Christmas morning, in 1967 in a little white house in Nowata, Oklahoma, was a day of new beginnings for me. I was eight years old, and a Bible was given to me by my Grandmother Jesse White. It was a red-letter large print King James Bible, that had a scripture written in the front that said,

“With God all things are possible.”

The prophetic ministry of Micah in the Bible called the people of God to a life of divine imitation. His leadership challenged false prophets, corrupt political leaders and wayward residents of the church to live their faith authentically. He championed the cause for the poor and the oppressed and rebuked those in charge for their exploitation of others. For 20 plus year my ministry has attempted to model this type of apostolic and prophetic ministry within the framework of cultures thoughout North and South America plus in Belgium and Ireland. My call to the ministry came while traveling in South America as an ambassador of the Gospel through the platform of athletics in 1981.

message from founder | one voice many tribes leadership

As a college athlete at Oklahoma State University in 1981, I was asked to travel to South America to play basketball, as an ambassador of the United States. At the same time, I was given the platform to share my faith in Christ. My eyes were opened to an international community in need of a God of love and power. Experiencing the personal protection and power of God while ministering in 9 Columbian prisons, I realized that the only reason that I was allowed in the prison, was because I was an American athlete, not because I was a Christian.

During the plane trip home from Quito, Ecuador, I could hear the Lord say, "Kim, I want you to start a ministry similar to what you have experienced on this trip, but I want you to challenge high-school age students to move out of their comfort zones." This was the first time I ever thought of this type of ministry as being a part of my life.

After college, I accepted the assistant men’s basketball coaching position at Oklahoma City University. With my heart still moved by the words I heard while traveling in South America, I began to search the Word of God to find God’s direction for my life. Early one morning, I was running in Memorial Park in Oklahoma City and came upon a man sitting on a park bench. He was a homeless man, who had gone to college and became a lawyer, but saw that life and the law he served had no meaning. Then he said some profound words that have motivated my life and ministry; he said, “Life has no purpose son.” Meditating upon those few words that cold winter morning I realized that this statement is the quest in every human heart. Since that day, I have seen God change hearts with no purpose, to hearts with purpose.

Vision of Hope began with a dream to build a youth and family camp in the heart of the Wichita Mountains near Meers, Oklahoma. The rugged old mountains are known for the history related to the Native American tribes, along with the wild turkey, buffalo, elk and the legends of the hidden treasures of Jesse James. Through God’s faithfulness, Camp Y’Shua was birthed in 1985.

In 1994, after serving as the administrator of Lawton Christian School and establishing the Oklahoma Christian Schools Athletic Association, the first traveling team under my direction was formed. A standout group of high-school athletes traveled to Antwerp, Belgium and competed in an International Basketball tournament for high-school athletes. The team was called the Stars and Stripes of Oklahoma.

In 1998, Kent Susud, a former high-school basketball player that I coached and now close friend, returned with a vision and commitment in his heart to establish a world missions program for high-school and college students. The High School Christian Student Athlete all-American Program and SportQuest Expeditions were underway. Through the AA program, 20,000 high-schools in North America are reached and churches in Belgium, Ireland, Holland, Germany, Israel, and Greece are served through SportQuest.

In 2003, a park named “The Bridge” was dedicated as a restoration and outreach site in the inner-city of Lawton/Ft.Sill.

In 2004, the Saving Grace Outdoor Chapel was created overlooking Camp Y'Shua and the north range of the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge. This beautiful setting was established to support the on-going Native American ministries in Southwest Oklahoma. The first Banquet in the Wilderness presentation with Pastor Barry and Arlene Belindo, Ray and Richelle Garcia, Jonathan Maracle and the Broken Walls Band was on October 3, 2004.

On March 6, 2005, the restoration of the Hunting Horse Birthday Celebration was brought back to life as a memorial of our Creator's (Jesus Christ) love for the plains tribes of Oklahoma.

In the summer of 2005, the first Vision of Hope Kids Kamp in Southwest Oklahoma was established. The camp is specifically directed toward the sub culture of crime and the prison population in Oklahoma. The camp is to show the love of God to children whose parents are incarcerated and let them know that they are not forgotten.

In the fall of 2005 and old night club in the central cooridor of Lawton became available for Vision of Hope to develop a Christian club. Club Isaiah 61 holds and intercessory worship night every Thursday night at 7:00pm. Food and drinks are provided with live music and testimony through out the evening. Each year special events primarily centered around live music create great nights of worship to our Lord.

In 2006 the country of Haiti became a focus for Vision of Hope. While in Haiti a seven year old girl named Bernadine, who lives in the Hope House orphanage at the Mission of Hope, inspired the building of the first playground for the orphans of Haiti. In only a years time this small project has created a love for the people of Haiti and many new ministry opportunities for the Vision of Hope ministry. The focus of developing new orphanages for more children in Haiti will be an ongoing ministry. The first orphanage facility that Vision of Hope will be helping to establish in Haiti is called New Jerusalem.

In 2008, the country of Israel became the focus of Vision of Hope as Kim became involved with the Copper Scroll Project and Jim Barfield from Apache, Oklahoma.  Go to the Copper-Scroll-Project.com to learn more about this project. Also while Kim was in Israel, he became very interested in the area of the country around Arad, Israel. The ruins in Tel-Arad, Israel have some very interesting history associated to King David and the scripture in Acts 15:16-18, which has become a driving passion of Kim in the past six years of ministry. Also in 2008, Women of Destiny was established under the direction of Valerie Baiz. Days of Empowerment are designed for women with a passion and fire of the spirit and Gods Word. Looking to the future…2012 is the call of Jeremiah 31 to the land of Israel. A worship gathering of the nations of the globe. Join US…ISRAEL 2012

Gods love and faithfulness has been evident to Vision of Hope over these past 21 years and the journey continues………