My goal for taking part in Church-Based Seminary was a simple one: to know the Bible in depth so that I could be a better servant leader in my church and ministry.
I did not grow up in the church. I came to faith in my late twenties, so I have always felt like I lacked the foundational knowledge necessary to really be effective for the Kingdom of God. Feeling ill-equipped with a solid foundation of Biblical knowledge constantly affected my ability to truly serve those in the various urban ministries where I led. World Impact’s Church-Based Seminary, TUMI, helped me find the confidence I lacked.
I began taking the courses and I learned I had great capacity to study the Bible and I was able to teach others what I had learned! My church, Emmanuel Church is a TUMI Satellite and this has given me the opportunity to lead a number of TUMI courses and mentor several students. This has been a tremendous blessing to me and has given me a sense of assurance and confidence as a leader.
TUMI both changed and challenged me spiritually. It changed me in the way that I understand who Jesus is and who He is calling me to be. I now have a have a much deeper understanding of who Christ is and I see Him clearer than I ever have. TUMI challenged me to dig deeper in the scriptures and to love studying God’s Word.
There have been several “God Moments” that standout to me over the last few years. Many come from the jail ministry I am involved in. The ministry serves the men of Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles and typically meets on Saturday mornings. Nearly every week I was able to weave what I had just learned at TUMI just a couple days before into our class. In fact, there were many times when I used my final exegetical paper to lead Bible study at the Jail and the men seemed to really enjoy going through the scriptures in that way. You could truly see God working in their hearts as we studied the Bible together.
