You Made Our World This Much Bigger (September 4, 2026)

Quentin Valdois is a Special Advisor to our Completion Global Board. For 13 years, he has faithfully encouraged and discipled the church inside Arkansas Valley Correctional Facility in Colorado. Through letters, phone calls, prayer, and steady perseverance, he has walked alongside men he could not yet meet in person. Year after year, Quentin invested in their growth as students, disciples, and leaders through The Urban Ministry Institute (TUMI).

TUMI equips incarcerated men and women for biblical leadership and ministry, helping them grow as Christ-centered servant leaders both inside prison walls and, for many, in the communities they may one day return to. Its long-term discipleship model creates deep bonds through study, mentoring, and prayer.

Last month, after years of faithful ministry from a distance, Quentin received permission to enter the prison and meet the TUMI students face to face, especially Paco, a TUMI graduate and now the Mentor of the TUMI class at AVCF. For Cathy and me, seeing Quentin meet Paco was a once-in-a-lifetime joy. What began as written encouragement and conversations over the phone became handshakes, shared laughter, and the blessing of fellowship.

It was a holy moment seeing Quentin and Paco meet for the first time. They sat smiling in silence, taking it all in. After so many years of connection, they had so much to say that they hardly knew where to begin. But once they started talking the conversation picked up speed.

After a few minutes, we gathered in a meeting room where Quentin met the rest of the TUMI students. Their names, questions, struggles, victories, and prayers had become familiar over more than a decade of ministry. Meeting in person added a new dimension of encouragement, reminding us that faithful labor can sometimes take years to see the fruit.

Cathy and I also shared a brief update on The Empowerment Network we are developing for them. When we finished, Darin said, “Your love for us and the Church just oozed out of your pores.” Then, stretching out his arms, he added, “Today, you have made our world this much bigger.”

It was a day of mutual respect, belonging, and hope. In the car on the way home, Quentin said, “I think this was the happiest day of my life!” Please pray this month for churches like Ark Valley that thrive in America’s prisons, that their view of God’s kingdom and the world beyond their walls will “get this much bigger.”