Pastor Kyev P. Tatum, Sr. “Standing on God’s Blessings” Psalm 40:2–3

Pastor Kyev P. Tatum, Sr. “Standing on God’s Blessings” Psalm 40:2–3 | Link: https://youtu.be/T7PeAaZkkwI

Senior Pastor, Civil-Rights Advocate, Community Builder and Historical Preservationist

Pastor Kyev P. Tatum, Sr. is a nationally respected minister, civil-rights advocate, community organizer, health-justice champion, educator and historical preservationist whose life’s work is deeply rooted in Fort Worth, Texas—particularly the historically underserved 76104 community.

A native of Fort Worth, Pastor Tatum was born on December 19, 1965. After experiencing serious complications at birth, he took his first independent breath on Christmas Day, December 25, 1965—a testimony that has shaped his lifelong understanding of faith, purpose and perseverance. He was the ninth of ten children raised by his mother, Carol A. Tatum, whose strength, sacrifice and determination profoundly influenced his commitment to families struggling against poverty and hardship.

Pastor Tatum grew up in Fort Worth’s 76104 ZIP code, an area that has faced generations of racial inequity, economic disinvestment, food insecurity, health disparities and shortened life expectancy. Rather than allowing those conditions to define the community’s future, he has dedicated his life to transforming 76104 through faith, justice, service, education and opportunity.

Education, Athletics and Early Leadership

Pastor Tatum graduated from Trimble Technical High School in 1984, where he was an All-District and All-Tarrant County football player and team captain. He continued his athletic career as a wide receiver at Tarleton State University from 1984 to 1986 and participated in the 1984 Aztec Bowl. While at Tarleton, he also served as a student assistant to university president Dr. Barry B. Thompson.

He later transferred to the University of North Texas, where he played wide receiver from 1986 to 1989. His influence extended beyond athletics. He served as president of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Progressive Black Student Organization and participated in student government. In 1990, he received the University of North Texas Centennial Community Service Award and earned his degree through the School of Community Service.

His professional career in higher education included service at Texas Woman’s University and Texas State University. In January 1991, he became Texas State University’s first African American Coordinator for Student Justice. These experiences strengthened his conviction that education must be connected to service, justice and the advancement of people who have historically been denied equal access and opportunity.

Ministry and Pastoral Leadership

Pastor Tatum was called to preach the Gospel on October 2, 1997. In September 2018, he became senior pastor of New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church, located at 2864 Mississippi Avenue in Fort Worth’s 76104 ZIP code—an area recognized for having one of the lowest life expectancies in Texas.

Under his leadership, New Mount Rose has become known as a “Holy House of Hospitality”—a church where worship is transformed into compassionate community action. Its guiding philosophy, “We Help As We Heal,” reflects Pastor Tatum’s belief that churches must care for the spiritual, physical, emotional and economic needs of their neighbors.

New Mount Rose serves as a place of worship, emergency shelter, food-distribution center, health-access hub, educational campus, community garden, youth-development center and organizing headquarters. The church’s 2026 theme, “The UNSTOPPABLE Church,” based on Matthew 16:18, reflects its determination to continue serving regardless of the challenges confronting the community.

During a severe winter-weather emergency in January 2026, New Mount Rose operated as a warming center for more than 75 unsheltered residents. Volunteers provided shelter, meals, clothing and compassionate care, and three individuals were baptized during their stay.

Pastor Tatum also serves as president of the Ministers Justice Coalition of Texas and chaplain of the Texas Buffalo Soldiers Association. His ministry brings together biblical preaching, civil-rights advocacy, public health, historical remembrance and direct service to people in need.

Fighting Hunger and Advancing Community Health

On March 26, 2020, Pastor Tatum launched the New Mount Rose Community Food Bowl in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since its establishment, the ministry and its community partnerships have distributed or provided more than $25 million worth of food, essential supplies and medical care.

The Community Food Bowl now distributes approximately 12,000 pounds of food each month and sponsors major distributions such as the MLK Hunger Bowl, Juneteenth Food Bowl and Freedom Food Bowl.

Pastor Tatum’s philosophy is expressed through the words “Filling Bowls, Blessing Souls.” He believes food is not merely a charitable gift but a fundamental part of human dignity, public health and community stability.

“We are filling our neighbors’ bowls with blessings for their souls.”

