Elder Candidate

And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed. - Acts 14:23

Bridges is led by a team of elders, whose role is to oversee the church, working diligently to ensure that the church family is healthy and growing in Christ, on the right track, walking with Jesus and honoring to God. 

This past year, Tom Eckert has been shadowing our elder team, attending meetings, praying, and helping to set direction. Through his time with them, they have seen in him the qualities and qualifications of an elder (1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-16; Acts 14:23) and are submitting him to you for consideration. 

Our process for elder candidates is to present them to you, the congregation and to seek your insight into their lives. If you have any questions or concerns about his qualifications, please contact one of our elders directly or through the church. (info@bridgeschurch.net) We want to ensure that everyone is heard. This process will proceed throughout the month of November and then the elders will meet, pray, and confirm his appointment as the Lord leads. 

Please be in prayer throughout this process and do not hesitate to reach out. 

Here is Tom’s testimony: 

Hi, I am Tom Eckert and this is my confession of faith or the story of my conversion to faith in Jesus Christ.

I was blessed to be raised in a healthy loving family environment, the middle of seven children. Raised Catholic, 12 years of Catholic education, religion class and church weekly. Although those influences were there, I never really knew Jesus as my Lord and Savior until I was 21. At 9 years old in religion class, my teacher, who was a nun, taught on Jesus dying on the cross for my sins and I was overcome with amazement. It was at that point that I believed that Jesus was God but didn't know why. 

The next 12 years were unexciting. I was certain I would be married by 25, raise a family and work for myself. But at 21 I had exhausted many pursuits and was bored with where I was heading, weary and annoyed. So that night I couldn't sleep, and I asked God "If you are real, can you show me?" I eventually fell asleep and went to work the next day. Heading home, I stopped to play a game of foosball and have a beer to relax. That's when it happened. A guy I knew came up to play me in foosball. This guy I didn't like. I knew him to be a thief and heroin addict. The last person on earth that I would respect or consider, started explaining to me in depth who Jesus is and how I can have a relationship with the Creator, God the Father, through Jesus with the help of the Holy Spirit. He and a few of his friends spent several hours explaining and answering all of my questions. So, it was about 24 hours after I had asked God to show Himself to me that I was faced with making this biggest and best decision of my life. I admitted I was a sinner in need of a Savior and committed my life to Jesus by saying the sinner's prayer. That was January 26, 1976, over 48 years ago.

That's only the beginning; a new beginning, with plenty of highs and lows following, but during these highs and lows I persisted and maintained and treasured my life in Christ.

I met my first wife, Jane, during the 1970's Jesus movement, we were both living as Christians when we met and married with big plans. After several years and actively looking for a church home, we settled into a small church of around 100-120 people where we both saw an opportunity to serve. Jane eventually served as the primary Sunday school superintendent, and I taught high schoolers in Sunday school and college and career ages. I also served on the Sunday school board and the church board in different capacities. Our only son was born in 1990 and we raised him in the church and provided him with an education at the local non-denominational Christian school where he graduated from in 2009 at 18. My wife fell victim to ovarian cancer in 2002 and battled with it for 8 long and painful years. She stayed active in her role at church as long as she could and was a very good wife and mother before she passed away in 2010.

When Jane died, I was in my mid 50's and didn't have plans of remarrying until my son married his high school sweetheart. I had several good friends at church but missed the companionship of a good marriage. God was gracious to me when I met Cas who also lost her husband to a heart attack. The church we married in was a large church where Cas was attending and serving as a small group leader with her husband for over ten years. We continued that small group for a couple more years but since we were both widow and widower, we saw the pain other's felt when life takes a bad turn. God led us to a ministry that supported individuals in life's hardships and introduced Stephen Ministry into our church as Stephen Ministry leaders after attending the needed training to become the leaders.

Cas and I just celebrated our 10th anniversary and are hopeful for many more right here in Bridges Church, as I look forward to my final and eternal salvation. 

Tom