Norm was born to Elmer and Gwen Nicklas in Callery, PA. His heart stopped during labor and it looked like he would not make it. The Lord answered his parents prayers and gave him life. In gratitude to God they named him after pastor Norman Hirschy.
    He accepted Christ at the age of 19 in April 1960 and immediately sensed the call of God into the Gospel ministry.
    He attended Cedarville College where the Lord called him into Missions. Evelyn Thoms and he graduated in June 1964 and were married on June 20, 1964.
    In 1967, he graduated from Grand Rapids Baptist Seminary. They were appointed as ABWE missionaries to Brazil and arrived in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1968. They started four growing churches.
    In 1983, after three terms of service, they accepted the call to become the ABWE Administrator for North America.
    For more information, visit their website at: http://www.nicklas.abwe.org