About

J17 Ministries

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The Bible talks about “dividing walls of hostility.” But the world in which we live seems to be experiencing more and more of those walls, despite frequent calls for tolerance and kindness. However, the good news of Jesus is that His Spirit has the power to slip in between the cracks of those walls in ways that mere human effort never will, giving way to a peace that passes all understanding.

Many important priorities exist within every community of believers. Passions that are dear to the Father’s heart are far more than any one congregation can address. J17 Ministries is emphasizing only one of those… but it’s the one Jesus apparently saw as the most critical, based on what was on His heart the night before He gave His life for us.

Let’s partner together to align with Jesus’ John 17 priority!

Employees of John 17

J17 Ministries Founder David Drum calls himself and his staff, “employees of John 17, following God around town and taking notes.” The notebooks keep filling up at an accelerating pace, as Holy Spirit is breathing fresh wind into Jesus’ prayer all around the city, country, and world.

Dave’s life purpose is to invite others to the crossroads of grace, unity, and truth so that culture comes to look and feel more and more like the Kingdom of God.

Vision

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We envision congregations aligning with Jesus’ John 17 prayer, resulting in such visible and substantive unity that people in our city come to know who Jesus is and how much God loves them (compare John 17:23).

Mission

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Our mission is to unite the Body of Christ for a divided world.

Statement of Faith

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  •  We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

  • We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory.

  • We believe that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and the only way to the Father.

  • We believe that regeneration by the Holy Spirit is essential to salvation and sanctification.

  • We believe the Bible to be the inspired, authoritative, and fully normative Word of God in all matters of faith and life.

  • We believe the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) is the primary purpose of the church and of every Christ-follower.

  • We believe that the unity of all Christian believers is the focus of Jesus’ prayer (John 17) as he headed to the cross, and therefore worthy of our significant investment.

  • We believe that the visible unity of believers that Jesus prayed for will require on our part humility, accountability, and prayer, as well as the Holy Spirit’s continual outpouring of the grace and truth of Jesus Christ in our midst.

Board of Directors

J17 Staff

  • David Drum

    FOUNDER

    Pastor David Drum is a Tucson native, with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Arizona and an M.Div. from Trinity Lutheran Seminary. He served as the solo/lead pastor of Community of Hope Lutheran Church in Tucson from 1990-2011. In 2011, he became the full time Church Domain Director for 4Tucson, helping churches and pastors throughout Tucson work more closely together. David has been married to his beautiful wife Valerie since 1988, and they have 4 children and two grandchildren. David has served as the president for Tucson Association of Evangelicals and Tucson Ministry Fellowship, on the national Board of Trustees and Board of Ministry for Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ, and as the founder/leader for the Evangelical Renewal District of LCMC.

    He has authored three books, Jesus’ Surprising Strategy, If It Was Easy, Jesus Wouldn’t Have Prayed for It, and Peace Talks: The Good News of Jesus in a Donkey-Elephant War.

    In October, 2018, David founded J17 Ministries to further align with Jesus’ heart. A frequent preacher, teacher, conference presenter, and workshop facilitator, David shares the good news of Jesus with both passion and humor.

    Email: Dave Drum

    Read: Dave’s Blog

  • Tasha Campbell

    COMMUNITY LIAISON

    Originally from a rural town in northern Michigan, Tasha moved to Tucson, Arizona in 2010 to attend graduate school at the University of Arizona. She received her Master’s and then her Doctorate in Hispanic Linguistics, having followed the Lord’s calling to study the Spanish language in depth. In the years since, Tasha has sought the Holy Spirit’s guidance concerning the vision He gave her to be a part of “cross-cultural communication” which is how she ended up working as a missionary with J17 Ministries. Hence, one of her primary roles with the ministry is to aid in bridge-making between the Christian Latino and Anglo communities in and around southern Arizona. “The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the Body of Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12).

    Email: Tasha Campbell

  • Lexi King

    EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT

    Lexi is a wife and mom of 3 young adults living in the foothills of the Sierras in Reno, Nevada. She grew up in the Midwest and Texas, where she graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Relations. As an adult, she stayed home with her kids for 9 years and then returned to work as an Executive Assistant in 2011.  Her dream is to travel, to share stories, to write, and to make a living doing all 3. She has also written on her blog, Rhythm & Rubbish, and done guest blog posts for the past decade. She is known for finding the cutest AirBnBs to stay in near friends’ campsites, sharing the right song at the right time, floral prints, laughter, roosters, loud & dangly earrings, following Jesus, wearing casual dresses with pockets, being a planner, getting excited about homemade tortillas and knowing where to go get exceptional food almost anywhere...not necessarily in that order.

    Email: Lexi King

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