Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Michael Neal. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Michael , appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

A defining moment in my ministry came in two pivotal parts. Shortly after launching Glorious Light Church in 2008, I took a ministry trip to the South. While in Memphis, Tennessee, we visited a vibrant community center bustling with life, offering a variety of events, classes, and programs that clearly served as a cornerstone for the neighborhood. I remember turning to someone and saying, “We need something like this in Chicago.” That moment planted a seed.

Fast forward a few years, and we found ourselves worshipping inside a school building that was soon slated for closure. When the school officially shut down, I reflected on that moment in Memphis and felt compelled to act. After conversations with Chicago Public Schools leadership—and sharing the vision that had been growing in my heart—we were granted the opportunity to remain in the building. From that opportunity, we launched Timothy Community Corporation, our nonprofit organization named and inspired by 2 Timothy 2:2, which says:

“And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”
— II Timothy 2:2 (NKJV)
This scripture anchors our mission: to educate, empower, and equip others to lead and serve—creating a legacy of faith, learning, and community transformation.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

A defining moment in my ministry came in two pivotal parts. Shortly after launching Glorious Light Church in 2008, I took a ministry trip to the South. While in Memphis, Tennessee, we visited a vibrant community center bustling with life, offering a variety of events, classes, and programs that clearly served as a cornerstone for the neighborhood. I remember turning to someone and saying, “We need something like this in Chicago.” That moment planted a seed.

Fast forward a few years, and we found ourselves worshipping inside a school building that was soon slated for closure. When the school officially shut down, I reflected on that moment in Memphis and felt compelled to act. After conversations with Chicago Public Schools leadership—and sharing the vision that had been growing in my heart—we were granted the opportunity to remain in the building. From that opportunity, we launched Timothy Community Corporation, our nonprofit organization named and inspired by 2 Timothy 2:2, which says:

“And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”
— II Timothy 2:2 (NKJV)

This scripture anchors our mission: to educate, empower, and equip others to lead and serve—creating a legacy of faith, learning, and community transformation.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

The Covid epidemic was a true test of our resillance from a personal and business point of view. As the world began to isolate and shut down because of the virus and reliable news sources and science began to highlight the link between fitness and health and the disease, we made some very necessary and strategic movies.

We first begin to offer online fitness classes to our students. This gave them an opportunity to stay fit and not risk illness to others and themselves. As the pandemic waned and society opened a little bit more. We then shifted to virtue and outdoor classes. In addition we begin to teach about the Covid vaccination and it helped remove some of the ignorance and misinformation about the virus and allowed individuals and families to make the best decision for themselves.

I’m very proud of our team and volunteers who helped to make this pivot seamless even though it was a lot of effort involved in assuring this was carried out with excellence.

Have you ever had to pivot?

“Measuring impact was a particular challenge for us. While we were able to track our performance in terms of outputs—such as the number of clients served or services delivered—capturing and communicating the actual impact of our work required more intentional effort. We had to move beyond numbers and invest in tools and methods that helped us understand and demonstrate the real change we were creating in people’s lives and communities.”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.timothycommunity.org
• Instagram: tcc.com_
• Facebook: Timothy Community Corporation