About the Ministry

Jesus’ prayer in John 17 strategically reveals both what unity is supposed to look like and how to achieve it. Furthermore, the degree to which we align ourselves with Jesus’ own prayer is the degree to which our communities will come to know who Jesus is and how much God loves them.

Founder David Drum describes his life as an employee of John 17 (the prayer), following God around town and taking notes. Dave’s life purpose is to invite people to the crossroads of grace, unity, and truth, to give life and impact culture.

The Bible talks about “dividing walls of hostility.” The world in which we live seems to be experiencing more and more dividing walls of hostility, despite more frequent calls for tolerance and kindness. In Jesus, dividing walls of hostility come down, not only because that’s His ongoing prayer, but because He made it possible. Whether the barrier is Jew/Gentile, denominational, ethnic, generational, or any other variety, Jesus chose to pray that the barriers would give way to a peace that passes all understanding. We seek to be part of the solution.

saguaro cactus silhouettes in final sunset rays — Photo credit: moremilu / Pixabay

San Xavier Mission, located south of Tucson, Arizona — Photo credit: tr19001 / Pixabay

Vision

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

To mature the Church through humility, serve the community unconditionally, and point to Jesus wholistically, through strategic alignment with Jesus’ own heartbeat as revealed in John 17.

Statement of Faith

close up of an open Bible — Photo credit: stevepb / Pixabay

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.

J17 Ministries Board of Directors

**BOARD PRESIDENT: GLEN ELLIOTT**
Pastor and Coach, Glen Elliott Consulting LLC

**LISA BYL**
Chairperson, John 17 Weekends

**ELISA MEDINA**
Co-Founder, Medinas on Mission LLC

Anthony Moss — **TONY L. MOSS**
Lead Pastor, Agape Christian Church International

Obed Orozco — **BISHOP OBED OROZCO BONILLA**
Lead Pastor, Grace to the Nations

Andrew Ross — **REV. DR. ANDREW G. ROSS**
Pastor, Northminster Presbyterian Church

Pete Seiferth — DR. PETE SEIFERTH
Executive Director, Tucson Refugee Ministry

Founder’s Biography

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 for 30 years, 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.