Detroit Encounter Results In New Ministry Calling

It was John Thompson’s job to work in a place of darkness. As someone who had served 23 years in the Melvindale Police Department in South Detroit, Michigan, he had experienced some of the worst actions of humanity.

As a detective tasked to deal with homicides and sex crimes, you would have forgiven him if he had allowed himself to become somewhat hardened, and not overly hopeful that people can change for the good.

Add to this, in his youth he struggled through a difficult upbringing.
“I grew up very poor in a broken home, and had what you could describe as a dumpster fire background,” John says.

Still, through it all, he managed to find peace in surrendering to God. Back in 2019 he was both “protecting and serving” his community as a police officer, while also being immersed in ministry working as a junior church pastor.

However, something was missing in his faith, and he didn’t even know it. This was about the time he was invited to his first Men’s Encounter that was being hosted in Detroit, Michigan.

This ministry in Detroit was an outgrowth of Encounter Ministry in Reno, Nevada and its planting was assisted in part by co-founder and CEO Richard Wenschlag.

“The only reason I went to this Encounter,” John says, “is because someone offered to pay my way.”

As someone who already felt he had traveled far in his walk with God, he had low expectations for the weekend. This perception changed dramatically by the end of the event.

“I wasn’t really dealing with what I thought were big issues,” he says. “I wasn’t struggling with porn. I had a good Baptist wife that I loved. I didn’t think I was dealing with lust in my heart.”

At the Encounter that weekend, he listened to a testimony of a man sharing about his infidelity. When he heard the man speak, John not only didn’t feel convicted, he didn’t have much empathy.

“It made me mad hearing him talk about being unfaithful,” he says. “I wanted to punch him in the face.”

That’s not the planned outcome for a Men’s Encounter! That’s for certain.
After a Friday and Saturday of not really connecting with the struggles of others at the Encounter, John was worried the weekend would pass without experiencing any breakthroughs of his own.

But then, God got his attention in a major way on Sunday at the Encounter.
“It wasn’t in an audible voice, or anything like that,” John says, “but I clearly heard a message from God.”

What he heard was God telling him in no uncertain terms, “What do you want?!”

“Here I was thinking that I didn’t have any lust in my heart or any other issues, and then I could sense God telling me firmly, ‘You think you have self-control, you can’t even control your fork.’”

At the time, John who weighs a fit 150 pounds today, was a hefty 260. He weighed that much because, as he describes, “I was overindulging in food.”
The moment was so powerful for John, not so much because it was about him being overweight, but because he was standing in judgement of others, rather than working on changes in his own heart.

“God knew the challenges with my weight issues was causing me hurt in my life, and he wanted me to change.”

It was from that emotional moment forward that John went through both physical and spiritual transformation.

“I never doubted my salvation, but in that moment I realized how shallow my faith had been. I had been robbing myself of intimacy with God.”

After that Encounter, this was all about to change. The physical changes were immediately noticeable, and it didn’t require much effort from John.

“It was as if God told me I didn’t need to find joy in a bag of potato chips, but instead could discover it in His love. I just lost that desire in overeating and the weight went away.”

Shortly thereafter, John and his wife Amanda launched a Bible Study in his home. This began to grow and blossom to the point where it had grown too large for their house.

This led to a strong call to launch a church plant in 2023. After consultations with mentors in his life, including Richard, he decided to retire from the police department and to go into full-time ministry.

His young church later merged with a larger church, Fellowship Chapel of Sterling Heights, where he now serves as associate pastor.

Through all this time, John and Amanda became active in supporting the Detroit Encounter Ministry. They served in many since his first one in 2019 and encouraged many others to attend.

Recently they decided to bring Encounter Ministry to their own church. The first one, hosted October 10-12, was a big success.

There were several Baptisms, renewed commitments and first-time decisions for Christ. One of these was from the young man who is dating John’s daughter, which of course has extra meaning.

Plans are underway to schedule Men’s, Women’s, and Marriage encounters in 2026.

Those of you who generously support Encounter Ministry with your time, treasure, and prayer should be encouraged. Your efforts are having a powerful impact well beyond the Reno, Nevada community where it was founded.