ON STAFF SINCE 2009
Tom has been a member of the OAC-USA team since 2009. His journey from passive churchgoer to committed evangelist and educator displays a transformation fueled by divine design and personal conviction. As Tom recounts, his participation in youth activities at a mainstream Christian church as a young man was devoid of a personal understanding or connection to life application. His indifference to any biblical direction after high school could have been the end of his story with Christianity, but grateful to God’s sovereignty, it was not.
With persistent brotherly influence and a receptive heart, Tom experienced a pivotal transformation at Webster Bible Church where he clearly heard and responded to the gospel and turned his life over to Jesus Christ.
Not content with a superficial engagement, he pursued discipleship, which paved the way for his academic quest of a bachelor’s degree in Christian Education at Washington Bible College in Lanham, MD. It was there he cultivated a passion for evangelism, and actively participated in outreach missions in the Washington, D.C. area, with Open Air Campaigners.
An unexpected venture into the business sector lasting two decades led him to consider this a different kind of mission field than he had originally anticipated. However, the business sector enriched his ministry skills. His dedication to ministry and education intertwined with his business acumen enabled him to offer a unique perspective on organizational development and tax compliance to nonprofit Christian outreach organizations.
After earning his master’s degree in Christian Counseling & Discipleship from Capital Bible Seminary, Tom began teaching as an adjunct professor at Lancaster Bible College, Adult Undergraduate Degree studies at the LBC-DC campus. As a professor in social sciences, Tom teaches cultural diversity, psychology, sociology, and biblical counseling. He also teaches these courses to Native American students at Indian Bible College, Flagstaff, AZ.
His drive to deepen the gospel’s impact through Christian counseling, education, and leadership training led him to complete his Ph.D. in 2023. His dissertation “Christian American Indian/Alaska Native Spiritual Formation: A Phenomenological Study of Trauma from Past Abuse and Shame to Intrapersonal Resolve” reveals the necessity for soul care with students at Indian Bible College.
Tom’s current roles are Personnel Development Director and Management Team member for OACUSA, as well as the North America Caribbean Zone Director for Open Air Campaigners International.
Serving as an elder at Belcroft Bible Church, Tom provides guidance within his home congregation and fosters global connections with missionaries in collaboration with his pastor by regularly traveling internationally with him to support and connect with those missionaries supported by Belcroft.
A widower since 2021, God has graciously provided for Tom a new ministry partner in Carmen Pelham, a resident of Virginia, and widowed pastor’s wife. They married March 16, 2024, at Belcroft Bible Church in Bowie, Maryland.
Tom’s story underscores a man’s journey shaped by spiritual awakening, academic pursuit, and unyielding ministry work, all powered by an unfaltering trust in Christ who holds and directs his life.
BIRTHDAY:
Tom 7/24, Carmen 08/08
