Note From the Field

The first missionary family, that was the start of what is now Table Fellowship Missions, was Tom and Kathy Padley. Tom and Kathy sold their business, their home, said goodbye to family and friends and moved their four children, ages 17, 16, 13 and 11 to Belo Horizonte, Brazil in 1988. Tom had been there two years earlier to establish relationships with the church in Belo; Kathy and the children would see this new land, south of the equator, for the first time in May of 1988.

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Tom and Kathy came to Christ in 1975 on the wave of the Charismatic Renewal that was sweeping the country. They became involved with youth ministry that same year and in the years that followed they began to work in prison ministry, were foster parents to 53 troubled teenage boys, and were in church leadership. It was after the death of Keith Green in 1982 and during one of his memorial concerts, that the call and vision for missions was solidified. In 1988 Tom and Kathy and their four children were sent out on a "one-year" commitment to serve with the church in Brazil, ministering to the many homeless children there.

 

They didn't come home after the "one-year" commitment, and since then, their ministry has expanded throughout Brazil and across the globe. After thirty-four years of work in Brazil, Tom and Kathy have successfully turned all the many ministries and churches over to Brazilian leadership. They spend at least six months of the year here in the U.S. and in Brazil. If you would like to have them share at your church or mission conference, just contact Ed and he'll get you in touch.