A Vision to Benefit Cancer Patients Gets Wings at New Wineskins
Worship during Plenary Session
2025 was a year of many challenges and a flood of losses, including the diagnosis of breast cancer and the double mastectomy which followed at the end of August. Throughout it all, I felt like I was swimming in God’s loving kindness! A week after my surgery, my husband drove me to a medical supply store to buy a compression sleeve and gauntlet. Medicare did not cover these and other items, and as I left the store, I remember thinking, “How do people who can’t afford these things manage?” The answer came immediately. Collect gently-used post-surgery items and open a thrift store!
The idea would not leave me alone as I recuperated in September, a rough month indeed. My husband, Father Jim Tomkins, Rector of FaithPointe Anglican Church, and I had planned for a year to attend the 2025 New Wineskins Conference, Hope for the Nations, but when diagnosed with breast cancer I had to cancel my registration. But the Lord had different plans. In the beginning of my recovery, I kept feeling a strong call to go the conference. This ‘need’ to be there would not leave me alone, so, four weeks after my double mastectomy, I found myself at the conference, listening to amazing talks, including one by our dear friend Bishop Andudu from Sudan.
I wanted to find a ‘fun’ MAP talk from the long list 90 breakout options, and one talk jumped off the list: How to Start a Thrift Store! What a divine appointment in an unexpected place! As Kim Perri beautifully taught us how to set up a thrift store to raise money for missions, I knew that my vision was possible. I truly felt ‘on fire’ as I returned home and shared the vision with members of the breast cancer community.
The word “thrift” comes from the word “to thrive, to prosper and grow,” - a goal of every survivor. October is breast cancer awareness month, and I attended a St. Tammany Cancer Center event where I was introduced to a lot of ladies (and a few men) wearing pink! It was there that I met Brenda Demuth and all the wonderful Power of Pink gals. I mentioned the vision of the thrift store out loud for the first time. One of the ladies said, “I think I am supposed to give everything in my closet!” And from there, the vision took on wings!
A nonprofit 501(c)3 was formed called STOREHOUSE MINISTRIES. But the story of THE THRIFT STORE would not be complete without, what I call, the Word of execution. One sleepless night after my surgery, I distinctly heard the Scripture from Malachi 3:10 (ESV): “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.”
This powerful word of God has given me such assurance that THE THRIFT STORE and all the other ministries that will flow out of it are His way of “opening the windows of heaven!” Only God could put the idea of immeasurable blessings in a storehouse paired with the idea of a thrift store, where money will not stop someone from getting what they need.
Now, four months after the conference, THE THRIFT STORE is open for business in Covington, Louisiana! With the help of dozens of volunteers and our small church, FaithPointe Anglican, we had our grand opening January 31st. We are completely volunteer led and staffed and we start every morning with prayer. We pray with customers going through a cancer journey and offer a safe place for anyone going through any hardship. Volunteer-based, the store will need the gifts, talents and prayers of many people to accomplish its goals. And of course, we will need financial donations to keep the lights on and pay for things, like our CARESHARE Kits, to give to cancer patients. Check us out on Facebook! Come shop, share and support THE THRIFT STORE!
The New Wineskins Conference filled my husband’s and my cups with a renewed sense of the love and power of the community of the faithful. Through it, my call to start a thrift store was confirmed. My extreme gratitude goes to those who work tirelessly for New Wineskins to make it all happen.
Born and raised in New Orleans in a Christian family, her worldview has always been as an American Christian. However, working with the persecuted church in Sudan for over twenty years has opened her eyes to the global implications of being a follower of Jesus Christ in a hostile world. In addition, her work in ministering to those whose lives are devastated by natural and man-made disasters, including terror attacks, has increased her awareness of the suffering and hardships many face today.
It was from her 37 years of working with people in her counseling practice and her healing retreat ministry called the JOY CONFERENCE, that she published a workbook called, EXPERIENCING JOY.
Allyson has a Master’s Degree in Clinical and Child Psychology from Pepperdine University. A Licensed Professional Counselor and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist since 1987, she recently retired from private practice as a Christian therapist. A grandmother of six beautiful kids, she lives on a farm in Louisiana, alongside one dog, one cat, a variety of farm creatures, and one husband.
When she is not writing novels, devotionals and children’s books, she enjoys teaching young minds about the love of Jesus in Kids’ Church.
She and her husband, the Reverend Canon Jim Tomkins, serve on the board of HOPE LIGHT.
ALLYSON TOMKINS
Email Allyson here.
