PARKER, Colo. (BP)–Riverside Baptist Church South’s mission trip this summer will be dedicated to the memory of John Tomlin, one of 12 students killed in April by two gunmen-classmates at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo.
With the church’s youth group traveling to Fremont, Neb., in late June for construction projects, Vacation Bible School, music, drama and sports camps, Tomlin’s girlfriend, Michelle Oetter, said she hopes it will help honor the faithful friend she came to know during the past school year.
“I want him to be remembered the way he was — the kind of guy who would stand up for his faith and was always there for his friends,” said Oetter, who graduates from Ponderosa High School May 22. “He was the kind of guy who everyone wanted for their friend.”
Boyd Evans, associate pastor of youth at Riverside South, remembers the 16-year-old Tomlin as a fun-loving “teddy bear” who wore stone-washed jeans and a Chevy baseball cap. He always came to church looking like he had just crawled out from under someone’s car, Evans joked.
“He had a good-old-boy veneer but underneath he was tender hearted,” the youth pastor said. “And he was sure of his eternal destiny. He knew he was going to be with Jesus when he died.”
One of nine students slain in the school library April 20, he was the oldest of three children of Doreen and John Tomlin. Active in their church, Foothills Bible Church of Littleton, the entire family took part in a church mission trip to Mexico last summer. Although he never talked much about it, Michelle Oetter said her boyfriend planned to return to Juarez this summer.
Though he never moved his membership from the independent, evangelical congregation, Tomlin attended Riverside South for the last 10 months of his life. A former mission of Riverside Baptist Church near downtown Denver, it retains a close affiliation with the sponsoring church.
John attended youth group activities on Sundays and Wednesdays at the invitation of Jakob Youngblood, son of senior pastor Kirk Youngblood. The two had worked together at a nursery.
The pastor has been touched by the cards, banners and other expressions of sympathy that have flooded into the suburban Denver church since last month’s tragedy. Youngblood said the expressions of concern and attempts to address the problems that sparked the disaster have brought the community together. He also praised Tomlin, who had visited his home several times.
“He was a very polite young man and very respectful; you could tell he came from a good home,” the pastor said. “Once I met the family, it was wonderful to see their strong faith. When [his mother] discovered what happened, she prayed that God would use this for his glory.”
Tomlin had accepted Christ as his Savior as a child. But Oetter said he had endured some personal struggles after his father’s employer transferred him to Littleton from Wisconsin four years ago.
After Tomlin’s first date last fall with Oetter, the youth group participated in a special discipleship weekend that included study of biblically based material. During the event, he talked with a counselor and “nailed down” his relationship with Christ, Riverside South’s Evans said.
“What he nailed down was, ‘This is something I want to {do}; this isn’t something my parents are making me do,'” Oetter, 17, added. “The guys he worked with told me ever since John started coming to the youth group here he had changed. He became open and invited all the guys to come.”
One of those was his best friend, who accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior the day after Tomlin’s death. She and John had witnessed to the youth (who has not yet been baptized) for about six months, Michelle said.
Because his parents are too upset to discuss their son’s death, Oetter has fielded dozens of media interviews. She also spoke at Tomlin’s funeral in Wisconsin and at a memorial service at Foothills Bible Church.
“God’s giving me the strength to talk,” she said. “I honestly can’t tell you anything I’ve told any reporters or what I said at the memorial service. I believe it’s because the Holy Spirit is talking through me. I never dreamed I would be able to tell so many people about Christ.”
In addition to sharing about Tomlin’s faith, Oetter also wants people to know that he was a wonderful person. While most members of the youth group knew him as the quiet guy who followed her around, she said his politeness and courtesy left a strong impression. He treated her like a queen, she said, always opening doors for her, paying for their dates and insisting on picking her up despite living a half-hour away. Since his 1985 pick-up truck only got eight miles per gallon of gas, that was an expensive habit, she laughed.
“All my guy friends are telling me, ‘We respect John for the way he treated you,'” Oetter said. “He was a good guy to everyone. Some youth groups can be cliquish, and some people. But he talked to whoever wanted to talk to him.
“I loved his laugh,” she said of her favorite memory of the slain teenager. “He was always laughing. We always had so much fun together. And he was a good listener. I could talk to him about anything.”
And of all the things he said during their conversations, one statement stands out: “One thing John told me that he learned in moving from Wisconsin was you could never take anything for granted because you never know when it will be gone,” Oetter said.
