Tell Us Your Story

For some people, the tragic loss of a family member leads to an abandonment of God and church. For others like Mark and Pam Jordan, however, such loss actually brought them back into God's presence.

August 24, 2009, seemed like any other day. Several kids, including Mark and Pam’s grandson, Isaiah, were playing on a deck at the Jordan’s house, where Pam ran a daycare. In what seemed like an instant, Pam noticed Isaiah was missing and her world collapsed when she discovered Isaiah had fallen into their swimming pool. Despite multiple revival attempts, Isaiah passed away at only three years old. Shortly after Isaiah’s death, Mark found himself at Pathway telling a woman he’d never met that his grandson had just died. Mark and his family didn’t go to church, but he wondered if there was any way Pathway could hold a funeral. “With open arms, she gave me a big old hug and said, ‘Of course,’” Mark recalled. “The lady at that desk took care of it all, and we never got to thank her.”

Isaiah’s funeral at Pathway brought Mark and Pam back to church for the first time in more than a decade. Mark had harbored an unwillingness to tithe and Pam’s absence had gradually become a habit, but Isaiah’s death revealed some humbling realities. Mark now knew he had a responsibility to restore himself to God and lead his family spiritually, and Pam realized the only way she would get to see Isaiah again was to get right with her Savior.

So Mark and Pam’s journey back to God began. Mark’s biggest step was to begin tithing. Seeing God continually provide for his family in multiple areas, Mark has faithfully tithed every week since Isaiah’s death. Pam, meanwhile, had to learn to fully trust God and believe His will was perfect. During one of her lowest moments, Pam asked God to just give her a sign Isaiah was with Him. Isaiah always liked lights, and one of the two sensor lights in the Jordan’s back yard had never worked. Yet moments after Pam’s prayer, both lights illuminated the entire yard. Now, whenever Pam feels most guilty or heartbroken, the lights always seem to come on to assure her that God is with her.

Mark and Pam will always miss Isaiah, but without his passing, they are confident they would never have changed their lives. They have found peace and joy in their new relationships with Christ and in the knowledge they will see Isaiah again. Their hope is that it will not take a tragedy for others to believe in God and trust in Him. None of us have any time to waste.

Being the spiritual leader of a family is never easy. But when that family is made up of four daughters (two teenagers in the home and two young married adults) plus a wife who takes her personal ministry quite seriously, it can be a daunting task.

Chris Hull knows cars. He builds hot rods, classic cars, and vintage autos from the ground up. He's the family optimist; protector of his wife, Angela; and sons, Gavin, 5, and Colin, who turns 2 next month.

Angela is the worrier. She's the mom who keeps the home fires burning while working as an optometric technician at the Veterans Administration.

Both are more comfortable as givers than as receivers. The continuing commitment Chris has made to tithing makes him his wife’s hero. His faithfulness stood out while they dated prior to their 2005 marriage at Pathway. “He's always been extremely generous,” said Angela. “He doesn't really see it as a duty. He sees it as giving what's already been given to him. Chris had faith that as long as we did what the Lord wanted us to do, He would provide. We have increased our giving before, even when we had doubts. But like they say, God's math doesn't make sense.”

As their faith and family grew, so did their bonds at Pathway. The Hulls joined a Home Team in 2007, took two mission trips to Mexico, and embraced the Lord's plan when their beloved Home Team grew too large and needed to multiply. “The change was hard, but we made new friends and keep in touch with old ones," explained Chris. “We got more involved volunteering with Parents Night Out and in the Welcome Center.”

Chris, 43, tried to work through the migraines that began in 2008. The debilitating headaches grew worse and more frequent, causing trips to the emergency room and a week in the hospital. A promising surgical procedure to his neck offered hope, but his job provides no paid medical leave. Chris believes God has a plan for taking care of him and his family. Twenty years ago, he beat leukemia.

“Another surgery didn't worry me much at all,” Chris said. “My only concern was the time off, recovery time afterwards, and supporting my family financially. God was teaching me something else.”

The morning Chris had surgery, two good friends from their Home Team, Dan Doerflinger and Ily Simyatitsky, unexpectedly showed up to wait alongside Angela and his parents. The Hulls’ Home Team family, along with Pathway, provided cash gifts to help pay bills and medical costs not covered by insurance.

“Our friends helped support us because they knew my husband would have felt worried and compelled to go back to work early and destroy all the work the surgeon had done,” said Angela. “My husband is always the one helping out other people, not the other way around. A lot of what this has taught us is to accept grace when it is offered. We were humbled that people helped us out so much.”  

