November Ministry Spotlight: Eyes on Me - Transforming Communities from the Inside Out

This spotlight might seem a little far from home when it comes to music genres, but it is very close to home when it comes to Kingdom impact. As the Lord often does, He introduced us to this organization through a casual connection — and then continued to bring it up in other settings. Once I heard the name Eyes On Me, I kept hearing the name Eyes On Me. So, I began searching for more information and reached out to interview Dennis Turnipseed, the Executive Director.

Dennis shared that Eyes On Me is a ministry that steps into some of the most dangerous, poverty-stricken, underserved, and highest single-parent neighborhoods in the country. They enter these communities with the purpose of building relationships and offering discipleship, character development, and skill-building opportunities to the young people who live there.

Founded in 2008 by Christian rap artist Tre9 (Bobby Herring), Eyes On Me exists to authentically follow Jesus Christ in order to create community transformation — building bridges and equipping people to impact their own neighborhoods, resulting in a reproducible discipleship movement.

Their work begins by engaging a community with clear needs for resources and support. Eyes On Me will host an Outreach Event that combines fun activities with a gospel presentation and a shared meal — meeting both spiritual and physical needs. Through this initial connection, and after prayerfully evaluating the community’s openness, Eyes On Me leadership seeks the Lord’s guidance on whether they should establish a mission house with a missionary family living in that neighborhood. From there, deep relationships, discipleship, and practical support begin to take root.

Once they feel called into a community, a mission home is established and the missionary families — along with volunteers — begin doing life with local residents. Within these community centers, Eyes On Me provides mentorship, discipleship, and trade-skill or talent-development programs. While many programs are geared toward youth, the heart of the ministry is to serve entire families. Everything they do is centered on sharing the gospel.

They currently have three established, deeply rooted centers: Brookshire, Greenspoint, and Sunnyside.

I had the privilege of speaking with volunteer Jay Graves, an author, keynote speaker, and executive coach whom I met at the Fellowship of Barnabas Partners quarterly breakfast. Jay serves at the Brookshire location and shared a powerful glimpse into what volunteering with Eyes On Me has meant to him:

“It’s given me the opportunity to be the hands of Christ… I get a chance to talk to young men in the Brookshire area. I volunteer in the food pantry and use that to meet people, introduce myself, hold conversations, and hopefully establish relationships. They have stuff during the week too, so this is strictly volunteer. I just get in where I fit in. I have two sons of my own, so when I see young men who don’t have fathers at home, I feel obligated to give them something. It’s the best thing ever.”

His words reflect the heartbeat of Eyes On Me — ordinary believers stepping into extraordinary opportunities to love, mentor, and disciple those who may not have anyone else walking with them.

The Greenspoint area had become so violence-stricken that locals referred to it as “Gunspoint.” Eyes On Me renamed their youth mission center there God’sPoint, reclaiming the area for the Lord. The center offers carpentry, dance, podcasting, a music studio, T-shirt printing, musical instruments, and even a developing cosmetology program.

The Sunnyside location also provides a music and podcasting studio, creatively blending technical training, mentorship, and discipleship. In addition to community centers, churches are being organically planted within these neighborhoods — often meeting right inside apartment-complex community rooms.

Photo credit: Eyes On Me (used with permission)

The transformation happening in these areas is incredible — but the reach of Eyes On Me extends even further. They offer a program called Beyond Borders, available to those outside the three primary communities. Beyond Borders guides participants through a discipleship model called Disciple the Streets, which teaches how to engage communities, share the gospel, and help others discover their identity in Christ.

After completing Disciple the Streets, participants can enter an intensive discipleship program called the Ambassador Club. Individuals are paired with a goals coach — often from the corporate world — who walks with them for six months as they set goals around financial planning, family stewardship, and career development. The accountability and encouragement are life-changing.

Those who continue further may enter the President’s Club, a 12-month commitment involving mentorship from business executives and in-depth study of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Eyes On Me also offers Recon, an even deeper discipleship track focused on spiritual disciplines, evangelism, and accountability. Dennis described their vision as “intense discipleship” — truly walking alongside people and pointing them toward Jesus and a hopeful, productive future.

Amber and Jay Graves, Eyes On Me Volunteer

We are so grateful for the work Eyes On Me is doing and for the lives being transformed through discipleship, mentorship, and the love of Jesus. And to our incredible listeners and supporters — thank you. Your generosity allows us to highlight ministries like Eyes On Me and shine a light on the faithful work God is doing in our communities. Because of you, we get to share Christian Country Music and the hope of Christ far beyond the airwaves.