About Us

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.