Holmes and Lahna Andrus made a leap of faith that most parents would consider terrifying: they allowed their teenage daughter to choose the church the family would attend. It was a decision they did not take lightly. Their older daughter, Janelle, who now attends Oral Roberts University, had successfully navigated her high school years with the help of the youth group at their former church. But they were concerned that their youngest daughter, Becca, had not made that all-important connection with the same youth group; she was not making good choices in her friendships and activities. Their concern led to a “deal” with Becca: “Find a church where you feel connected and we’ll all go there as a family.”

Last summer, Becca’s friend, Maddy Koehn, invited her to attend Christ In Youth with IGNITE, Pathway’s student ministry. Becca’s search for a new church was over; she felt an immediate bond with the leaders and kids in the group. Becca joined a small group and her parents saw her blossoming under the mentoring of Sara Hutchison. She has formed good, positive friendships, and is now a leader in the student ministry as she works with middle schoolers, memorizes Scripture, and tithes from her paycheck. Now a junior at Maize High, Becca and other students from Pathway helped establish Fellowship of Christian Athletes at their school. Her parents are so grateful to Maddy for the initial invitation and for the leadership of the student ministry who made Becca feel welcome.

Holmes and Lahna followed Becca to Pathway as promised. They joined a Sunday group where Holmes is now leading. They attended a Home Team Connection Event and found a small group that is a great fit. When Holmes was diagnosed with prostate cancer in November, they were blessed by the love and support these groups gave them during his treatment. He is now cancer-free and so thankful for God’s healing and grace shown to them by their Pathway family.

It was difficult to leave a church where they had attended for 20 years and make the change to Pathway, but both Holmes and Lahna say the move was a “huge blessing” to their family. Holmes says, “Pathway is a tremendous place to grow your faith.”  

God brought Becca to Pathway through the invitation of a friend and the Andrus family is so thankful they followed. Holmes sums it by saying; “Pathway has been a huge blessing for all of us in so many ways.” 

“Great is Thy faithfulness, O God our Father…” is how one of our favorite hymns begins. It was autumn of 1985. Greg and I were thrilled to be living in Fort Worth, Texas. We had a roof over our heads, food on our table, two lovely young children, steady employment, a church home like none other, and our health. Greg determined after much prayer, he was to transition back into the role of student. He decided that the vocation of his dreams, veterinary medicine, was indeed what he was to be about. As he entered academia and our children began school, we switched roles. Greg buckled down with his books, and I put on the temporary bread-winner “hat.” No problem, a temporary change for the next six foreseeable years, and then all would be more normal. Then, that dreaded word “cancer” subtly, then quickly, raised its ugly head. Greg was diagnosed with lymphoma of the colon.

Cancer, being the non-respecter of one’s financial pockets, presented itself in all sorts of ways. Blood transfusions, prayers of family and friends, surgery, assorted chemotherapies with their many side-effects, more prayers, and a move north to embrace the hope of Veterinary College, all came before the final pronouncement that the cancer was in remission.

God had a plan, and He used so many to manifest His love, protection, and incredibly thoughtful generosity through it all. On two occasions following the close of our church’s worship service, God’s Spirit led people in our church family to give, and with tears of humble gratitude and awe, we received monetary help unlike one could imagine. When it came time to move north, men came to paint our home prior to selling it — with lunch provided as well! Our move to Manhattan took place. Greg achieved his vocational goal and has remained cancer-free! Our move to Wichita to begin practicing brought with it much school debt in addition to buying the practice. Strapped at the time, we received another gift of love to help us over another “hump.”

Learning to graciously receive is a difficult lesson to learn. Having opportunities to be on the giving end is much more enjoyable, and we praise the same faithful God for allowing us to steward His blessings as we see the needs of others arise. The end of that old hymn brings a perfect closing: “All I have needed Thy hand hath provided; great is Thy faithfulness Lord unto me!”

Steve and Donna have attended Pathway Church together since their marriage, 23 years ago. During the week, they are a husband wife sales team with Steve piloting their Bonanza small plane all over the southeast states. Steve and Donna have been in a Home Team for 20 years and serve at the Lord’s Diner bi-monthly. He was also an Usher Coordinator on Saturday nights. Steve said he spent most of his life making excuses for why he could not give more time to God’s work. He was willing to increase his tithe but not his time.