As told by Brenda Lyons of North Plains Church
A Long Road of Struggle
At North Plains Church, we’ve walked alongside Thomas for many years. His life was marked by addiction, drug dealing, and the grip of destructive choices. Our church family did what we could—helping him enter two different drug treatment programs. The second was out of state, offering the hope of a new beginning away from negative influences. Still, after returning home, Thomas found himself slipping back into the life he once knew.
A Mother’s Cry for Prayer
On Saturday, April 12, 2025, everything changed. Thomas’s mother reached out, asking for urgent prayer. Her son was in the emergency room. Doctors suspected a heart attack, and an infectious disease specialist had been called in. The hospital advised a blood transfusion and an endoscopy to examine behind his heart. But Thomas, overwhelmed and afraid, checked himself out of the hospital and returned home—still in need of life-saving care.
A Resurrection Sunday Encounter
A week later, on Resurrection Sunday—April 20th, Thomas was back in the hospital. This time, something was different. He reached out for prayer. In a powerful moment of God’s grace, Thomas surrendered his life to Christ, right there in his hospital room.
“I want to serve the Lord by helping others with what I have gone through,” he said, with a sincerity that moved us deeply. We prayed for healing, for purpose, and for Jesus to use Thomas’s life as a testimony of redemption.
A New Beginning—with God
Thomas is now enrolled in a residential recovery program here in the Portland metro area. He’s nervous. He’s uncertain. But he’s no longer walking alone. This time, he has God on his side.
To God be the glory—great things He has done!
Stories like Thomas happen because people invest in kingdom workers like Brenda Lyons at North Plains Church. We believe a small act of generosity can grow into something incredible. That’s why we’re inviting 25 new people to become Mustard Seed Partners as monthly givers in 2025—at $25, $50, or $100 per month.
Will you be one of the 25?
