Tom and Karen were members of the church in Elgin, Illinois where Pastor Gary and Janie served before coming to Springfield in 1982, and also good friends of the Nelsen Family. After sharing about their ministry in the Philippines with Cherry Hills, our church began it’s partnership with them in 1988. Since then, they have had to return to the states for health reasons, but still carry on the following ministry.

They have an ongoing Philippines Ministry, which includes the Sankey Samaritan Orphanage with 35 children, the Rizal Re-Creation Center - a Christian sports camp used for evangelism, which will see 10 to 20 thousand kids come through the camp each year, church planting going on three different islands, work-teams to construct buildings needed for ministry opportunities such as churches, pastors' homes, basketball courts, etc., plus hosting short-term sports missions teams from the USA and Australia. They also have a ministry here in this country. Tom is a full-time chaplain for the Champions Tour (formerly the Senior Pro Golfers Association), speaking weekly at the fellowship meeting and doing extensive counseling. He also speaks extensively around the US in churches, schools, Bible Studies, etc.