Tom was born in Rochester, New York and lived in Wayne County just south of Lake Ontario until the age of 14 when his family relocated to Gwinnett County, GA in the early 1990’s. He grew up actively involved in sports, music, art and the outdoors. His father was an elder and his mother was the organist at the church where his family attended in New York.

He became a Christian at the age of 14 after hearing a message on Matthew 11:28. During his late teens, he was involved in a handful of different bands that played secular music around town but he knew that the Lord had given him those abilities for a different purpose. In his early twenties, Tom decided that he would walk away from those other bands and play exclusively Christian music.

Tom met his wife, Sarah, while they were working together at the T.G.I. Friday’s restaurant in Duluth, GA. They were married in 1999 and have three sons. Dominik is a junior in high school who plays snare drum in the marching band. He also plays the piano and the drums for the Reach Worship Team. Luke is a freshman who enjoys the outdoors, especially hunting and fishing. Owen is an eighth grader with a gift for theater and chorus. Tom’s wife Sarah works for a non-profit ministry called One Hope, whose mission is to place the gospel into the hands of every child in the world by the year 2030. She travels internationally and works from their house as a Global Operations Coordinator.

Tom earned 2 bachelor’s degrees from Georgia State University; a Bachelor of Arts with a concentration in Studio Art and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art Education. He went on to receive a Master’s degree from the University of Georgia in Educational Administration and an Educational Specialist degree from Piedmont College in the field of Teacher Leadership. He has been a Visual Arts Teacher with Gwinnett County Public Schools since 2004 and has taught at the elementary and high school levels. He currently teaches Ceramics and Visual Composition at Discovery High School in Lawrenceville and also coaches the JV Boys soccer team. He first began leading worship at First Baptist Lilburn after high school. Since then, Tom has served in part time roles as the Worship Pastor at Cornerstone Baptist in Flowery Branch, First Baptist Church of Oakwood, Cornerstone Baptist in Lawrenceville, and Christ Community Church in Braselton.