“‘Your seventh grader has a chronic disease.’” John Sharp repeats the doctor’s words, sharing a glance with his wife, Christie. “As parents, it was really difficult to hear. The normal diagnosis is not as a teenager, but in your 40s or 50s.”
In 2014, their youngest child, Nathan, had been experiencing some inexplicable pain. When he went in for his annual check-up, his weight had decreased significantly from the previous year, causing great concern.
After running some tests and digging a little deeper, Nathan’s pediatrician diagnosed him with Crohn’s disease.
“That was a tough pill to swallow,” John remembers. “It took about a year to treat him before he finally started heading toward remission.” Nathan started a biologic drug in 2015.
It was — and continues to be — a journey of faith with its ups and downs, as God is writing the story of the Sharps and Nathan in only the way that he can.
Born in the middle of “cow pasture country”, John Sharp came to know the Lord and was baptized at First Baptist Church of Justin, Texas. “God has worked through the church and through being Southern Baptist my whole life,” he says.
Later, his family moved to North Carolina, where John met and married Christie, “the pastor’s daughter who’s been in ministry longer than I have.”
Together, they moved back down to “the motherland,” attending Southwestern Seminary, and had their firstborn daughter. Right after seminary, the Lord called them to plant a church in Columbia, South Carolina. So, with a six-month-old baby and a vision from God, they started knocking on doors.
The couple fully embraced what became “years of shoulder-to-the-plow hard work and prayer.”
“God allowed us to plant a church there that became a great, Gospel-centered church,” John says. Fourteen months after their first child, the Sharps had their second daughter and then Nathan, three years later. Each newborn was added to the health plan — the coverage that would eventually support Nathan’s diagnosis of Crohn’s disease.
“I think I was the very first church planter apprentice through the North American Mission Board® (NAMB®), [and] that helped me get [a health plan through GuideStone] right out of seminary.”
A state away from home, the Sharps came to rely on their church community as the “new home” for their growing family. “We pastored that church for almost 15 years,” John recalls.
Then, the Lord called them to plant again.
The Sharps pastored a second church plant for seven years, eventually passing the mantle to the associate pastor when John was called to join the staff of the Southern Baptist Convention® of Virginia.
“Once I kind of figured out [church planting] myself, I started helping other church planters anytime I could with church planter assessments, training and coaching. Now, I work with strategists across the state to help them minister, mobilize, plant, revitalize and do the things that God's called the local church to do. It’s just a privilege.”
Trusting God with your ministry journey can be different than trusting God with your family.
After the initial diagnosis in 2014, Nathan’s parents, doctors and other advocates worked together to establish a good medical trajectory, access to excellent care providers and treatment centers, and a supportive health plan.
“Through the years, we’ve always had people calling from GuideStone, checking in on us, asking how they can help — do we need any support? Do we know about this resource, that resource? It’s been a huge blessing.”
Fast forward years down the road — Nathan was excelling in college and had joined the sports media team, capturing footage of his university’s football team on the road. His life was full and overflowing with possibilities.
But in 2022, prescription alternatives to his medication became available. The Sharps were directed to re-evaluate and investigate other options, which could mean some disruption to Nathan’s life and health.
The Sharps didn’t want to see him come out of remission during this bright spot of college. Eventually, they reached out to a representative at GuideStone and an affiliated care provider for some assistance. As a result of advocacy provided by GuideStone’s team member, Nathan was able to stay on his current medication.
In 2024, the request to evaluate other medication options happened again while Nathan was undergoing a rigorous interview process for the police academy. However, a GuideStone representative worked diligently alongside the Sharps to advocate on Nathan’s behalf to stay on his medication.
Today, Nathan is serving his community as a police officer and managing his Crohn’s disease without letting it control his life.
John shares, “We’ve been able to experience what Scripture calls this really unique thing that the world doesn’t understand. It’s counterlogical. It goes against reason, but Scripture calls it peace. Peace that surpasses all understanding, and it really has guarded our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
He continues, “God’s been faithful and with us the entire way, through the support of friends, family, the church and you guys [at GuideStone].”
Now, Nathan has been receiving infusions for a little over ten years and is doing well, but it will be a lifelong journey.
“We’ve learned to praise him in the good and the bad and the storms and the mountain tops as well. And we’ll continue to do that.” John says.
When asked about the advice that their family has for others in similar circumstances, John and Christie share, “We have to be the best advocates for our families and for ourselves when it comes to our own health care and treatments. Scripture says, “Ask, seek, knock,” and a lot of times, we found an open door to find a place to receive treatment or a closer infusion place. Just because we ask, seek and knock.”
As church planters and as parents, the Sharps understood what obedience to God looked like in seasons of uncertainty. They were faithful in prayer and in action, remembering the promise that appears later in Matthew 7 — that the Father provides “good gifts” to his children, but maybe not at the time or in the way we expect or desire.
The Sharps have experienced this firsthand, knowing all that happens during their son’s health journey is for their good and for God’s glory.
John humbly shares a final word, “God's partnered with us — or let us partner with him — to make all this happen.”
To learn more about faith-based health plans that align with your values, visit GuideStone.org/HealthPlans.
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