A Joyful Connection (May 31, 2025)

Wait till you hear this story!

This month Cathy and I were at the Correctional Ministries and Chaplains Association Summit in Orlando. We looked down the row and there was our old friend Audrey Fay. We first met Audrey and her husband Jeff at Norco Prison, where they ran our first TUMI site in our 2007 pilot project with Prison Fellowship. Norco’s graduation in 2012 showcased the fruit of the ministry in such a striking way, that World Impact donor Wayne Hughes offered to bring TUMI to every prison in California.

We continued visiting Norco TUMI classes and graduations, followed by dinners with Jeff and Audrey at nearby Polly’s Restaurant. They were unique in that they were not content just to equip disciple-makers in prison, but also helped the men make a healthy transition into local churches on the outside. Jeff eventually became a pastor to many of the men.

During this time, Cathy and I grew in our knowledge of prison culture and the struggle of re-entry, and we started getting requests from pastors about how they could make their churches more welcoming to returning citizens. So we turned to Audrey and Jeff to help us round up a host of people to interview about this topic: formerly incarcerated men, their wives, girlfriends, as well as prison ministers. Along with others across the country, they provided the expertise we needed to publish our four-session workshop entitled The Onesimus Workshop in 2018.

We were encouraged reminiscing with Audrey at the conference, but the special moment came when we introduced Audrey to Charles Anderson with Epiphany Life Change, and here’s why: In 2018 Cathy helped Charles get TUMI started in Houston and ever since we have been seeking ways to help his ministry grow, which is now up to 20 classes around Texas.

Meanwhile, Audrey, Jeff, Cathy, and I had been mentoring one of the top graduates from the Norco class of 2012 (we’ll call him Steve for confidentiality). After moving to Texas we recommended that Steve move to Houston to grow Charles’ flagship TUMI program. I got choked up when I saw Charles and Audrey together because it is evidence of God’s sovereign work in Steve, first through Jeff and Audrey’s investment, and now the payoff in the lives of prisoners alongside Charles.