Tom and Pam Tharp have been missionaries with Mission Aviation Fellowship for over 30 years. Joining MAF in 1989, they have served in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), Mali, East Kalimantan, Indonesia and currently at MAF’s headquarters in Nampa, Idaho. Tom began his service with MAF as an Avionics Technician working in the jungle of Zaire. His duties included installing and maintaining the radios in the aircraft, as well as the radios used by other missionaries to communicate with the aircraft. Tom currently serves in the Purchasing and Shipping department at headquarters, where he still helps with the repair of radios returned from the field.
Pam’s ministry has included flight following, shopping for interior families, hospitality and accountant assistant. In 2011-2012, Pam and Tom served in Tarakan, East Kalimantan where Pam taught the children of the MAF families. Pam was a local school teacher for 19 years.
Tom and Pam both grew up in northern Indiana. Tom accepted the Lord at a youth rally in high school. While he was in the Air Force, he attended a Navigators’ retreat in Japan where he began to consider cross-cultural missions. After leaving the Air Force, Tom studied Bible and missions at Toccoa Falls College. Because of his interest in technology, Tom chose Moody Aviation’s flight school in Elizabethton, Tennessee, where he earned an aircraft mechanic’s license, private pilot’s license and FCC radio repairman’s license.
Pam accepted the Lord as her Savior as a child. She attended Fort Wayne Bible College in Indiana and graduated from Central Bible College in Springfield, Missouri. In 2001, Pam received a B.A. in liberal studies and completed her teaching credential. Pam and Tom were married in 1976.
Favorite verses for Tom and Pam are 2 Corinthians 5:17-20, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”
“God has given the message of reconciliation to us,” comment Tom and Pam. “He uses people to reach people with the Gospel of Christ. We feel privileged to be part of that ministry.”
God calls the men and women of MAF to serve Him in unique ways. He may also be calling you to a special role in the Tharps’ ministry. Please prayerfully consider becoming a ministry partner with them through prayer and/or financial support.
