Tribute to Rev. John Hobbs.
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John Hobbs was a passionate lover of God, Jesus, and people, and filled with the Holy Spirit. He spread God’s love wherever he went. We at the Healing Center have had to opportunity to be with him many times, as he was often our lead speaker. He spoke, and we had the tremendous privilege of spending time with him, at our last meeting in September 2021.
John’s passion for the Father’s heart is rooted in a desire for sons and daughters to know their heavenly Daddy, who simply loves and adores them just because they are His. He spread this love vigorously, always happy to be with us and calling us beautiful! (And some of us didn’t feel that loved or that beautiful.) We learned from him; our lives were transformed by his powerful reflections on God’s word and its place in our lives and the lives of others, and by the opportunity he always gave to discuss with him the ideas he shared.
John grew up without his father, who was killed in WWII, before John ever knew him. Being raised in Carolina Beach, North Carolina by an incredible single mom, God began to mark John’s life with a longing and calling before he even realized it. John preached his first sermon in a small United Methodist Church in Carolina Beach at age 16. This was only a foretaste of the plan that God had for him. The drawing of the Father’s heart continued into his college years, as the Holy Spirit began to map a path into ministry. He served for many years as a United Methodist minister.
As an evangelist, John was the president of Maranatha Ministries and spoke all over the United States and in a number of other countries. In addition to those who participate in the Healing Center, many of us in Camps Farthest Out (CFO) knew him well, and loved him, because he spoke at our camps. He was also a regular speaker and leader at a retreat in Northern Virginia, Sockless Nerds – so named because John, a beach boy, never wore socks, even in the winter! And because the original leaders of the retreat considered themselves to be nerds. We had more than 20 years of blessed time together!
John was the loving husband of Betty Jo and father and grandfather of:
· John (Jr.) & Amy Hobbs and their children, Jordan (husband Eric Walsh), Jonathan, & Nathan Jordan & Eric have two girls, Ella and Ava, and another boy on the way.
· Joell & Clyn Morris and their children, Jacob & Emma (Emma to be married soon to David)
· Scott & Lisa Hobbs and their children, Victoria (husband Victor Pilipovich), Joseph, & Olivia
He was our beloved friend and remains part of the communion of saints now that he has joined the Church Triumphant in Heaven!
We love, appreciate, and miss you, John!!
Shrine Mont Healing Center Board
From Kim Davis, in her Wine from the Vine meditation, March 14, 2022.
Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them. Psalm 126:5-6
Our dear friend, John Hobbs, has gone on to heaven. We have cried many tears, knowing that we will miss him tremendously. And not only us, but many will miss him. He is one of those men who has impacted so many. John Hobbs has been one who has lived in the reality of what he has preached and taught, his heart full and overflowing with the love of God.
John came into our world not knowing his earthly father because of his father's death while serving our country in war. He felt the great void of a father's love. However, his mother rose to be his champion, watching over him vigilantly, and in her great love and that of a Heavenly Father he was yet to meet, raised him to excel in many areas, particularly in caring for others. Through many twists and turns, including a life-long covenant of marriage with his sweetheart, Betty Jo, and the love of others in the Body of Christ, John ran smack into his Heavenly Father and found a love so deep and so real that he just couldn't keep it to himself. Through the years, John has shared the Father's love with everyone he has met, all kinds of folks, in all kinds of places, in all kinds of ways. John sowed lots of seed. It would take many books to tell all the stories. Perhaps you are part of that story. As we sow now with tears at his passing, let's continue to share the stories which are songs of joy. John wasn't much of a singer; he took Kenny with him to do the singing. But he released many a song in Kenny and in so many others to sing praise to the One who loves us most and best. As we celebrate his life, he has now gone to the "House," and we know he is finding fulfillment of God's promise, . . . you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand (Ps. 16:11). The Psalmist also says, Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful servants (Ps. 116:15). John is one of those faithful servants. We rejoice in the Lord, for in the life of John Hobbs, we have had the privilege to share and continue to see his seeds planted and bearing much fruit in the lives of his precious family and all those he embraced as family in the family of God. I can hear him saying to us as he always has, "See you at the House!"