The love YOU share gives neighbors like Thomas hope for a better life…
Finding Purpose – And Redemption – In God’s Will
For 21 years, Thomas’s work as a Mission Chaplain has served as a reminder of God’s faithfulness. “Because I’ve experienced being an addict,” he reflects, “the Lord has been able to use me for His purpose, and I’m so grateful.”
Heroin addiction almost cost him everything as a young man. “Even though it was against all that I believed, I fell into addiction while I was overseas in the service.”
God brought Thomas out of addiction’s grip, and having experienced the miracle of Jesus’s saving grace, he was inspired to spread the Gospel. “In ’77, God called me to be a lay minister in the church.”
In Albuquerque, Thomas served in a church and at a local mission. “I moved to a church in Rockland where I was ordained and became a minister of evangelism.” And it was during this transition that God led him to the Union Gospel Mission.
“Isn’t it remarkable how the Lord can take your worst shame and use it to bring healing?”
When he began at the Mission, he was the only chaplain on staff, supporting Mission guests at every stage in their journey of discipleship.
As additional chaplains have joined the Mission, he’s seen the work expand and felt the relief of having a team to share the load of caring for Mission residents. “We minister to the men in the program with Bible classes, personal studies, counseling, and teaching them to serve others. To set them apart from their old debilitating lives into new, productive lives in Christ.
We continue to support our graduates as they move into the next chapter of their lives. From employment and housing assistance, paying off debts and fines, searching for a car, starting to save, and most importantly, pursuing life in their local church. Thomas and his team are committed to sharing Christ’s love through the grace and hope of the Gospel that transforms lives.
Thomas praises God for your heart of compassion that helps his team minister to neighbors in need. Because you chose to share God’s love, he sees firsthand how weary Mission guests find new hope and life. “The Mission is doing the work of the Kingdom of God in these men’s lives, and that’s the most important thing – that the Gospel is preached with clarity.”
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