📷 Jeremy Dray/Reading Eagle
I’m Melvin Sensenig—a pastor, scholar, and theologian-in-residence.
I’ve been privileged to receive theological training at Yale (MDiv) and Temple University (PhD, Hebrew Bible) and to serve in urban church planting for nearly two decades.
My calling now is to place those privileges in service of pastors who have not had access to them—walking alongside them as a learner, teacher, and fellow servant.
In many places, strong theological formation is taken for granted. Pastors are trained, mentored, and supported by institutions with the resources to provide it.
In cities like Reading, that support is often absent—not because of a lack of calling, faith, or leadership ability, but because access to formal theological education remains out of reach.
TIR Outreach exists to meet that gap. I raise my own support in order to serve pastors who lead demanding ministries without the benefit of accredited theological training. My work brings serious theology into close conversation with real pastoral life—strengthening preaching, grounding leadership, and fostering Christ-centered ministry where it is most needed.
This is not a program at a distance. It is theology practiced alongside pastors, in their context, over time.
📷 Jeremy Drey/Reading Eagle — click the photo for a sample teaching from Mel
📷Jeremy Drey/Reading Eagle — click the photo for a sample teaching from Mel
Since moving to Reading in 2005, we’ve witnessed a transformative demographic shift, with the Latino population now representing over two-thirds of the city. Along with this shift, there’s been a burgeoning of Latino leaders with profound leadership gifts and a heartfelt dedication to serving the church. Despite their passion and commitment, many lack access to quality theological training essential for honing their leadership skills and practicing a Christ-centered, theologically astute ministry.
TTIR Outreach stands as a beacon of support and guidance for these devoted leaders. We provide not just educational enrichment, but also a safe, nurturing space where leaders can openly discuss their ministry challenges, share frustrations, and celebrate successes. At TIR, we’re dedicated to fostering a community where leaders feel supported and empowered to navigate their unique pastoral journeys with enhanced wisdom and confidence.
For more, click here.
The work of TIR Outreach unfolds slowly, through relationships, teaching, and long-term presence. Its fruit is often quiet—but real.
Here are a few moments that reflect what this work looks like on the ground.
During a session on Jeremiah, a Latino pastor leaned forward, taking notes intently. Midway through the discussion, he looked up and said simply,
“You were talking about me.”
What he was naming was not technique, but recognition. Scripture had met him not as pressure to perform, but as grace—addressing his fatigue, his leadership burden, and his need to return to God not as a failed pastor, but as a beloved son.
That session became a turning point. He now regularly uses the same material to train his own leadership team, shaping others through a Christ-centered reading of Scripture.
After completing a fall training series through the book of Jeremiah, the president of the Reading and Vicinity Ministerial Association sent a brief message:
“Let’s not give up. I know this is needed.”
One pastor in particular had been serving for years under strain, preaching faithfully but without a clear theological framework for the suffering he saw daily. Through sustained engagement with covenant, grace, and endurance, his preaching shifted away from moralistic “try harder” messages toward a deeper confidence in God’s redemptive purposes.
He remained in ministry—not because circumstances improved, but because his theology did.
At a small midweek gathering of Latino pastors, I offered a brief theological reflection—ten minutes from Luke’s account of Gabriel’s annunciation to Mary. Attendance was light. The setting was informal.
When I tried to conclude early, one pastor interrupted. He had been taking notes quietly the entire time.
“Yes,” he said. “It is all useful.”
The discussion continued—touching burnout, uncertainty, poverty, and hope. What emerged was not abstract theology, but Scripture speaking directly into real pastoral lives.
That affirmation was a reminder that deep biblical theology, taught with clarity and humility, bears fruit where it is most needed.
These moments are not isolated successes. They reflect the quiet, cumulative work of theological formation practiced alongside pastors, in their own contexts, over time.
This is the kind of fruit supporters help make possible—and the kind of formation pastors receive through TIR Outreach.
TIR Outreach…
TIR Outreach thrives on the generosity of individual contributions, channeled through InFaith, a venerable organization with a rich 200-year history of dedicated service to underserved populations across the United States. This partnership ensures that your contributions are managed with integrity and wisdom, fueling a mission that profoundly impacts and transforms urban ministries.
This work exists for people who care deeply about the formation of pastors and the health of the church in demanding contexts.
It is especially for:
Pastors
who serve immigrant or under-resourced communities and have not had access to formal theological training, but who desire Christ-centered preaching, theological depth, and wise pastoral support.
Supporters
who believe that serious theology should not be a privilege reserved for well-resourced institutions, and who want to see long-term pastoral formation take root in places where it is rarely available.
Scholars and church leaders
who value theology practiced in close conversation with lived ministry, and who care about the future of the church in rapidly changing urban contexts.
This work is not built on urgency or scale. It is shaped by long-term presence, careful teaching, and relationships of trust.
TIR Outreach exists to bring serious theological formation into pastoral contexts where it would otherwise be inaccessible. This work is made possible entirely through the generosity of individuals who believe that strong theology belongs not only in well-resourced institutions, but also in communities under significant strain.
Pastors who participate in this work are not charged tuition. Many serve congregations that could not realistically bear the cost of formal theological training, and requiring payment would place formation further out of reach.
For that reason, I raise my own support in order to serve them.
In many churches and institutions, theologians-in-residence are supported by endowments, budgets, or tuition-based programs. Those models work well where resources exist.
In places like Reading, they often do not.
Raising personal support allows this work to remain:
Accessible — pastors are not excluded by cost
Relational — formation happens through long-term presence, not short-term programs
Contextual — theology is practiced alongside real ministry life
Sustainable — pastors are supported without being displaced from their congregations
This model allows theological formation to take root where it is most needed and least available.
Supporters of TIR Outreach make it possible for pastors to receive:
Ongoing Christ-centered theological instruction
Trusted mentoring and pastoral conversation
Cohort-based learning shaped by real ministry challenges
Long-term presence rather than episodic training
Because this work unfolds over time, consistent support allows relationships, trust, and formation to deepen in ways that short-term funding cannot achieve.
All financial contributions to TIR Outreach are processed through InFaith, an organization with over 200 years of experience serving underserved communities across the United States.
InFaith provides:
Financial oversight and accountability
Donor services and tax documentation
Administrative support that allows this work to remain focused on ministry
Contributions made through InFaith are tax-deductible, and donors receive appropriate documentation.
There is no expectation that every reader of this page will give.
Some support through monthly contributions.
Some give periodically.
Some offer prayer, encouragement, or introductions to others who may be interested.
All of these forms of support are valued.
If you choose to give, you do so freely, knowing that your support helps sustain thoughtful theological formation in places where it would otherwise be unavailable.
If you would like to support this work financially, you may do so through my dedicated InFaith support page.
If you would prefer to ask questions or learn more before giving, you are always welcome to reach out directly.
Contact Mel:
msensenig@tiroutreach.org
