Thomas Little, Jr. was born in 1945. He was next to the youngest of 6 children. His parents were Tom, Sr. and Martha McIntosh Little. They lived on his grandfather's 100 acre farm near Jackson, Kentucky.
His father was a full-time coal miner, part-time farmer and sometimes logger. He hauled logs out of the woods with his team of mules. Young Tom learned to drive the mule team and wagon at a very early age and helped with the farm chores.
Back in those days, farmers learned that it was easier to transport their corn crop as a liquid. So it's understandable why alcohol has a long standing in the Appalachian Mountains. "When I was growing up we didn't know what an alcoholic was," says Little. "They were simply known as drunks. We had a lot of drunks in our neighborhood." His father, both grandfathers and their fathers all had drinking problems. He saw his brother start drinking as a very young teenager. Tom saw what alcohol did to his brother and family and he hated it. He refused to have anything to do with it.
His parents got saved and started taking him to church when he was very young. He still remembers when God spoke to his heart to be a minister when he was about 8 years old. Although he grew up in church and the Gospel seed was planted in his heart, when he left home and went out on his own, the world beckoned and he never answered the calling on his life for another 30 years.
There was never enough money in the Little home and the stress took its toll on everyone. Due to financial hardships and an unbearable stress level all six children had dropped out of school by the time they were 16 years old to either get married or go to work. Tom found work in Lexington, Kentucky and was married in 1964. He had a son and daughter; Thomas III and Sandy. After moving from state to state for 14 years and several business failures, the marriage ended in divorce. It was the worse tragedy of his life. If there was anything that he hated worse than divorce it was alcohol. And now they both were taking their toll on his life.
In an effort to pull his life together and hoping for a new start in life he got a General Equivalency Diploma (GED) and enrolled in college. He worked hard and made the National Honor Society. But his life was still empty. It would take more than just an education. More than a good job.
The almost constant use of alcohol and tobacco for several years, left him with severe health problems, and a feeling of rejection, loneliness, worthlessness and hopelessness. With death knocking at the door, he cried out, "I don't want to die!" He soon learned he was not alone after all. Jesus was knocking at the door also. "It was the most beautiful voice I ever heard." He said, "You don't have to die, you can live forever." Sitting on the side of his bed, he accepted Jesus into his life. It was Good Friday, 1984. That Easter morning, he took communion at church and told the Lord, "If you will still have me, I will serve you."
With the feeling he had wasted enough time, he went into full-time ministry one year after he got saved. He helped organize United Christian Ministries in 1988 and reorganized as GOSPELVISION Ministries in 1999.
Tom now resides in Cincinnati with his wife Jeannie and when not traveling, they attend Love and Faith Christian Center. His beautiful grandchildren are Angela, Mandy, Brian, Tonya, Shanna.
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