Jim Congdon

Personal History

Jim, 57, was born in Portland, Oregon in 1951,  the oldest son of 12 children born to Bible teacher (Multnomah Bible College) Dr. Roger and Gwen Congdon. He grew up on a small farm, milking cows and doing chores, but he still found a lot of time for music, chess, and team sports. Jim graduated from high school early and at age 16 entered Wheaton College in Illinois, which was founded by his ancestor Jonathan Blanchard. Graduating in 1971, Jim returned home for a year of Bible training at Multnomah, then four more years at Dallas Theological Seminary in Texas. He graduated from Dallas in 1976 and was hired as the Youth Pastor at Topeka Bible Church in Kansas.

After the senior pastor departed in 1977, Jim was hired to that position. Jim has now served as the Senior Pastor for 29 years. TBC has grown to about 1,400 in attendance. Our mission: "Leading people to life in Christ." TBC Life means: T -- Teaching the Word, B -- Building the Body, C -- Celebrating the Lord, and Life -- Living it in Topeka and around the world. Locally, TBC is well known for relevant biblical teaching, contemporary worship, small group and women's ministries, leadership in the community, and widespread missionary outreach.

Ministry Responsibilities

Jim preaches three services on Sunday mornings, helps guide the church and oversee the pastoral staff, oversees the church board, and represents Topeka Bible Church in the city and around the world.

Education

Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Mathematics from Wheaton College (1971); Certificate in Bible from Multnomah School of the Bible (1972); Master of Theology (Th.M.) in Old Testament Hebrew from Dallas Theological Seminary -- winner of the Old Testament Award (1976); Doctor of Ministry (D. Min.) from Evangelical Divinity School in Illinois (1996).

Family

Jim and Melody have been married since 1978 and have four children: Adriel, 28, helps her husband Daniel Driver in his doctoral studies at The University of St. Andrew's in Scotland; Mark, 26, married to Katy; Doug, 24, junior at Dallas Seminary; and Craig, 21, junior at John Brown University.

Interesting Tidbits

Jim's favorite hobbies include playing volleyball and basketball, studying the Bible, leading tours to the Middle East, archaeological digs, helping Jews for Jesus, teaching philosophy, reading, playing piano, traveling with Melody, collecting illustrations and ancient pottery, spending time with his children, and talking to people about Christ. He is the VP of the board of Jews for Jesus, a worldwide mission organization based in San Francisco. Jim's favorite song as a boy growing up in rainy Portland was Listen to the Rhythm of the Falling Rain. He firmly believes that The Lord of the Rings should sit next to the Bible in every living room.