About Tom

(My wife, Kathy, and I had the privilege of meeting one of our favorite people, Dr. James Dobson, at the American Association of Christian Counselors Convention in September!)

I grew to know and love the Lord at an early age. In high school I began to date the young lady that I would eventually marry. Our early marriage consisted of both of us going to Ohio State University, but after an unsuccessful experience, I quit and worked to help my wife finish. After she graduated she encouraged me to try schooling one more time. All it took was her emphasizing to me that she believed in me, and I was back at school. I graduated after completing eleven straight quarters with a degree in elementary education.

During my years as a teacher our three biological children were born, and we got full custody of our then, foster son. Throughout my teaching career I thoroughly enjoyed the teaching aspect and making a significant difference in young people's lives, but I always felt there was more that God had in store for me. It was also during this time that I had an incredible passion to help marriages. Because of that passion, I became involved in our church's marriage retreats. There were also times when I would be sitting at my desk after school grading papers and a fellow teacher would walk in and want to talk about their marriage. It was experiences like these that made me think that God had another plan for my life.

Finally, after much prayer and wisdom from those I trusted most in life, I resigned from teaching and enrolled at Ashland Theological Seminary to pursue a degree in pastoral counseling. It was during this time that the Lord helped me start the origins of Heritage Christian Counseling Ministries. I would work at my job forty hours a week, attend seminary full time, and still spend about ten hours a week building Heritage.
After graduating from seminary in 1997, Heritage became a full time ministry. In 1998, Heritage became a Prepare/Enrich ministry and in 1999, it became a member of The American Association of Christian Counselors. It has been on a steady growth pattern ever since, and I find it to be very fulfilling.