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Reverend Tom Weaver
The Outreach Pastor
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and
learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is
easy and my burden is light.”Matthew 11 verses 28-30
Ministering to people, and doing all he can through the work of the Holy Spirit to win souls for our Lord, and the Savior of mankind, Jesus Christ. That is what Tom Weaver is all about. Tom is 69 years old and has been serving the Lord for 50 years! He is currently the Outreach Pastor for the Warren Family Mission.
Tom Weaver was born and raised in Warren, Ohio, and attended school at Willard Elementary, East Junior High, and Warren Harding High School. His mother was a nurse and his father was employed at Packard Electric. His father was an alcoholic who ended up in AA, and then turned gambler, and did not lend much support to him as a young man. His mother did what she could and Tom loved her a lot. His family lived in the projects, and Tom makes no bones about the fact that he grew up without much support on the “wrong side of the tracks” without a religious back round. When he was in first grade he remembers his mother placing a little plastic lamb in the window of their small home, so little Tom would recognize which house was theirs since the homes all looked alike. It is very ironic to him now in retrospect, since the majority of his life has been spent serving “The Lamb of God” (John 1:29). Tom stressed that the sacred words written in Revelations 12:11, “They overcame him by the blood of the lamb, and by the word of their testimony” are critical words to comprehend for all of us in this life.
Growing up poor and in a rough part of town made for a violent adolescence, and Tom was in and out of jail close to a dozen times for street fighting. His father left him and his mother when he was around 13 years old. He described himself as an extremely nervous and troubled youth, and said he had a habit of gnawing on his fingernails until he was literally gnawing on his own fingers. His soul was troubled and his hands would tremble when he was a youngster. It is no wonder he is so compassionate and understanding to the troubled men and women who end up at the mission, many at such a young age. Many of them never had a chance and Tom knows it. They are also from what many would call the “wrong part of town” or “wrong side of the tracks” by the worlds standard in the kingdom of earth.
Since he could not stay out of trouble in high school, his mother told him to join the Army at age 17, hoping it would straighten him up. The troubles continued there and he explained that he was not used to submitting to authority and did not like being picked on. So he got into a lot of trouble and fights there also. He spent close to a year in the stockade during his year and a half in the Army, and then received a discharge. When he came home he could find no work and nobody wanted much to do with him. He ended up in Deland, Florida, with a friend. He obtained a handgun and decided he would make his own living and robbed a motel. The old man at the motel they robbed called in the license number of the car and the police caught them. Tom said he will never forget the words of the old man at the motel when they took him back to be identified for the crime. He put his hand on Tom’s shoulder and said, “I think we’ve met before, haven’t we son?” He found out that the old man had just gotten out of the hospital for open-heart surgery, and he stated it was a lucky thing that he did not die while they were robbing him at gunpoint from the stress to his heart.
So at 19 years of age Tom had committed armed robbery, and his life had really come to the point of complete downfall. He spent about 90 days in the Deland County Jail waiting on his sentencing for the crime. It was there while taking a shower he felt the presence of our Lord. While taking a cold shower the water was pouring over his body and he was watching the water run through his fingers and it reminded him of his life, just running through and wasting away down the sewer drain. He then felt the presence of the Lord in his mind and said it obviously had a very powerful affect. He immediately asked the jailors for a Bible, and began to read and witness for the Lord through the power of the Holy Spirit, and has been doing so ever since that day. It is always amazing how often God works in unexpected ways that could never be predicted. The people he chooses to carry out His plans are many times the outcasts of society and the world, and He often times surprises the world by His follower’s look or general appearance, position in life, and it many times it may be the least obvious person by the worlds standpoint who ends up the true Christian (“But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” Matthew 19:30). Tom was chosen because he made the decision to submit to the Lord after going through life on his own came to complete and utter downfall. This is the most decisive decision that any of us can make, and many of us have made the same decision under similar circumstances. The Lord loves to lift us back up and help us when we are down, if we will only let Him work and surrender ourselves to Him. Pastor Tom made the decision a long time ago.
When it was time for sentencing, Tom got sentenced to three years at Raiford Penitentiary in Florida. He actually spent about six months at Raiford. While he was there he became a part of a Christian group of inmates run by a convicted murderer, who was known as “T-Bone.” He was assigned to kitchen work and other various tasks and also got his GED (High School Equivalency Diploma). He was then transferred to Appleache Correctional Institution for a year and a half. While there he was on a construction building crew and worked as an ironworker, carpenter, and did concrete work. He did well there and scored a 5 (the highest score) on all his work details. He also was on a prison sports team that was involved in many different athletic contests, and they won all of the championships. He felt very favored by the Lord during his prison time, and continued daily with his Bible study, prayer, and witness the entire time he was incarcerated. Submitting to God and making Him first in his life had truly changed his life and his entire outlook on living for a purpose. He knew there was purpose for him through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We see this so much now with our current young generation. They feel they have no purpose when all they need to do is open God’s Word and read, and He will change their lives and give them purpose and direction. “Follow me.” says our Lord in Mark 2:14. Tom was paroled after around two years in prison and went home to Warren.
