GIVE GOD THE GLORY! From UNT Denton to UNT Dallas. When One University Refused to Give Up on One Student, God Built a Legacy of Service That Will Last Beyond a Lifetime. Malachi 4:6 | 1986–2026.

 

GIVE GOD THE GLORY! From UNT Denton to UNT Dallas. When One University Refused to Give Up on One Student, God Built a Legacy of Service That Will Last Beyond a Lifetime. Malachi 4:6 | 1986–2026 | https://northtexan.unt.edu/issues/2014-winter/my-brothers-keeper.html

By Black Texans, Inc.

“The greatest among you shall be your servant.” — Matthew 23:11

Prologue

What Happens When One University Refuses to Give Up on One Student?

History often celebrates championships, distinguished alumni, groundbreaking discoveries, and visionary leaders. Yet some of history’s greatest stories are not written in stadiums, boardrooms, or political campaigns. They are written quietly—through mentors who recognize potential before it becomes visible, through institutions that refuse to abandon people before they discover their purpose, and through ordinary acts of service that ripple across generations.

That raises a timeless question:

What happens when one university refuses to give up on one student?

Sometimes the answer is not measured by degrees earned, awards received, or positions attained.

Sometimes the answer is measured by neighborhoods transformed, children encouraged, churches strengthened, communities restored, and generations forever changed because someone chose to believe in another human being.

This is one of those stories.

It is not simply the story of one man.

It is the story of faithful mentors who invested.

A university that believed.

A church that embraced its community.

Communities that were forever changed.

And a God who transformed a delayed dream into a lifetime of service.

Chapter One

The Dream

University of North Texas • Denton (1986–1991)

When Kyev P. Tatum arrived at the University of North Texas in 1986, he carried one dream—to become a member of the Mean Green football team under legendary Coach Corky Nelson.

After transferring from Tarleton State University, where he represented the Texans during the 1985 Aztec Bowl in Mexico as both an athlete and ambassador for American football, football seemed destined to define his future.

Instead, NCAA transfer rules required him to wait.

The delay became divine direction.

What first appeared to be disappointment became one of God’s greatest appointments.

For the first time in years, football no longer occupied every hour of his life.

Service did.

God had created space for something greater than football.

He had created room for a calling.

Chapter Two

The Calling

Dr. William Gregory Sawyer and the Heart for Service

Dean of Students Dr. William Gregory Sawyer introduced the young transfer student to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s philosophy of the Heart for Service.

He encouraged him to attend the university’s Martin Luther King Jr. commemoration and taught him that service was not merely something people performed.

Service was something people became.

Years later, Tatum would summarize that defining moment with one unforgettable sentence:

“I got a whole new feeling about myself.”

The young man who came to UNT hoping to become a football player left having discovered something greater.

He discovered God’s purpose.

God used UNT not merely to educate him.

God used UNT to shape him into a servant.

UNT gave him mentors.

Purpose.

Mission.

And one lifelong responsibility:

When someone opens a door for you, your responsibility is to hold that door open for someone else.

Only four years later, the University of North Texas affirmed that transformation by presenting him with one of its prestigious Centennial Community Service Awards.

The seed had taken root.

Chapter Three

The Seed Leaves Denton

San Marcos, Texas (1991–2004)

After graduating in 1991, Tatum left Denton for the Texas Hill Country.

The seed planted at UNT began producing fruit.

Over the next thirteen years, service became more than a philosophy.

It became a lifestyle.

In 1992, he helped advise one of San Marcos’ first Martin Luther King Jr. marches.

In 1995, he helped establish a community center.

In 2000, he helped launch a charter school.

In 2001, he helped establish a Boys & Girls Club.

Each initiative reflected the lesson first learned at UNT:

When someone opens a door for you, hold that door open for someone else.

Nearly thirty years later, San Marcos invited him back—not to celebrate titles—but to discuss the lasting impact of those years.

Communities remember people who serve because service leaves opportunities that outlive the servant.

Chapter Four

The Covenant

Never Giving Up on Others (2004–2018)

In 2015, the University of North Texas reflected upon Tatum’s journey in an alumni feature.

It described him as “a teen father who grew up poor and ill-prepared for college” but who found purpose through mentors at UNT.

The article highlighted his leadership as a White House ally for President Barack Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative.

Yet the article’s most powerful words came from Tatum himself:

“Places like UNT did not give up on me.”

Those words became more than gratitude.

They became a covenant.

If UNT did not give up on me…

I will never give up on others.

That covenant became the foundation for everything that followed.

Chapter Five

The Church as CommuniVersity

New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church (2018–2026)

When Kyev Tatum became Senior Pastor of New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church in 2018, the Heart for Service became the heartbeat of the congregation.

The church became a Holy House of Hospitality.

A center for healing.

A center for education.

A center for justice.

A center for opportunity.

Its ministries expanded to include mediation between law enforcement and residents, community town halls, pandemic response and recovery, Clinics Without Walls, food security initiatives, immigration and citizenship assistance, workforce development, and the creation of the Chancellor Erma Johnson Hadley CommuniVersity Center.

The church became a place where the heart of the church, the hands of the community, and the minds of the academy work together to change lives.

Chapter Six

The Harvest

UNT Dallas and the Pipeline to Possibilities (2026)

In 2026, the story came full circle.

The University of North Texas returned—not simply as the institution that once invested in one student—but as a partner investing in an entire community.

Through the Pipeline to Possibilities, New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church, the University of North Texas at Dallas, and LULAC Council 22308 are creating pathways to higher education, workforce development, entrepreneurship, citizenship education, leadership development, and economic mobility.

On Juneteenth 2026, representatives of JustServe surprised Pastor Tatum with the Heart of Service Medallion, recognizing more than forty years of faithful service.

The medallion was never the destination.

It was a reminder of the lesson first planted in 1986.

A Heart for Service is one of God’s greatest gifts.

Today, the goal is no longer simply helping students attend college.

The goal is multiplying Hearts for Service.

Multiplying servant leaders.

Multiplying opportunity.

Multiplying hope.

Multiplying communities transformed by faith in action.

Epilogue

A Legacy That Will Last Beyond a Lifetime

God planted a seed in 1986.

Faithful mentors cultivated it.

Service became a lifestyle.

A servant’s heart became a life’s work.

And forty years later, that one seed has become a movement called the Pipeline to Possibilities, inviting thousands of others to discover that the greatest calling is not simply to achieve success, but to create opportunities for someone else.

Because legacies are never measured by the positions we hold.

They are measured by the lives we help transform.

1986.

God planted the seed.

1990.

The University of North Texas honored a servant’s heart.

1991–2004.

San Marcos proved that servant leadership transforms communities.

2015.

UNT affirmed that one student had become a leader creating opportunities for others.

2018–2026.

New Mount Rose became the CommuniVersity where faith, education, and community service converge.

2026.

The Pipeline to Possibilities transformed one student’s testimony into a movement designed to multiply thousands more Hearts for Service.

When one university refused to give up on one student…

One student spent a lifetime refusing to give up on others.

Only what you do for Christ will last.

From UNT Denton…

To UNT Dallas…

We Build a Legacy of Service That Will Last Beyond a Lifetime.

GIVE GOD THE GLORY!

— Black Texans, Inc.