Returning Citizens

One of the most satisfying duties in my role with TUMI is to observe ministers-in-training serving in local churches. On a recent Sunday morning, I visited a man named Ezra at Full Gospel Baptist Church in South Central L.A, where he attended as a child.

Raised in a home with an absent father and a working mother, Ezra found himself lured into gang life as a teen and arrested for drug trafficking as a young adult. In Men’s Central Jail in downtown L.A., an older inmate reached out to Ezra, giving him a Bible and encouraging him to find himself in the Scriptures. That was the beginning of Ezra’s discovery of God’s Word and of his life’s purpose. While serving out his time, he read the Scriptures constantly, soaking in all he could understand.

Before he was released from jail, Ezra attended a re-entry workshop led by one of World Impact’s ministry partners who shared TUMI and its mission to train men and women for ministry. Once released, Ezra contacted me to enroll in TUMI classes here at our downtown office. During his interview I asked, as I always do, “Do you have a home church and what are you doing to serve there?” He explained that he had returned to Full Gospel Baptist and that he had offered to serve the pastor in any way he could.

Within the year Ezra was attending our weekly TUMI classes and serving as a volunteer on the ministry staff of his church. Soon after, I visited the church and saw Ezra in action. His senior pastor contacted me to ask how his church could launch its own TUMI site to equip church leaders as well as returning citizens like Ezra. “TUMI is great for people like me who have made mistakes but who now want to help others find Christ,” Ezra shared his experience with his congregation. “Not only do I grow stronger in the Word, but I get to bring others along with me!” 

Have you read our August 2017 Bulletin? Check it out now!