Tom Myers is Minister of Education and  Administration. He joined the staff in the summer of 2004.  He graduated from Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, MO, with a bachelors of science in mathematics and physical education.  He also holds a Masters in Education from the University of Texas at Tyler.  He spent ten years teaching high school mathematics and coaching basketball and baseball. In addition to his duties at Sylvania, Tom is a part-time student at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Ft. Worth, TX. He and his wife, Anita, have two wonderful children, Colton and Courtney.  

The Myers came to Sylvania in 1996 and put themselves to work serving in various roles in the church. Anita has served as the director for Mission Friends for the past 6 years and is currently a Sunday morning bible study teacher for the first-grade age group.  Tom and Anita enjoy participating as members of the church co-ed softball team.

Tom felt God's call to the ministry as a result of the experience he had on a mission trip to Guatemala.  He has a burden for reaching the lost and currently leads the mission teams sent from Sylvania.  The passion that drives his ministry is best illustrated by the following story taken from Donald Whitney's book, Spiritual Disciplines Within the Church:  A missionary in Africa was asked if he really liked what he was doing.  His response was unexpected.  "Do I like this work?"  he said.  "No, my wife and I do not like dirt.  We have reasonably refined sensibilities.  We do not like crawling into vile huts through goat refuse...  But is a man to do nothing for Christ he does not like?  God pity him, if not.  Liking or disliking has nothing to do with it.  We have orders to 'Go,' and we go.  Love constrains us."  Whitney concludes by saying, "Some may try to serve God without loving Him, but no one can love God without serving Him."