“Sometimes you have to believe in someone else’s belief in you before you can believe in yourself. People would tell me, ‘You’re a bonafide leader.’ And I’m like, ‘How? I dropped out of school, dude. I was smoking weed and doing all this crazy stuff just to fit in. And you tell me I’m a leader?’ People believing in me turned my life around, now I do that for others.

A few years ago, I was working at AT&T when they did a big layoff. I was paying child support to my ex-wife, and newly married. Our house caught on fire in 2018. Judge Randy Butler and his wife Jackie helped us get things back together. The homeowner’s insurance fixed the damaged parts of the house, but the fire didn’t touch the bathroom. I wanted to redo the bathroom, but it would cost $15,000. That wasn’t happening. Then the Lord showed me a vision: fix it myself. My wife said No way. But I got on YouTube and asked around. Tore the whole bathroom out and made it look good. Friends saw it and said I needed to do construction for a living.

God gave me a vision, and I started doing little paint jobs and repairs for older folks. A mentor had me work for him doing granite countertops and new builds until I could find my next step. Every time I stepped onto a site, it was like God was speaking through the wood. I could sit for hours just looking at it.

I left my job in 2020 to start my own construction company. Everybody said I was crazy to quit and start a business during COVID. But I knew the Lord was calling me to it. I called the business Kingdom Renovations.

By 2021, I was helping people who couldn’t afford it, giving away so much labor and time that it nearly broke my business. I read the book When Helping Hurts, and it was me. I needed a way to keep helping without losing everything. That’s when the Lord gave me the vision for the Kingdom Renovation Foundation.

I started the nonprofit to get community donations to help older folks fix their homes and to train young adults in carpentry. I have so much compassion for older people because of my grandmother who helped raise us. I was her heart, and she’s the reason I do what I do. I’d give them the world if I could.

Our first initiative with the Kingdom Renovation Foundation was Operation Ramp Up, building handicap ramps for seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities. We take kids with us, teaching them to use tools and work with their hands. It also bridges the gap between generations. A lot of older folks don’t understand young people, and young people avoid the older generation. This brings them together.

I understand some of the young people. I dropped out of school in the 12th grade over one class. I used to be the class clown because I didn’t want people to realize how dumb I was. But the whole time, it was just that my brain was different. Later, a teacher asked if I’d ever been tested for ADHD. That helped me understand myself.

My family was disapponted when I dropped out of school, so I went into the Army to make them proud. Some kids drop out because they don’t think they can learn. I want to give them an opportunity. We will even help someone get their GED as they work with us.

We’ve built 25 ramps in the last two years and just launched our next initiative: Kingdom Training Center. We now have a warehouse for workshops and classroom space. We’re training and certifying young people, ages 16 to 24, in carpentry. They’ll earn a national NCCER certification and learn soft skills—how to manage money, resolve conflict, and show up on time. Because if I teach you to build but not how to live, I’ve failed you.

We’re also launching the Shift Culture podcast—changing the way we see things, especially for the younger generation. We’ve been doing things the same way for so long, and it’s not working. We need to stop adding generational struggle and start building generational wealth.

Mother Ruby Eldridge, the pastor of Pure Word Ministries, saw the good in me when I was down. She changed my life, and I am where I am because of teaching me about faith and praying for me. One of her last sermons to me was, ‘Good is the enemy of great.’ She said, ‘There’s greatness in you, but you’ve got to get past good.’ That’s what I remember when life gets hard.

I learned persistence from my mom. My dad wasn’t there, so my mom was the breadwinner. She worked two or three jobs, making sure we had food on the table. A lot of times, my sister and I didn’t see her because she was working so much; she never let a bill get cut off. She never talked down to us about our dad. She taught us to love people, but don’t depend on anyone to do what you need done. That’s how I run my business and nonprofit.

My business is construction and renovation jobs. But my real work is building people. That’s what I’m called to do.”

Tyrone

(Tyrone and his Kingdom Renovation Foundation are building a ramp for Coach Chris. He read Coach’s Souls story a few months and had to help him have more mobility around Mobile. The photo is then starting the ramp. Thank you to everyone who donated to the GoFundMe to help. There are a few photos of ramp construction in the comments.)