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Dan Wooding : Mar 14, 2013  Assist News

Native American Tom Claus didn't know how he would answer God's call, because he had stuttered and stammered all his life, except when he sang. But when he surrendered his life to preach, God took away the stuttering. Ultimately, "he was probably the only evangelist around who could say that Billy Graham carried his suitcase for him, referring back to his teenage years of traveling together in Youth For Christ rallies." -Dr. Kietzman

(Phoenix, AZ)—A mighty warrior to his Native American people, H. Thomas "Sonny" Claus, 83, passed into the presence of the Lord surrounded by his family, on Friday, March 8, 2013, at Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona.

He was described by his close friend, Dr. Dale Kietzman, who helped him found his ministry, CHIEF (Christian Hope Indian Eskimo Fellowship), as "a truly great man whose leadership among Native American Believers will be sorely missed."

Also known to his many friends as Tom Claus, he was born December 26, 1929, in Niagara Falls, New York, to Huron James and Theresa Caretha Thomas Claus. He was an enrolled member of the Mohawk of the Six Nations on the Grand River, Ohsweken, Ontario, Canada. He was from the Turtle Clan. He was also from the Tuscarora Indian Nation.

According to a story posted on the chief.org website, when sharing his personal testimony he would always state, "I'm proud to be an Indian by race, but I am more proud to be a Christian by grace." One of his favorite verses was II Timothy 1:12 (TLB), "It is He who saved us and chose us for His holy work, not because we deserved it but because that was His plan long before the world began—to show His love and kindness to us through Christ."

He always praised God for his rich heritage of being a fourth generation Christian. His great grandfather, Adam Elliot Thomas, whose Mohawk name was "Split the Sky," was one of the first Christians in his family. He was followed by his son Freeman Thomas. Then Freeman's daughter, Theresa, and her husband, Huron Claus and two daughters, Dorothy and Shirley, became Christians through a missionary radio ministry in Buffalo, New York. Later, "Sonny," the youngest of the family, accepted Christ into his heart when he was 14 years old.

At the early age of three, his mother trained him and his two sisters to sing, by memory, many Gospel songs and choruses. They started singing in churches, Bible conferences and youth rallies all over the east coast. They were known as the Claus Indian Family. The Lord blessed their ministry as doors began to open to places where they never dreamed of going. In a few short years, they were singing in rallies with Jack Wyrtzen in Carnegie Hall and Madison Square Garden in New York City; Percy Crawford in Convention Hall in Philadelphia; Torrey Johnson in Orchestra Hall in Chicago; and finally as staffmusicians with Youth For Christ International with the Reverend Billy Graham.

Dr. Kietzman told me, "I remember Tom saying that he was probably the only evangelist around who could say that Billy Graham carried his suitcase for him, referring back to his teenage years of traveling together in Youth For Christ rallies. Tom also credits Torrey Johnson as tutoring him in theological studies."

"Sonny" would look back and see how God had led his family to work with some of the greatest Bible teachers and evangelists in a generation and time of tremendous spiritual harvest.?

In January of 1945, "Sonny" made a life changing commitment to preach the Gospel of Christ to his own people when he saw the great spiritual need of the Seminole Indians in the Everglades of Florida. He didn't know how he would answer God's call, because he had stuttered and stammered all his life, except when he sang. But when he surrendered his life to preach, God took away the stuttering. Six months later, at an Indian camp on the Akwesasne Mohawk Reservation in northern New York, Chuck Pamp, a Potawatomi Indian evangelist asked Tom to preach in a Sunday afternoon service. From that moment on, he faithfully began to preach the Word wherever he was called.

In October 1951, Tom was ordained at Midwest Bible Church in Chicago, IL, by Dr. Torrey Johnson, Pastor and Director of Youth for Christ International.

Over the 70 years of his ministry, since he committed himself to God to preach the Gospel to his own people, he faithfully fulfilled his calling:

? From 1952 until 1977, he founded and was the General Director of the American Indian Crusade, a mission organization that sent missionaries to serve in bringing the Gospel to American Indian reservations and communities.

? From 1961 ? 1964, he was the pastor of the Lakota Bible Chapel on the Rosebud Reservation in White River, South Dakota.

? From 1966 ? 1983, he was asked to serve as a representative of evangelistic ministries to American Indians at the International Congress on World Evangelism by Dr. Billy Graham, on three separate occasions in Berlin, German, Lausanne, Switzerland and Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

? From 1975 -1990, he served as the Outreach Coordinator to American Indian communities for the Billy Graham Crusades in Denver, CO; Seattle, WA; Tampa, FL; Buffalo, NY; Detroit, MI; Albuquerque, NM; and Toronto, Canada.

? In recent years, he worked with Dr. Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ International; Coach Bill McCarney, founder of Promise Keepers; and Dr. John MacArthur, Pastor-Teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California.

In March 1975, along with Dr. Kietzman, who is a former U.S. director of Wycliffe Bible Translators and a founding board member of ASSIST Ministries, he founded Christian Hope Indian Eskimo Fellowship, or CHIEF. He felt led of the Lord to bring together 100 Christian American Indian and Eskimo leaders to discuss the spiritual, physical and social needs of Native American people and develop a plan of action to minister to their needs. In 1987, the Chief Shepherd Discipleship Center was established on an eight-acre campus and in Phoenix, Arizona. To date, Native pastors and individuals representing over 300 tribes have completed the discipleship training and teaching that has been provided through this ministry.

In 1948, "Sonny" met a beautiful Kiowa Indian girl, Alfreda Tsoodle, from the Rainy Mountain Kiowa Indian Baptist Church during a church softball game when he was the pitcher and she was the catcher. They were married in 1954. They had three children: Huron Thomas, Cynthia Ann and Sharolyn Ruth. Along with his preaching ministry, he continued a singing ministry with his young family. God used them to take the Gospel to more than 300 tribes throughout the United States and Canada.

He had a love of the mountains and outdoors and took every opportunity to enjoy hunting, camping and fishing with his family. His family and friends all shared the joy and laughter that his great sense of humor brought. He was a wonderful husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather. His life was one truly lived to the fulfillment and completion of God's will and purposed call.

Survivors include his loving wife of 59 years, Alfreda Claus, Phoenix, AZ; one son, Huron Thomas and his wife, Lois Claus; his daughters: Cynthia Ann Claus and Sharolyn Ruth Claus, all of Phoenix, Arizona; four grandchildren: Sonny and wife, Pearl Claus; Melissa and husband, Daniel Stone; Adam and Spencer Piron; and five great-grandchildren; and one sister, Dorothy Hill, Oneida, NY. He is preceded in death by his parents and sister, Shirley Antone.

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