Board Members

Tom Blackburn – Ministry Director

Tom Blackburn became a believer in Messiah Yeshua in the early 1980’s after many years of searching for the truth. While watching a television show in which a couple shared about the Messiah, Tom realized that accepting Him is exactly the thing to fill the deep void in his life as a successful businessman.  After doing so, he quit his job as vice president of transportation sales in a thriving company with the sole explanation that he needed to find out more about G-d.

The L-rd began to work in Tom’s life swiftly and he began participating in a street team sharing G-d’s word with people all over the greater Los Angeles area. He attended the American Messianic Fellowship in Chicago where Tom gained a deeper understanding of the Jewish people and prophecies relating to the Messiah.  His love for Israel and the Jewish people continued to blossom from there. He also became involved in an outreach to the Jewish people. As the outreach began to grow and bear fruit, Tom acquired many connections within the Messianic Jewish movement.

While attending a national Messianic Jewish conference he met his wife Tzipora, a Jewish believer who had grown up in the Messianic movement. Not long after they were married, Tom and Tzipora moved to Southern California where they pioneered and led a Messianic Jewish congregation for 13 years. At that point they felt the call to move to Israel.

The Blackburn’s led a small congregation during their two and a half years in the Land.  Israel is where they began writing newsletters relating the Scriptures with what is happening today. Upon their return to the United States, the newsletters continued and in 2006, their nonprofit organization, HaShomer, was born. Having returned to Cincinnati where they currently reside, they were approached about helping to start a Messianic Jewish congregation in Louisville, KY.  They accepted that call in 2006, and today that congregation has become Adat HaTikvah.

Phyllis Blackburn – President

Dan Adler – Treasurer

Rudy Gonzalez