Dr. Tom Latham's
Educational Journey
Dr. Latham’s full name is Harry Thomas Latham, but to his friends, he is Tom. His Brazilian friends know him as Pastor Thomas. He publishes under his pen name, Dr. Tom Latham. His remarkable career as a missionary in Brazil spans more than 50 years. Many factors contributed to his success, but above all, his resolute faith in Jesus Christ, his personal Savior, had the greatest impact.
Preparation was the second most important key to his half-century success. Most missionaries must become a jack-of-all-trades to succeed in the mission field. Often, no one else can solve problems, especially in the early years, so they learn to adapt. As a result, missionaries either sink (and go home) or swim (and continue serving) based on their capacity to operate independently.
The book Into the Light (ISBN 978-1-885708-18-2) by Dr. Tom Latham is an autobiographical account of his life and accomplishments. The following is a sequential record of his formal educational journey, as he recalls it:
June 1959: Graduated, after the eighth grade, from Hopland Elementary School in Hopland, California.
September 1959 – June 1961: Attended Hopland High School in Hopland, California. Between my sophomore and junior years, I moved to Lebanon, Oregon.
September 1961 – June 1963: Attended and graduated from Lebanon Union High School in Lebanon, Oregon. This was a historic event for me, because I was the first one in my family to graduate from high school.
June 1963 – January 1964: Attended and graduated from U.S. Navy Boot Camp and Electrician's Mate School in San Diego, California. After graduating from the Navy schools, I served on active duty with the Navy until June 1965, then I entered and served in the active reserve until the end of my enlistment period in June 1966. (Total Navy service: June 1963 – June 1966)
September 1965 – June 1966: Attended Western Baptist Bible College (WBBC) in El Cerrito, California. After my freshman year, I transferred to Pillsbury Baptist Bible College because of their great wrestling program.
August 1966 – June 1969: Attended and graduated from Pillsbury Baptist Bible College (PBBC) in Owatonna, Minnesota, with a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Bible, Missions, and Greek.
August 1969 – June 1973: Attended and graduated from Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with a Master of Divinity (MDiv) degree.
July 1973: Attended and graduated from Missionary Candidate School in Clark Summit, Pennsylvania. The training involved four weeks of intense testing. I passed all tests and was approved to serve as a missionary.
October 1976 – June 1977: Attended and graduated from Portuguese Language School in Fortaleza, Brazil. Even though I met the graduation requirements, I struggled with Portuguese in school. I realized it would take me several more years of study and practice to master it. I’m confident in my language ability now, and enjoy “entertaining” the Brazilians with my “funny” American accent.
March 1985 – May 1987: Attended and graduated from Luther Rice Seminary in Stonecrest, Georgia, with a Doctor of Ministry (DMin) degree. My doctoral dissertation, titled "Missionary Problem Areas," examined the reasons why missionaries quit.
August 1988 – June 1989: Returned to Pillsbury Baptist Bible College in Owatonna, Minnesota. My wife, Penny, finished three years and graduated. My sons, Thomas and Shane, completed their freshman year. While there, I supported Jim Hazewinkel (two-time Olympic wrestler) as his assistant wrestling coach.
From Dr. Latham’s senior editor and publisher:
“One day, while we were deep in the weeds revising some complex sections of his Into the Light autobiography, Dr. Tom told me, ‘I wish I had spent more time studying English than four years mastering Greek.’ I chuckled to myself and told him that I thought he was doing a great job.”