McKinney before the end of this month. In addition to a new FI year, we will hold the first-ever Pastoral Development Program for all the pastors in Latin America here at the office.

In summary, my recovery is going very well. With the dedicated staff we have in place, the work of the Church is expanding in all areas. I hope you are as excited as I am about these developments.

Sincerely, your brother in Christ,

Jim Franks