Back in Warren, he found that there was no work, and most of his friends were either dead or in prison. He then went to Cleveland and stayed with a friend’s family and found a job at a factory. He worked as a truck driver, masking hard chrome, and other various tasks, but was laid off after six months work. Through the years Tom worked at various jobs. He worked in a bakery for a couple years, was a security guard at the Sheraton-Cleveland Hotel, manager for an AAMCO transmissions station, manager for Bond Court Parking Garage in Cleveland, and was a national sales trainer for Collier’s Encyclopedias for many years. His work was not only in Ohio, but also in Florida, and the Carolina’s.
While in his early twenties he attended North Olmsted Assembly of God Church and became a Sunday school teacher there. Teaching the young Bible students on Sunday was a matter he took very seriously. The students he was assigned to progressed right with him each year, because he kept the same students and he felt very responsible to them. This was the start of him being called to minister and preach God’s Word at a young age. He was also married during this period of time to his wife Alice on January 30th, 1960. He feels that her love and support through the years has been extremely important to his continuing ministry for Christ. Tom and Alice have four children, Tommy, Tammy, Timmy, & Tina and have nine grandchildren & two great grandchildren.
While working he attended classes at the Missionary & Ministerial Board of Foreign Missions, Inc. in Akron, Ohio, and became an Ordained Minister of the Gospel of Christ. He preached at various places, and concentrated much of his work as a minister in prisons. He was also the editor of a Christian newspaper called “The Seed” during this period of his life and later on was a counselor and staff member for the Teen Challenge program in Perry, Ohio. While in Florida he went to school at the Abundant Life Christian College for several years for more Bible study and worked as an evangelist & minister in prisons and various locations wherever the Lord placed him. “Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves” (Luke 10:3) came to mind while talking to Tom about his past life. He is “In Christ,” and he was and still is interested in proclaiming the Gospel to anyone who has ears to listen.
In the late 80’s he moved back to Warren to care for his mother after his stepfather had passed away, and she, in turn, passed away in the mid 90’s. Tom worked at the Mahoning Valley Rescue Mission in Youngstown for four years during this time as a resident program supervisor and Chaplain. It was interesting to read a recommendation letter written about Tom by Robert Hitchcock Jr. of the Mahoning Valley Rescue Mission, that does a beautiful job of describing Tom Weaver:
“I am writing this letter today on behalf of my brother in the Lord, and dear friend Reverend Tom Weaver. I have been given the privilege of working together in ministry with Rev. Weaver here at the Rescue Mission for the past four years. His love and dedication to the Lord, and the compassion he has shown to people in need has been an example to me in my life. Rev. Weaver has been our afternoon turn Chaplain for approximately three years, and has ministered the Word of God in many different settings. He has taught Bible studies every day, ministered in our Chapel services, and has also advised the men on our Program on a personal basis. He has a God given ability to encourage people who are hurting. I would recommend Rev. Weaver for any position in ministry whether it would be in another Rescue Mission, in the local church, or in some kind of supervisory position. Rev. Weaver has been a blessing to our Ministry, and I am confident that he would give his best in the work that is set before him.”
He had to move back to Cleveland around 1995 because his wife’s parents and family had many health issues & problems and he was needed there. He worked for the Better Business Bureau and also did some minister work at different churches while back in Cleveland before coming back home to Warren to work with Pastor Chris Gilger at the Warren Family Mission as the Outreach Pastor. They had met and worked together around 1990, and also worked together at the Mahoning Valley Rescue Mission. They are now working together again at the Warren Family Mission since they got back together at the turn of the century. They have a tremendous amount of respect for each other as servants for the Lord. Tom is currently an Associate Pastor at the Glenn Christian Foundation on Parkman Road in Warren and he has been attending church there for the past two years.
When I first met Tom Weaver several years ago, I could not help but to salute “the Christ in him,” and he glows with the Holy Spirit. It is obvious that his number one interest in life is to serve and witness for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He wants to help people who are hurting and bring them home to the Lord through the power of the Holy Spirit. Although he is older and his knees are full of painful arthritis (Tom walks with a cane), he is still “fighting the good fight of faith” and does all he can. He is a good steward for the Lord who is full of the faith and his example of unselfishness and service to his fellow man bring to mind Christ’s words “and whoever wants to be first among you must be a slave to all. For even the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:44-45). It is an honor to not only know him and love him as a friend, but a very humbling experience to be able to write about Tom. I cannot think of a better way to finish a profile of this venerable man of faith, who has worked so hard for Christ to help his fellow man, than with the great Apostle Paul’s words to Timothy:“Before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom, I solemnly charge you: proclaim the message; persist in it whether convenient or not; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching. For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will accumulate teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear something new. They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths. But as for you, keep a clear head about everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is close. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. In the future, there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me, but to all those who have loved His appearing.”2 Timothy 4 verses 1-8
