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 This is a web site developed and maintained by Tom and Laura Sparks, of Eagle Creek, Oregon.
Tom received his Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies from Multnomah Bible College in 1981, taught in Portland Bible College, in Portland, Oregon from 1981 through 1993, ministered in a variety of ministries from 1993 to 2000 including Itinerant Teaching, and, from 2000 to the Spring of 2003, traveled in a full time ministry of Itinerant Teaching throughout the US and other nations.
Over the last few years we have been led by the Lord to take a fresh look at some of the practices of Church and ministry, and for this reason we have felt to suspend our ministry travels, until we felt we had solidified our new understandings. To have returned to traveling ministry, prior to now, we felt could create misunderstandings and unrest to the body. We are very glad we took this time to rethink things, and feel more ready than ever to be a blessing to His body. We are now making plans to begin our travels again.
As is evident from our web site, much of the transition in thinking the Lord has taken us through, is towards a value placed on simple Church, free from many of the elements we have experienced in the more traditional building oriented and Senior Pastor led, environment. We are aware of and confident in the Lord's commitment to His entire Church, whether it be traditional or simple and house oriented, and as such, we freely minister in all settings, honoring the present understanding of many approaches to the Church Jesus is building. It is not our goal to disrupt any current function of the Church, and believe Jesus is actively blessing many in the traditional settings. This is just His way. We are not only promoters of the simple house styled Church, and thus at war with the more traditional approach, but we are primarily servants of Jesus Christ towards lifting Him up and edifying the entire body of Christ, no matter what they understand about Church. I cannot apologize for the clear leanings of beliefs, represented on our web site. We believe they are things the Lord has spoken to our hearts about, but we honor the principle of unity in the midst of diversity. To our way of seeing things, there is no question Jesus is bringing forth a Reformation to His Church. Both traditional and non traditional leaders are recognizing this. While each may express or enter in to it a bit differently than others, we all can see Jesus is reforming His Church. It is an exciting time to be alive, and be a joyful part of this great process.
Laura is a gifted teacher as well, and for the last many years has been writing and teaching on the books of Hebrews, James, and Philippians. Laura received her education at both Multnomah Bible College and Portland Bible College. She is deeply committed to a solid understanding of the Scriptures and her teaching evidences that commitment in every way. Her insights span a wide variety of topics from bible study, to marriage and family, theology, and character studies of various leaders throughout Scripture. She is available to speak as well. We both believe Paul’s admonitions for women to be silent is capable of being understood in ways that not only allow for but actually encourage a teaching ministry for a woman of God. In our section of Teachings we cover our understanding of this area under our studies in 1 Corinthians 11. We encourage you to consider this perspective as we feel very deeply the Lord’s desire for the release of women’s ministry among the entire body, reaching into both the lives of men and women.
All of the written materials we post, we make available to you in the same spirit that my spiritual forefather T. Austin-Sparks operated in. (I'm not aware of any direct lineage to T. Austin, but his writings deeply identify in my heart). The following is a quote from a web site dedicated to his teachings:
 Theodore Austin-Sparks(1888-1971) left behind a treasury of writings filled with the Wisdom, Life and Revelation of Christ. He felt that whatever was given by the One Spirit of God should be freely shared with the One Body of Christ - what belongs to the One, belongs to all. He did not want his writings or tapes copyrighted; freely giving to the Body what was freely received from the Head. Having greatly appreciated his writings ourselves, we encourage you to visit this web site for further establishing and strengthening of the Body, that in all things CHRIST might have the preeminence. Matthew 10:7,8 7 "And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand." 8 "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give." We would love to be able to cover all the costs of production and shipping, but at this time we are unable to, so, the only cost connected with the materials we provide, is for the production and shipping expenses. Beyond that, we encourage you to prayerfully consider giving a gift to the ministry, so that we might continue to travel and minister among the body of Christ worldwide.
As ones called, per 1 Corinthians 9, Ephesians 4, and Galatians 6, to establish and strengthen the body of Christ locally and globally, through teaching the Body principles for a successful walk with the Lord, we do trust the Lord to provide for the ministry He has called us to, both through His own unique provisions and from those who believe the Lord is leading them to assist in supporting the Ministry He has given us and our expenses, which will be used to cover airfares, general ministry expenses, the basic needs of our home, and monies spent to support the ministries and needs of others in the body. It is our desire to encourage a purification of the use of ministry monies in the body of Christ. We also believe the excesses of many well known ministries are a serious reproach to the name of Christ, and as such we are committed to a moderate lifestyle, and have a team of spiritual advisors who speak into our lives as regards the manner in which our finances are handled.
Many ask what our concept of "covering" entails, since we are not on the staff of any particular local expression of the Church, any denomination, or any other organization, so I will add a few words here, to cover that concern. Per Ephesians 5:21, in which Paul states: "...submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ," it is our sincere desire to submit to the authority of Christ as expressed through any member of His body, throughout the world, whose voice and authority is a clear representation of Jesus' living Word. In this regard, those we gather with are more than willing to answer any concerns you may have regarding the nature of our lives, beliefs,and integrity. If you should desire such contact we are more than willing to provide you with phone numbers and email addresses, for personal contact with any we relate closely to. In addition to this, we relate closely to the leadership of those we gather with, as well as the leadership of other ministers in the body of Christ. Two such brothers are Patrick Lumbroso, of Estacada, Oregon, who can be reached at
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, and George Sabin, of Gresham, Oregon, who can be reached at
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As an extension of our understanding of accountability to the Lordship of Christ, and submission to His Spirit among His body, I would like to add a few additional comments. There is only one Person in the Universe Who could be fully trusted to speak only that which the Father wanted spoken, and that was Jesus Christ. The rest of us who minister must recognize our fallibility and lack of perfect revelation. Therefore, while it is always our intention to only minister that which the Lord has shown us, we deeply respect the understandings of the various Churches we minister in, and believe that respect must be evidenced in love, submission, and wisdom; to not speak, in public or private settings, those things which we have come to know are in opposition to the things any given Church leadership believe. Privately we may share other understandings with the oversight of any given Church, but publicly we exercise great caution to assist in maintaining the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. While we believe, at times, the leadership of various Churches may exercise an authority that exceeds their truest calling in Christ, we believe, when we enter their area of oversight, that we are to respect their understandings of spiritual authority, and thus we seek to honor the desires they express, as regards doctrinal perspectives and biblical principles of Church life. We desire to create bridges, not walls; to promote growth of relationships towards cross pollinization of the things Jesus is revealing to the Church in these days. To come into Churches and create divisions and disharmony among the fellowships, is at odds with what we feel called to. We are bold in our beliefs, but gentle in our approach, desiring to manifest the grace of Christ at all times. Many in the so called "House Church Movement," imply their revelation is "so pure" that they cannot learn from their brethren in the tradtional settings. We do not desire this spirit in our ministry. We love the entire body of Christ, and seek to reveal Jesus, more than create conflict or manifest arrogance. It is our goal to fulfill Paul's personal vision, rather than simply play with one House Church doctrinal string - Acts 20:27 For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.
If, as you pray, you believe the Lord is leading you to invite us to minister among you we would love to hear from you and would eagerly look forward to doing all we can to strengthen your focus on Jesus. After all, in everything we do we are called to make Jesus the Center of our lives. We live to lift Him up, and encourage the body of Christ to make both their personal lives and their gatherings all about Jesus. If this is your heart as well then I'm confident our time together will be a rich experience in Him.
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