Tom Bio

ASSOCIATE PASTOR TOM MARXEN

Born in Lancaster, Pa, Tom was raised in the heart of “Amish Country” where honesty, Christian ethic, and being conservative was the norm. He was nurtured in a believing home where the God of the Bible was and is Lord of their home. Nevertheless, by the time he attended forestry school in Syracuse, NY, Christian living was not what he wanted. Tom loves camping, hiking, and canoeing and has always seen the hand of the Creator in the natural settings. A major motivation for attaining a BS in Resources Management (Forestry) was that if he “could not save the whole world, at least he could save some part of it”. The call of God was already planted deeply within him even though at that time there was no evidence of the pastoral gifting in his life.

After college, Tom worked in landscaping, tree work, and orchards. Growing fruit became his occupation of choice first in Pennsylvania where he met his wife Kathie and later in Delano, Minnesota where he now lives and oversees the production and harvest of a 60-acre fruit farm. He is father to two adult children and one 12-year-old daughter. He is also grandfather to five.

Twelve years ago (1991) the Lord began to speak to Tom in a direct and compassionate way, calling him out of complacency, compromise, and addictions that had begun to rule his life. So with cigarettes in one hand, and his Bible in the other, he believed the blood of the Lord Jesus was sufficient to deliver him from nicotine addiction and sin. He surrendered himself into the Kingdom of God. Later that year, while spraying in the orchard, he asked the Lord to “make me a worker in YOUR orchard, Lord, YOUR field.” The Lord has been faithful to that prayer.

After attending and participating in the work of the ministry at His Present Glory Church for a few years. The teaching gift and pastoral anointing were publicly recognized and Tom was ordained an Associate Pastor of the church. He is also a drummer and singer on the worship team.

Tom has been given a unique understanding of Old Testament patterns, the Feasts of the Lord, Tabernacle and Temple operations, and their connection and fulfillment in Christ and in New Testament teaching. He can bring the celebrations of Passover, Shavout, and Tabernacles to life right now at this time because they are the Lord’s times of intimacy, and the kingdom of God is now. God has placed a real love for the nation of Israel in Tom that runs like a strong deeply colored thread through his teaching. He can clearly see the time prophesied in Ezekiel 37 where Jews and Gentiles are no longer separated in any way, but have “become one in my (the Lord’s) hand”.

Tom established the Men’s Finishing School at His Present Glory Church for the purpose of helping men with a desire to finish the course that God has set before them. “Because its how you finish that counts”. This ministry is the beginning of the fulfillment of that original desire to “save some of the world” that was placed in him long ago. Given to hospitality, his home is open for celebrations, gatherings, and ministry as in the first century when believers met from house to house. He believes that Godly families are the Lord’s fundamental fighting unit against abuse, evil and fear in the world. The protection and provision in a godly marriage is so powerful that it produces children, protects them, and develops them into healthy self-controlled people with a strong desire and ability to care for others as well as themselves. The family is the pattern for the church, which is the pattern for the world. This is the original commission given to Adam for him to subdue the earth and bring it into and under the protection and provision of God.

In these days the Lord is opening revelation and connections that have not previously been available for his people. It is not that the past is wrong and now we have it right, but rather that what was previously hidden thinly by a veil, the Lord is now speaking and demonstrating openly. As in the days of Jesus at the Feast of Tabernacles, which is the Feast of His appearing, the Lord did not go to the temple openly, but first He went in secret (John 7:6). On the last great day of that Feast He stood in the open and cried in a loud voice, ”If anyone is thirsty let him come to me…” Pastor Tom sees that in these days, the Lord is walking among the menorahs, the people, gatherings, fellowships and nations, as written in Revelation 1,2 He is speaking to us, loving us, bringing correction, removing sin, saving us, telling us everything that we have done, and revealing Himself in his Temple, the Body of Christ. Not everyone can see Him right now, though many can, but in just a little while, He will stand up in His Body and once again declare openly – “If anyone is thirsty, come to me….’

The challenges set before the Church can be intimidating, but the Word of the Lord promises us that the best is yet to come. Hear Him now as He walks by you and receive the One who loves you most. Hear Him and see Him as never before.

Visit Pastor Tom Marxen's Bible Teaching Website at http://www.your-study-bible-online.org