Thomas Tarrants

Tom Tarrants was born and raised in Mobile, Alabama. As a high school student in the mid-sixties he opposed the desegregation of the public schools and eventually joined the Ku Klux Klan by the age of 21. After a bloody shoot-out with the police and FBI, in which his partner was killed and he nearly died, he was arrested. Tom was eventually sentenced to thirty years in the Mississippi State Penitentiary. While reading the Gospels in prison, Tom experienced a life-changing conversion to Jesus Christ. He subsequently renounced the Klan, with its racism and hatred, and devoted himself to serving Christ and promoting the love and peace that Christ alone can give. After his release from prison, Tom attended the University of Mississippi, and later attended seminary. After serving twelve years as president and nine years as Vice President for the C.S. Lewis Institute, he retired in June 2019. Tom holds a Master of Divinity Degree, as well as a Doctor of Ministry Degree in Christian Spirituality. He is an ordained minister in the Evangelical Church Alliance and a member of the Evangelical Theological Society.