Pastor Tatum helped establish the Imani Clinic Without Walls to connect residents with health screenings, preventive care, education and community-based medical services. During the pandemic, New Mount Rose became the only church in Tarrant County to serve as a Monoclonal Antibody Infusion Center. Through the “Screen to Redeem” campaign, the church seeks to provide at least 1,000 health screenings while educating families about adverse childhood experiences and other conditions affecting long-term health.

His community-health strategy confronts three interconnected crises in ZIP code 76104: gun violence, infant mortality and reduced life expectancy. He advocates for neighborhood-based solutions that improve food access, strengthen families, address trauma and create reasons for young people to choose life over violence.

Faith in the Farm

Pastor Tatum is the visionary behind Faith in the Farm, a community health, agricultural education and food-access initiative created to transform a food desert into a flourishing food forest.

Working with the Texas Small Farmers and Ranchers Community Based Organization, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Prairie View A&M University Cooperative Extension, the University of North Texas at Dallas and other partners, Faith in the Farm helps residents learn how to grow food, improve nutrition and pursue economic opportunities connected to agriculture.

At the center of this effort is the Funkytown Food Forest, located on the New Mount Rose campus. Community growers cultivate watermelons, cantaloupes, peppers, squash and other fresh produce under the theme “Where Life Resides on Morningside,” inspired by Genesis 1:28.

The initiative also includes livestock and agricultural-learning opportunities involving chickens, Nigerian Dwarf goats and sheep. Through the Buffalo Soldiers 4-H STEM Club, children from urban neighborhoods receive instruction in agriculture, science, technology, leadership, entrepreneurship, mentorship and community service.

Pastor Tatum describes this work through the declaration, “We are getting our hands dirty so our community can eat clean.” His long-term vision is to connect the farm, the family, the fridge and the fork while creating healthier families and new pathways to economic independence.

Guns to Gardens and Violence Prevention

Pastor Tatum is a leading advocate for the Guns to Gardens movement in Fort Worth. In partnership with RAWtools South, Presbyterian Peace Fellowship and other faith communities, unwanted firearms are dismantled and transformed into gardening tools.

The local theme, “From Triggers to Trowels,” is grounded in Isaiah 2:4 and calls the community to turn weapons of destruction into tools of cultivation. Pastor Tatum connects this movement to the Funkytown Food Forest and teaches young people to “plant on purpose—and find a reason not to pull the trigger.”

His broader vision moves the community from guns to gardens and from gardens to groceries. He has also supported the relaunch of No Shots Fired and its 100 Days of Nonviolence campaign, emphasizing healing, conflict resolution and community responsibility.

Youth, Education and Senior Service

Pastor Tatum believes lasting community transformation must include every generation. New Mount Rose’s youth and educational initiatives include God’s Army Youth Ministry, Books of the Bible Kids, the WRITE After School Program, community learning laboratories and agricultural education.

The WRITE After School Program serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade under the motto, “Rearing Our Own to Succeed While Raising Our Own to Serve.” The church is also developing Teach After School, an initiative designed to help certified educators earn additional income while providing students with academic support beyond the school day.

Through partnerships with Cook Children’s Health Plan, LULAC Council 22308, the Ministers Justice Coalition of Texas and the Pipeline to Possibilities program at the University of North Texas at Dallas, Pastor Tatum is advancing the “Digital Front Door in 76104.”

Located at the Erma Johnson Hadley CommuniVersity Center at New Mount Rose, the project provides access to technology, education, healthcare information and economic opportunities.

He also created Safe Senior Spaces to help older adults remain safe, active, connected and valued. The initiative assists churches and community organizations with emergency preparedness, smoke detectors, first-aid supplies, employment resources and meaningful opportunities for senior engagement.

Civil Rights and Community Justice

For more than three decades, Pastor Tatum has worked at the intersection of civil rights, health justice, education, voting rights and community development.

As president of the Ministers Justice Coalition of Texas, he has organized clergy and community leaders to address racial injustice, neighborhood disinvestment, public safety, healthcare access and economic inequality. Through the Community Justice Warriors and collaboration with the Economic Justice Initiative at Texas A&M University, he helps residents obtain information and assistance related to housing, property rights and other civil legal matters.

In 2026, he helped launch Vote Early Tarrant through the Black, Brown and Tan Caucus. Headquartered at New Mount Rose, the nonpartisan initiative provides accurate voting information and free transportation to early-voting locations. Its purpose is not to tell residents whom to support but to ensure that eligible voters understand the issues, reach the polls and make their voices heard.

