About Tom
Tom Parrish was born in a suburb of Toledo, Ohio in 1950. He went on to earn an undergraduate degree in education at the University of Toledo and taught high school for two years. Tom then attended the Evangelical Lutheran Theological Seminary in Columbus, Ohio and graduated in 1978 with a Masters of Divinity.
He served his first congregation of thirty-two adults in Bellbrook, Ohio. He watched Jesus multiply that same church to three hundred believers seven years later. In 1985 Tom and his family followed the Lord to Minneapolis where he has served three congregations to the present as Senior Pastor.
Tom has been married to Jan, his partner in the Gospel, for forty-two years. Jan has served as a public school teacher, elementary principal, and educational consultant both in the public schools and the church. They have three sons and eight grandchildren.
Our mission is to Know Jesus Christ, to Be His Disciple, and to Make Disciples
Mission Statement
The purpose of Stepping Into Eternity is to practically equip believers with resources and tools that are an accurate reflection of Jesus’ mind and will through the Old and New Testament.
Vision Statement
Christians have been commanded by Jesus Christ to reconcile a lost, broken sinful world to the love and grace of God the Father. While it is a very good thing to have a grasp on the truth of the Gospel and the reality of the bodily risen Jesus Christ, it has become extremely difficult to practically transfer those truths into the hearts and minds of unbelievers. In truth the church of Jesus is too often withdrawing from the world or compromising the worldview and values of Jesus himself. Believers need to be equipped to engage the world with the boldness and courage of the early church, the wisdom of St. Paul, and displaying the power of God the Holy Spirit.
Statement of Faith
Jesus Christ is our personal Lord and Savior. He is the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega; he is the Son of God the Father who and has redeemed us through his blood.
We believe in the Trinity, one God revealed in three persons; God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Spirit. We believe all must personally accepted Jesus Christ and as Lord and Savior. We are all sinners. We must personally ask Jesus to forgive our sins. It is only through personal submission to Jesus Christ as Savior and his atonement of sins on the cross through that we are saved.
We believe that all who receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior are granted eternal life. We trust only Jesus Christ for salvation; no act, no actions, no penance, no punishment could ever replace the gift of eternal life that God the Father has granted us through personal faith in God the Son Jesus.
We believe in the church, the body of Christ, which is made up of all who are in Christ; those who have received Jesus are adopted into the family of God and are filled with the Holy Spirit. As a called-out community we are a chosen people of God’s self-revelation to the world. As members of this Church we are obligated to support its growth utilizing the gifts God has bestowed upon us.
We believe we have one primary mission revealed in II Corinthians 5:18-21
All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, owe are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
We believe that Jesus will bodily return again as both Savior and Judge of all people of all time. We believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and that the day is coming when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Invite Tom to speak or train your church
Tom preaches, teaches seminars, and leads training events for churches, small groups, and conferences on knowing the Jesus of the Bible, discipleship, evangelism, and preparing for eternity.