Our Story

Fifteen years ago I gave up the pursuit of the “good life” I thought I would find if I became a doctor and chose instead to accept my call to ministry.  After I preached my first sermon, the pastor quoted Matthew 13:44:

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

He said, “Romal, your assignment is to find that field.

However, for years I spent my life searching for the treasure instead of the field. Vainly, I used my gifts and talents in the pursuit of success/money, but with every accomplishment and every goal achieved there was still a sense of frustration and unfulfillment.

All that changed in September 2010 when I attended the Fund for Theological Education’s Vocation Care Conference.  The time spent with people of faith courageous enough to help each other pursue deeper meaning and purpose changed my life.  At the conference I recalled my story, a story similar for too many of our youth today.

See, I was a poor kid, raised by a single parent addicted to drugs and alcohol, and recruited into a gang before reaching high school. But unlike many of our youth, at different points during my teenage years there were people who saw something in me and did their part to either inspire me with encouraging words or help me figure out what I wanted to do with my life.  Sadly, so many of our young people placed at risk are being left behind with people of faith idly standing by.  With this in mind and through the help of the conference I learned to embrace and honor my past by not being ashamed of where I come from and the challenges I had to overcome.  This is how I realized that helping our youth is my calling.

With the help of friends, I started writing the plan for a new organization that would connect churches across the country to make sure that no young person is left behind.  The great mandate of this organization would be to improve the academic performance of students living in poverty and attending high needs schools.  Today, that organization is known as Faith For Change.

Launched in February 2011, Faith For Change staff and volunteers has been working with churches, children and schools in several cities across the country making a difference in the lives of young people. We remain loyal to cultivating the field hoping to one day share with all our treasure: A society in which each child has access to a quality education via equitably resourced public schools.

Rev. Romal Tune, Founder

(Read Rev. Tune’s Bio here.)