Preserving African American History

Pastor Tatum is the founder and curator of the Digging for Dignity Legacy Project, an initiative dedicated to recovering, preserving and honoring the stories of African American pioneers, veterans and community builders whose contributions have often been neglected.

A major focus of the project is the historic Fretwell Cemetery–New Trinity Cemetery–People’s Burial Park site in Haltom City, now being developed as the People’s Memorial Legacy Park. The site is believed to contain more than 8,000 interments, including more than 500 military veterans.

The cemetery’s story begins with the Reverend Greene Fretwell, a man born into slavery who escaped by swimming across the Ohio River to freedom. After arriving in North Texas in 1883, Reverend Fretwell died in 1886 and was reportedly denied burial in a white cemetery.

His wife, Frances Fretwell, helped raise money to purchase land where Black families could bury their loved ones with dignity. She made a promise: “If you help buy the land, your family will have a place to be buried forever.” For 140 years, that promise has remained.

Through archival research, volunteer cleanups, veteran identification, public education and community advocacy, Pastor Tatum is helping raise the names of those who were buried in silence. Individuals honored through the project include Buffalo Soldiers, four identified Tuskegee Airmen, members of the Red Ball Express and Florence Marie Cole Rawls of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion.

In 2026, Haltom City formally recognized the historic importance of the cemetery and the contributions of African American military veterans. Pastor Tatum’s vision is to transform the grounds into “A Classroom Without Walls,” where future generations can learn about freedom, sacrifice, military service and community resilience.

His historical-preservation work also includes more than 15 years of advocacy surrounding the 1956 Mansfield school-integration crisis. Through “Before Little Rock: The Crisis at Mansfield High School in 1956,” he has helped bring long-overdue recognition to the African American students and families who attempted to integrate Mansfield High School before the nationally known Little Rock crisis.

Preserving the PVIL Legacy

In September 2026, Pastor Tatum was appointed PVIL Legacy Coordinator by Coach Robert Brown, chairman of the Prairie View Interscholastic League Coaches Association and a member of the Texas High School Coaches Association Hall of Honor.

In this role, Pastor Tatum helps preserve the history of the Prairie View Interscholastic League, which governed academic, athletic and extracurricular competition for more than 500 African American schools in segregated Texas from 1920 to 1970.

Through the “Legends in the Locker Room” initiative, he works to identify Hall of Fame nominees, collect community histories, support museum development and bring traveling educational experiences to cities throughout Texas. His projects honor schools such as I.M. Terrell, Kirkpatrick, Como and Dunbar in Fort Worth; Phillis Wheatley High School in San Antonio; and Emmett J. Scott High School in Tyler.

Pastor Tatum is also developing the book Legends in the Locker Room: The Legendary Prairie View Interscholastic League, which will document the athletes, coaches, educators and communities that built excellence despite segregation.

Recognition and Continuing Legacy

Pastor Tatum has been named among Fort Worth Inc. magazine’s 500 Most Influential People from 2021 through 2026. He was selected for the Aspen Institute’s Race and Religion Collective in 2023 and has received recognition for his leadership in ministry, justice and community service.

In 2026, JustServe representative Beverly Blaylock presented him with the Heart of Service Award, a collaborative recognition from JustServe and America250 honoring extraordinary volunteers and community leaders during the nation’s 250th-anniversary observance.

He has also been nominated for the 2027 Gentlemen’s Toast Award: My Brother’s Keeper, an honor recognizing Black men whose leadership, integrity, professional impact and community influence are building a lasting legacy.

Pastor Kyev P. Tatum, Sr. continues to demonstrate that ministry extends far beyond the pulpit. Whether distributing food, sheltering neighbors, planting gardens, transforming firearms, preserving forgotten cemeteries, protecting voting access, educating children or recovering neglected history, his work is guided by a consistent calling: to create space for grace and help people heal as they help one another.

His visionary leadership embodies the conviction that faith must have hands, justice must have a voice and history must never be allowed to remain buried.

Pastor Tatum is “Standing on Blessings”—blessings made possible by God, strengthened by the sacrifices of those who came before him and multiplied through service to others.

With his hands to the plow and his eyes on the promise, Pastor Tatum continues working to build a healthier, safer, stronger and more hopeful future for Fort Worth’s 76104 community and communities throughout Texas.