A Safe Haven
In prisons across America, God is using The Urban Ministry Institute (TUMI) to transform lives and grow His Church.
August 28, 2017
In prisons across America, God is using The Urban Ministry Institute (TUMI) to transform lives and grow His Church.
It was dusty. It was hot. The absence of color was startling. Handing over our driver’s licenses and watching the double-gate with razor wire close was strange. Frightening? No. Just strange.
One of the most satisfying duties in my role with TUMI is to observe ministers-in-training serving in local churches.
My journey into urban ministry began in the late ‘90s, when I ended up homeless, living on the streets of Seattle. Little did I know at the time that God had plans to use that time to empower me for His purpose.
Long before Danny, Red, Martin, and Carlos were physically released from their prison cells, God had set them free spiritually.
Students with The Urban Ministry Institute (TUMI) come from a variety of backgrounds. Urban leaders are men, women, African American, white, latino, older, younger and everything in between.
It brings joy to my heart to tell you about James Jeffery who has recently graduated from The Urban Ministry Institute (TUMI) of Fresno.
I am humbled by the calling to empower the urban poor to be leaders for the Kingdom in Los Angeles.
“Because of my prison experience and my prison history and my background in addiction, I can really relate to the type of people TUMI serves.”
A few months ago I had the honor to sit and listen to someone who was in prison for a number of years. He shared with me how he and his church in prison were encountering Jesus like never before.
Seven TUMI graduates at Denver Women’s Correctional Facility (DWCF) marched in time to “Pomp and Circumstance” with their heads held high.
Recently I had the joy of attending and participating at the tenth TUMI International Summit in Wichita, Kansas.