All of history is moving toward the consummation of the Kingdom of God, expressed in Jesus’ Great Commission. This Matthew 24:14 impulse is placed deep in the heart of every believer: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”
When I joined World Impact in 1991, I believed that empowering America’s urban poor was among the most strategic ways to fulfill this global task. With the world rapidly moving to U.S. cities, I could see that God was bringing the mission field to America; through direct relationships with friends and family back home, the gospel could be taken from American inner cities back to “the ends of the earth.” At the same time, I wondered if there would someday be another way we could live into our name (World Impact). I had a sense that God’s plan for us might be more than simply equipping indigenous leaders in America who would take the Word to the nations.
Now, through The Urban Ministry Institute (TUMI), we are seeing God open doors all over the world for us to pursue our tag line: “Resourcing the Great Commission.” Using TUMI’s diverse resources for discipleship, church planting, prayer, music, and seminary training, we are delivering much-needed tools that are culturally relevant, affordable, and accessible to the poor in a growing number of countries outside the U.S. Through partnership with churches and ministries here in America, we are partnering with indigenous leaders in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Cuba, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Spain, Romania, and India.
With TUMI materials in English and Spanish, we are currently translating books and videos in Romanian, Arabic, and two Indian dialects or Telegu and Hindi. Additionally, we have a backlog of intense interest to produce TUMI materials in French, Portuguese, Swahili, Russian, Mandarin, Amharic, Kenyan Rwandan, Creole, Italian, and three Nigerian dialects (Hausa, Ibo and Yoruba). As the reputation of TUMI grows, the list of translations grows monthly.
We are trusting the Lord to provide the funds to meet the needs of millions of brothers and sisters who are waiting for us to send them these resources. Through TUMI, we are equipping God’s people to share the gospel, make disciples, and train elders and pastors in their own culture – all without sending missionaries outside of the U.S. It is an exciting time to be making a “World Impact.”
Don Allsman is the Executive Director of Satellite Ministries for TUMI.