About Us

Both of us received Christ at early ages and were always involved in church. In high school, we started volunteering to lead kids and youth ministries. Tom received a call to be a Youth Pastor in high school, and Rhoda felt a call to Music Ministry about the same time. We met at Jimmy Swaggart Bible College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana where we continued to volunteer in ministry. We married in 1990 and soon after moved to Lakeland, FL to attend Southeastern Bible College and work part-time at Carpenter’s Home Church as High School Directors. Tom completed Bible College in 1993 and we began working full time at Fellowship of Believers Church in Sarasota at that time. We served at FOB for 27 years as youth pastors (1993-2003), associate pastors (2003-2013), and senior pastors (2013-2021). In 2022 we started a ministry called “Salt & Light.”

Rhoda loves connecting with others, there are no strangers with her! She thrives on spending time with family, friends, and whoever she comes in contact with. She loves to study the Bible, write, play the piano, worship, teach and make a difference in people’s lives through God’s love. Tom loves to study the Bible and share it with others through teaching and providing resources for others to grow in their faith. He also enjoys speaking engagements and seeing people transformed by the love of God.

We love spending time with our children and grandchildren! God has blessed with such a wonderful family! Most of Rhoda’s extended family live in Texas while Tom’s live in Florida. We are so thankful for our family, both near and far! 

We Believe!

1. We believe the Holy Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God.

2. We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

3. We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory.

4. We believe that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

5. We believe that the Holy Spirit regenerates, forever indwells, and graciously equips the Christian for Godly living and for service. Subsequent to our conversion, the Spirit desires to fill, empower, and anoint believers for ministry and witness.

6. We believe that signs and wonders, as well as all the gifts of the Spirit described in the New Testament, are operative today. They are designed to testify to the presence of the kingdom of God and to empower and edify the Church to fulfill its calling and mission.

7. We believe that water baptism by immersion and the Lord’s Supper are the two ordinances of the Church to be observed until the time of Christ’s return.

8. We believe that the local church is God’s primary instrument through which God is fulfilling His redemptive purposes in the earth. To equip the saints for the work of ministry, God has given the Church apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. We also affirm the necessity for all believers to be actively involved in a local church. 

9. We believe that God has called the Church to preach the Gospel, and work to meet the needs in our city, nation, and world. This ministry is an expression of the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ and is an essential part of the kingdom of God. 

10. We believe that all believers are called to live in the power of the indwelling Spirit of God so that they will not fulfill the lust of the flesh but instead bear fruit to the glory of God.

11. We believe that heaven is the glorious eternal home of born-again believers and hell is a place of eternal torment for all who reject Christ as their Savior.

12. We believe that all people are created equal by God. Therefore, we will speak the truth in love, see the best in others, and always work to resolve conflict, as evidence to others of our faith in Christ.