Tom and Carol McLennan

 

Tom and Carol McLennan

 

 

Our Story:

 

Tom:  I am the oldest of four children.  My boyhood years were spent in semi-rural setting in Irving, Texas, when it was a small community.  In my Junior High and High School years, we traveled to different destinations around the U.S. on vacation.  It was my exposure to the world beyond our home in Texas.  I was an active member of a Christian Service Brigade (CSB) boy’s club which provided the foundation for becoming a Christian when I was in the eighth grade.

 

Our family moved to the Chicago suburbs before my Junior year of High School.  I became much more active in CSB, eventually earning their highest achievement award as a “Herald of Christ.”  I attended a Junior College, majoring in biological sciences, and transferred to Trinity College in Deerfield, Illinois.  While there I felt the call of God toward ministry and changed my major to Christian Education, which meant an additional year of college.  I graduated in 1970 with a BA in Biblical Studies.  I was a commuter student for all five years of college, which enabled me to remain active in my local church.  Therefore, throughout my college years, I was able to serve as a senior leader in their CSB club, and every summer I was on the staff at CSB camps.

 

I met my wife Carol through the youth group of our church.  We dated throughout my college years and got married in October 1970, one month before I reported for active duty in the U.S. Army.  I spent three productive years serving as a Chaplain’s Assistant at Ft. Bliss, Texas; in Vietnam; and at Ft. Gordon, Georgia.

 

After my discharge from the service, we returned to Illinois where I attended Trinity Evangelical Divinity School with the G.I. Bill.  I graduated in 1976 with an MA in Christian Education.  In the subsequent 26 years I served in four churches as a pastor of Christian Education in Valparaiso (IN), Annandale (VA), Fairport (NY), and Archbold (OH).  In the early ‘90s I was able to participate in three short-term ministry trips to Russia with the Co-Mission doing special three-day training convocations as we introduced a Bible-based curriculum to Russian public school teachers.  These trips revitalized my vision for the broader scope and need for Christian Education internationally.

 

We have two children: Christina married Dr. Richard Hong in March 2008 and is a public school teacher in the Chicago area.  Timothy married Alison in March 2002.  Tim is a construction contractor in the Lancaster area of Pennsylvania.  He and his wife have two children.

 

We formally joined the staff of Entrust (formerly BEEI) in January 2002 with a goal of working in Russia.  By God’s sovereign grace, we were able to go to Krasnodar, Russia, in August of 2002, to begin our language studies.  We became involved in a broad spectrum of activities and ministry over the next six years: assisting the leaders in two Christian drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers, conducting a home Bible study/training time for 15-18 African university students each week, training lay leaders in local churches, and various other social ministries.  Our variety of involvements gave us credibility among those whom we were serving and opened numerous other opportunities for ministry.

 

We had to leave Russia at the end of December 2008 due to the severe restrictions on visas and work permits for living in the country.  I had recently been invited by the President of Entrust to come to Colorado Springs to work in their training department.  We moved to Colorado Springs in May of 2009 and I began working in the Entrust headquarters as the director of Certification Training.  An additional blessing was becoming associate members of Slavic Bible Church, a small Russian-speaking congregation here.  We both have become actively involved in leading Bible studies and assisting where we can. 

 

 

To make gift to Tom and Carol click here and select "McLennan, Tom & Carol" under the Missionary pull down. For information on other ways to give click here.

 

 

For more updates and stories click on the links below to view Tom and Carol's newsletters.

 

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McLennan - 2008 02459.6 KBPDF Document12/17/2009 9:57:03 AM
McLennan - 2008 04560.5 KBPDF Document12/17/2009 9:57:06 AM
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McLennan - 2008 11428.2 KBPDF Document12/17/2009 9:57:24 AM
McLennan - 2009 01707.6 KBPDF Document12/17/2009 9:57:29 AM
McLennan - 2009 03571.4 KBPDF Document12/17/2009 9:57:32 AM
McLennan - 2009 05685.6 KBPDF Document12/17/2009 9:57:36 AM
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McLennan - 2009 11595.2 KBPDF Document12/17/2009 9:57:47 AM
McLennan - 2010 01595.0 KBPDF Document1/28/2010 3:35:19 PM