“Code Blue” is often a hospital emergency signal indicating that someone is experiencing a potentially fatal cardiopulmonary arrest or heart attack.
Matt Thompson, minister of the Surfside Christian Church in South Carolina, was Code Blue four times—and three of those emergencies required that his heart be shocked back to life.
Incredibly, it all began with a tooth.
Late last year, while Matt was putting together a church leader’s conference in South Carolina, one of his teeth went bad and had to be removed. A few weeks later it was discovered that bacteria from that extraction had infected his blood and targeted his heart. At first, doctors attempted to fight the infection with IV antibiotics, but two weeks later they discovered that the bacteria had also impacted one of Matt’s kidneys, causing it to quit functioning. Within four days Matt found himself in the operating room undergoing open-heart surgery, during which his aortic heart valve was replaced and other organs were scrubbed to cleanse them of the bacteria.
Then, just five days after being released from the hospital, more tragedy struck as Matt’s nephew committed suicide.
Today Matt is recuperating at home but still in fragile condition. For the next six weeks he must wear an external defibrillator so that if his heart stops, it will be shocked back into action. After that, he will require another surgery to have an internal cardiac defibrillator implanted into his heart.
Image above: Matt Thompson – Senior Minister of Surfside Christian Church
I’m sure you can begin to imagine that Matt and his family are facing a mountain of medical and rehabilitation expenses way beyond those covered by insurance.
Matt is a ministerial graduate of Johnson University. He has served our Christian churches as a Youth Minister, a Senior Minister, and as a Church Planter. Because of Matt’s faithful service to Christ’s Kingdom and the crisis of his medical needs, the Kairos Benevolence Fund wants to come alongside Matt and provide some substantial financial assistance.
Just before writing this note to you, I shared Matt’s story with a friend, and immediately that friend and his wife wrote KBF a check for $10,000 and asked that it be used to match other donations from Christians across the country. That means if you and I can raise another $10,000, we can immediately make a total of $20,000 available to help Matt and his family with their medical and rehabilitation expenses.
I believe we should—and must—help this faithful ministry family.
Will You Join Us?
Your gift of $100 will become $200; $500 will become $1,000; and $1,000 will become $2,000.
Here are three ways you can help Matt and his family during their time of need:
- Give Online – Click the “Give Today” button below. Then select the Matt Thompson Campaign in the dropdown menu and follow the rest of the step-by-step instructions.
- Mail a Check – Your gift can be mailed direct to:Kairos Benevolence Fund – Matt Thompson Campaign
PO Box 19700
Irvine, CA 92623-9700 - Give a Non-Cash Gift: The Kairos Benevolence Fund can also accept gifts of stock, real estate, jewelry, and even cars. Please call David Duncan at the CDF Capital Foundation (417-437-4774) to discuss your non-cash gift.
Whichever method of giving you prefer, please designate your gift for the Matt Thompson Campaign.