Pastor T.L. Barrett . . .

is the founder of the Life Center Church of God in Christ on Chicago’s South Side. His father died when he was 16, and he grew up in one of America’s most difficult inner-city environments – the Chicago Housing Authority “projects.” And yet, he has become one of the community’s most dynamic and influential leaders. Holder of 2 honorary doctorates and 47 civic awards, he is a board member of the Ministers’ Division of Operation PUSH, and conducts a ministry in the Illinois state prison system and in Cook County Jail in Chicago. He is active in the Outreach Ministry for the homeless, the Guardian Angel early intervention program, the Youth For Christ self-help group, the Big Brother/Big Sister adoption program, and the Gang Truce program. Pastor Barrett was the speaker for the Vermeer’s very first presentation of this work in 1988.