About
You just need to pull yourself up by your bootstraps…
If they would just work harder…
We’ll have the poor with us always, so does it really matter?
To read our answers to these myths, click here.
We’ve all heard these phrases often repeated, or perhaps we’ve even said them ourselves. Poverty seems simple when looking from the outside in – yet it’s not that simple.
The truth is – poverty exists for the same reason any other form of brokenness exists in the world: we are living in a world marked by sin. However, we as Christians are called to bring peace on Earth, and to live out the mission of the Kingdom.
Jesus’ primary mission was to bring restoration to creation. The forgiveness of sins was essential in this calling. Yet his ministry on earth shows us how He wanted us to live – in deep and intimate community with other believers. At Community Renewal, we feel called to lead lives that bring us in community with the suffering. We want to support them as they move out of poverty, working together with other believers, churches, and like-minded organizations.
Community Renewal was established in 2006 by Randy Reynolds, with the mission of transforming the city. Randy saw tremendous need in Tucson – which was and continues to be decimated by poverty.
We Believe…
It is our responsibility as Christians to use our gifts and talents to serve God in our community to bring about the “shalom” of the city (Jeremiah 29:7).
The work of the church (the body of Christ) extends beyond the walls of our Sunday chapels. We are not called to sit in the pews and be filled, but to serve the community and be actively involved in reaching the lost and hurting.
Our motivation is to serve Christ, giving in a way that is not dependent on reciprocity from others, – (Luke 6:30-38), but expecting the greater reward from God Himself.
Our works will be done in collaboration with people of good will who may not share a common faith but partner on a common mission.
We do not exist solely for the purpose of evangelism or the building of a local church, although that may be a consequence of good Christian community development.
How We Operate
Below is our organizational chart, which shows how we operate within a collaborative framework, supporting organizations that are doing incredible work and leaning on those that fill the gaps we are unable to fill. We believe churches, nonprofits, and Christ-followers can and should be engaged in learning about the need and actively pursuing engagement in meeting those needs.
Community Renewal Board Of Directors
Randy Reynolds is the Founder and Executive Director of Community Renewal. He came to Arizona from Southern California on a gymnastics scholarship to the University of Arizona in 1968. While at the U of A, he started a Bible study that grew to become a local Jesus movement church called the Vineyard Christian Community. This church focused on the marginalized, hippies, homeless, and others who needed to find the love of Christ. He served there as the pastor until 1985. In 1985, Randy started Renewal Counseling and served as its founder and executive director until October of 2005. During that time, he authored and published nine books and workbooks including Common Grace for Relationships and the Recovery Discovery Series workbooks. In 2006, Randy started Community Renewal with the mission of transforming the city. He continues to counsel part-time and he is working on encouraging the body of Christ to bring healing, development, and the Good News to the poor, marginalized, vulnerable, and broken in Tucson. Randy is married to June, has four children and ten grandchildren.
Tim Cronin has been working in the Information Technology (IT) industry for over 35 years. He has just recently relocated from Germany where he was the Account Manager for all Hewlett Packard Enterprise Services (HPES), US Public Sector (USPS) IT contracts for Europe, Middle East, and Africa. He is also a retired US Naval Reserve Officer (O-5) having served in submarines while on active duty. Tim, with his wife Shannon, have eight children and 12 grandchildren (as of Jan 2017). Though traveling a lot with his career, Tim has always been active with his local church where he’s held both formal and informal positions of service, which he considers his primary gift.
Lynn Guyot was born and raised in Tucson, AZ. She met her husband, Jay, while attending the University of Arizona. She and Jay have been married for over 30 years. They have two young adult children, a daughter Alesha and son Alex. Lynn has been a pediatric physical therapist for 30 plus years. She works with children (birth to 21), who have developmental disabilities, including cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, drug exposure, and autism. She drives throughout Tucson working with kids in their homes and schools. Each child is an individual, unique and full of potential. She also loves offering classes to parents and teachers on motor development and a child’s growing brain.
Daisy Lebron is the Vice-President on the board. Daisy Lebron has been working in the professional Beauty Industry for over 25 years. After working in Tucson for almost 20 years she is now the proud owner of Daisy Diamonds Hair Salon and has worked everywhere from New York, Miami, Puerto Rico, and Panama. Daisy has worked her entire career at perfecting her God given gift. Her passion goes beyond just doing hair as she works diligently to serve others with her gift. Her ambitious and compassionate personality along with many life experiences is what draws people to her. She uses her gift and her wisdom to serve and help those around her. As a board member for Community Renewal, Daisy works with Eagle Wings to help empower women to get back on their feet. Whether it be giving them a home if needed or offering her services to prepare them for interviews, she works diligently to make a difference. Daisy also opens her salon with her team to offer back to school haircuts for families in need. When she is not in the salon, she is with her family making memories and taking in all life’s precious moments surrounded by the ones she loves most. Daisy lives with her husband, Dino, has 3 amazing children, and 8 even more amazing grandchildren.
Matt Merrill moved to Tucson as a small child and has been here ever since. He met his wife, Alia, at an educator’s retreat that he was helping to co-host in 2012. He has two young children and has been married for just over 6 years. Matt is a community catalyst in Tucson who has championed cross-sector collaboration to serve schools, nonprofits, and local social causes. He is known for his passion for prayer and bridgebuilding in the community. Matt currently serves as the Programs and Communications Officer at Hands of Hope Tucson. He has passion to see Tucson thrive and understands that in order to see that happen, communication and collaboration beyond our silos needs to happen.
