Many of us may wonder why Jesus Christ waited until the age of 30 to start His earthly ministry. A pastor once said that in order to prepare for religious leadership during that time, men would need to complete a rigorous training regiment. If any would fail to meet the stringent standards, they would be deemed ineligible to become a Rabbi. As we can rightly assume, Jesus not only achieved those standards, but surpassed them. Those who completed the training were able to choose their disciples to mentor and teach, once they turned thirty years old. In contrast, it is a testimony of God’s compassion and grace that Christ did not choose the wealthy, educated religious, but rather He chose the poor, uneducated “sinners” as His disciples. In a sense, He chose those who were rejected by society as unholy and sinful. Today, those in America’s inner cities face a similar challenge in that most do not meet the educational standards, nor have the funds available to attend a seminary or other pastoral training school. It would be putting unrealistic expectations to ask a follower of Christ from the city to first go to a four-year college and then move out of the city to attend a seminary in order to be equipped for their calling of a church leader or pastor. The Urban Ministry Institute (TUMI) of Chester exists to equip those who have been called to be leaders for the urban church by providing excellent, affordable seminary level education. The courses offered cost less than 15% of traditional seminary or graduate school tuition. They are also designed to accommodate those who may be functionally illiterate and each course is geared toward effective urban ministry focusing on the challenges and opportunities of serving Christ in the city.
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