A Great Commission Story
“You beat me to our Fathers house. So many things going through my mind on what to say.. but I wanted to share a story about my friend Tony.. I was feeling sad since I found out he passed away. .But ill share from my memory and experiences.
Many years ago might of been early 20' I had went to jail. I remember my mind was so messed up just from coming down off of drugs. After a while, I was bored. So a volunteer chaplain assistant named Tony came to our unit. He would come do Bible study with the people there at the jail, and I guess he would do that there for 15 years. Planting seeds he would say. Many years would pass..and when covid started a lot of churches were shut down.. I remember one day thinking and just asking God. " What happened to the guy that used to come to polk county, jail and do bible studies?" A week later, a friend invited me to the hy.Vee on euclid, which I hesitated because I usually don't eat food from those places. I remember going to the grill area. As I turned the corner there, he was. And of course, I asked him, Hey, do you remember me from the jail? Of course, he had seen thousands of people throughout his time there. So no, he didn't remember. But he told me what he had been up to and he gave me his card. A month later I gave him a call and we began to meet in a small group setting, doing studies. He had become my friend.. I would tag a long and pass out tracks and do some evangelizing in the streets. Why? Because it's the great commission..I would translate for him he loved talking to people about the Gospel of Jesus . I was already going to church but never would talk about repentance or sin or how we were enemies of God and how we got reconciled through Jesus.
THAT WAS TONY..
He cared about other people's souls.And where they would spend eternity.
Every waitress, waiter, disheveled person rich or poor... planting seeds.
THAT WAS TONY..
pouring hours into one on ones doing discipleship, everywhere he went and to everyone he would run into. Super bold.
He would tell me about everything he would do in the past.. working at the original freedom for youth homes..
On staff at teen challenge where he was the only one that would take students to des moines to do some street evangelism.
Jail ministry, Fort Des Moines ministry... everywhere he went. He wasn't about building a ministry a kingdom for himself.. but he was about the Father buisness. A book could be written about him.. no one's perfect but I know he impacted a lot of people I know he's hearing those words " Well done, good and faithful servant!. Getting those crowns..
No matter how life got difficult towards the end, Tony pressed in to the Lord. While many others would of gave up already. Through all the downs and ups he got back up..
THAT WAS TONY
a friend.. family.. loved.. and will be missed..I know it's not the End.
IN MY FATHERS HOUSE ARE MANY ROOMS; IF IT WERE NOT SO , I WOULD HAVE TOLD YOU. I AM GOING THERE TO PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU . AND IF I GO AND PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU. I WILL COME BACK AND TAKE YOU TO BE WITH ME THAT YOU ALSO MAY BE WHERE I AM AT. JOHN 14:2-3
Prayers and condolences to his family.”
This story was shared publicly after the recent death of a man I never met out in Iowa.
I never met the man who wrote it either.
But someone our family has really grown to trust passed it on, a staffmember at Shepherd’s College who knew both of the men and whose family lives out the Great Commission, too.