Rev. Jim and Rita Talarico

Partnership Coordinator, South Asia

Jim was born in Pittsburgh Pa., raised in a Roman Catholic home, and at the age of 19 was humbled and brought to faith in Christ. Rita was raised in Western Kansas on a farm, grew up in a non-Christian home, and came to love the gospel in her early thirties.

We have witnessed God’s faithfulness throughout both of our lives upon this earth. We have participated, led, and sponsored numerous missions internationally, and are excited about ramping up in this season of our lives. God brought us together through our mutual passion for missions and “we see His hand in allowing us to team up together in advancing Christ’s church among under-resourced countries.”

Jim loves preaching the gospel and has planted, pastored, and revitalized churches in Colorado and Indiana. Rita is an educator and has been a huge proponent of developing Christian schools in Liberia, Africa. We enjoy reading, traveling, and have recently picked up playing pickle ball. We have been married for 3 years and together we have 7 adult children and 25 grandchildren. We thoroughly love living in Jacksonville, Florida.

We are glad to be a part of the ELI team, and it is a privilege to leverage our life, experiences, and ministry backgrounds to equip leaders who are developing Christ’s church internationally. We are excited about this open door to train pastors, teachers, and leaders who influence thousands of people in their own countries.

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