{"id":268700,"date":"2026-04-27T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/?p=268700"},"modified":"2026-04-28T12:53:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T18:53:14","slug":"a-new-heart-for-the-gospel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/blog\/a-new-heart-for-the-gospel\/","title":{"rendered":"A New Heart for the Gospel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It was August 4, 2008. A plane lifted off into the cold, foggy Oregon morning \u2014 and the engine stalled. Though the pilot circled for a safe place to land, the plane plowed through a house that was being rented by a family on vacation. The parents were out for a morning stroll when the crash happened. As they walked, they heard the explosion and the scream of sirens. When they returned, the house had collapsed and was burning. Their three children, along with the pilot and passenger, had been killed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tom Hatch was the Oregon State Police arson investigator assigned to the scene. He had seen countless fatal fires during his career, but this one was different. The wreckage was scattered everywhere. The weight of parents grieving their children hung heavy in the air. After three long days of investigation, Tom went home changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Two
Chris (left) and Tom (right) have formed a discipleship relationship that has multiplied to other first responders.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When Tom returned home, his wife, Denise, gently urged him to talk with a police chaplain named Chris Green<\/a>. Tom resisted, but Denise kept pushing him to meet with Chris. Finally, he agreed \u2014 on one condition. \u201cI told him he could ride along with me for a time, but that he should bring money for a bus ride home because by noon, we were going to be done,\u201d Tom remembers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite Tom\u2019s efforts, he found himself enjoying Chris\u2019s company. They used the bus money for coffee and spent the whole day talking. When Tom dropped Chris off at the end of the day, he realized he had made a new friend \u2014 one who would impact his life for decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTom learned a valuable lesson,\u201d Chris says. \u201cEven without a specific request, God provides the strength to endure and overcome challenges and may even empower a person\u2019s abilities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was 10 years later when Chris saw Tom again \u2014 but this time, Tom was facing the greatest challenge of his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finding Jesus on the Brink of Death<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 2006, a rare virus had attacked Tom\u2019s heart, leaving the once-strong officer in a state of heart failure. \u201cThey told me my career was over,\u201d Tom said. Though he was able to finish his years with the State Police in spite of his health challenges, his heart plummeted the year after he retired. Suddenly, even walking to get the mail felt like running a marathon. By 2020, Tom\u2019s condition had worsened so severely that he would need a heart transplant to survive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Around that same time, Chris, now serving with the Navigators Military & First Responder Ministry<\/a>, happened to see Tom\u2019s name in a newsletter and reached out. \u201cThe timing was fortuitous,\u201d Tom said. The pair grabbed breakfast, caught up, and prayed together \u2014 rekindling their friendship while entrusting Tom\u2019s failing heart to God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On July 6, Tom went into the hospital on his birthday for a quick medical test. Instead, he was admitted to the ICU. Though Tom was kept in isolation due to COVID restrictions, Chris, using his chaplain credentials, was still able to visit. During that time, Chris visited frequently, praying with Tom as they waited and hoped for a heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sixteen days later, doctors offered Tom what they called an \u201cat-risk\u201d heart; the donor had died from a drug overdose. Despite unfavorable odds, the transplant succeeded. Tom experienced what his doctors later called a rare \u201cPollyanna recovery\u201d \u2014 no rejection, no major complications. Beyond that, because Tom was the first heart transplant to occur at that hospital, the surgery was completely free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI remember sitting there, and I kept asking Chris, why is God keeping me alive?\u201d Tom says. \u201cI didn\u2019t get it. There\u2019s so many other fathers out there. But God just kept giving and giving.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Facing death stripped away what Tom calls his former \u201cticket-punch\u201d faith: Go to church, get baptized, read the Bible, and move on. In the hospital, Tom felt God\u2019s presence like never before and knew his life \u2014 and faith \u2014 would never be the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I look back, post transplant I\u2019m a completely different person,\u201d Tom says. \u201cComing out the other side, I know God kept me alive for a reason. And I don\u2019t want to stand before Him one day, and all I can tell Him is I ate great barbecue for the extra years He gave me. No, I want to serve Him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tom spent months recovering, and a year in quarantine to protect his new heart. During that time, Chris began to disciple Tom and encourage him to pour into others. Tom started serving with The Navigators \u2014 first by praying with first responders through the NYPD prayer line during his quarantined year, then by discipling others in his local community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of those people was Joe, a retired Portland Police SWAT sniper who had walked away from his faith decades earlier. After a near-death experience, Joe came back to Christ, and Chris connected him with Tom for discipleship. Over the past few years, Tom and his wife, Denise, have discipled Joe and his wife, Tina, a former police officer. As the two couples grew in their faith together, they decided to create a Bible study group for new believers and those exploring faith. That small group has now grown to 14 members \u2014 many of whom are fellow first responders. Four of the group members came to Christ within the past year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Heart that Beats for Discipleship<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Today, Tom dedicates time each week to discipling police officers, firefighters, and men navigating heart-health challenges. Through the process of physically losing and gaining a heart, God formed in Tom a new spiritual heart for Christ and discipleship \u2014 one that will continue to beat for eternity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGod used my journey and brought me ministry through it,\u201d Tom says. \u201cNow I want to be in the trenches. I want to be on the front lines. Going through what I did, it made me realize that though I thought I had a relationship with Christ, there\u2019s no comparison to how He has my attention now. He just had to put me on the brink of death first.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Discipleship Tip:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When Denise saw Tom struggling with the weight of what he\u2019d experienced, she came alongside him in his discipleship journey by encouraging him to connect with Chris. Are there people in your life you think might connect especially well in a discipling relationship? This week, consider how you might help introduce them to each other.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
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God\u2019s Promises Combat Worry<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Worry starts with a legitimate concern, but underneath is fear. Jesus tells us not to worry in Matthew 6:31. But how do we avoid fear? We can trust that God knows what we need. Check out this free resource, \u201cGod\u2019s Promises Combat Worry,\u201d to learn how you can invite Jesus into moments of anxiety.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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LEARN MORE<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Navigator discipled Tom Hatch through seasons of tragedy, trial, and health challenges. Now, Tom is doing the same for his fellow first responders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":268697,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_helpful_pro_status":1,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[265,1],"tags":[1483,221],"mission":[1060],"topic":[44],"class_list":["post-268700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christian-living","category-disciplemaking","tag-disciple","tag-featured","mission-navigators-first-responder","topic-discipleship"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/42826-Article-Web.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"The Navigators","author_link":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/staff\/thenavigators\/"},"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=268700"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268700\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":268702,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268700\/revisions\/268702"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/268697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=268700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=268700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=268700"},{"taxonomy":"mission","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/mission?post=268700"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=268700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}