Tom Eckblad

Pastor for Counseling

Campus: All Campuses

• Assistant: Administrator for Congregational Care, Karla Elsenbroek (612-455-3474)

Tom came to know Jesus Christ as his personal Savior at the age of 12. From that time on he desired to know God in a deep and personal relationship and to share this relationship with others through proclaiming the gospel. At the Moody Bible Institute, Tom was introduced to experiencing Christian Hedonism by spending many hours enjoying the presence of a glorious God. At Moody he also met his wife, Jeanie.

Tom & Jeanie, along with their first child, went as missionaries with the South America Mission to Bolivia. They had two more children on the field. In the midst of a time of political turmoil the Lord blessed their ministry; churches were planted and leaders were trained as spiritual shepherds. The 10 years in Bolivia enabled them to see God provide overwhelming grace in very difficult situations (11 coups and civil wars) and to develop a growing focus on two areas of spiritual ministry: 1) soul care for every individual Christian and 2) training the church to provide this care.

In the years since, Tom has had numerous opportunities to pour his life into these two passions. Tom began his responsibilities at Bethlehem in September 2003, and he endeavors to balance the in-depth counseling of a limited number of individuals and couples with creating training programs and training others to use counseling/soul care skills. Tom also enjoys writing to encourage and train the broader Christian community.