Today we’d like to introduce you to Vince Thomas. Them and their team share their story with us below:
Vince Thomas, Jr. was born and raised in Detroit, MI. He enrolled at Jackson State University to acquire a degree in Business Administration and to play collegiate baseball. While in Jackson, MS, he discovered his passion and gift in helping people.
Since 2005, he has operated in organizational leadership in a host of capacities that have focused on dealing with social issues that face people regardless of class or race. He believes in developing the “complete” individual, which is seen through the programs he has designed that focus on Arts, Athletics, Education, Leadership, and Media.
Vincent is a licensed and ordained minister by Apostle Frederick K.C. Price with a Fellowship of Interfaith and Word of Faith Ministries (FICWFM). In March 2016, Vince and his lovely wife Ashley founded a leadership development organization – The Outlet Consulting, LLC. Their mission is to empower leaders for the purpose of building stronger communities. He travels extensively throughout the country speaking and conducting leadership training for schools, churches, non-profit organizations, for-profit entities, and conferences. On the collegiate level, Vince serves as an Adjunct Professor of Urban Leadership at Oglethorpe University (Atlanta, GA).
He is a sought-out advisor for high-profile leaders and organizations locally, nationally, and globally. Most notably is his work in Washington, D.C. on Equity and Education that has allowed him to train leaders whose decisions directly affect millions of lives and billions of federal dollars. He also serves as Founder and Lead Pastor of The Outlet Community Church (Atlanta, GA).
Vince is a graduate of Rhema Bible College (Broken Arrow, Oklahoma) with a concentration in Pastoral Studies and of Beulah Heights University (Atlanta, GA) with a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies and Masters of Arts in Leadership Studies.
He places a high value on keeping God first in all that he does. In November 2010, he married the love of his life, Ashley, and together they are the proud parents of their son, Asher. They now reside in the metro Atlanta area.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely has not been a smooth road but more so a fulfilling road. One of the most defining moments were in the early parts of 2018. I was in the final semester before completing my Master’s Degree and my job was unexpectedly eliminated. While on the job hunt to provide for my family I always have believed the way you get through tough times is to help someone else get through their tough times. This is how The Outlet Community Church was started. We knew we wanted to help people and impact the community we were in. We didn’t have any startup capital but knew with what my wife and I had in our savings it was enough to become official. From there the rest is history. It does cost anything to serve someone else. Since 2018, we’ve been able to reach thousands of families while reinvesting over 6 figures back into our community.
Another major challenge was a personal one. Once we felt the church was headed in the right direction, my wife Ashley and I wanted to explore the possibility of starting a family. Towards the end of 2020, we began the journey of naturally conceiving our first child. In a six months time span, we experienced back-to-back miscarriages and it really dealt a blow to our desire to naturally conceive. In July 2021, we met with a fertility specialist who basically gave us the same information we had been hearing the entire time: we were just an unfortunate case of not being able to conceive but no way to pinpoint the exact reason. In August 2021, we were scheduled to begin a battery of tests to begin alternate ways for conception. To our true surprise, we never made it to any of the tests because my wife conceived naturally. Because of our previous history, we had a guarded optimism throughout the entire pregnancy. Almost waiting for the other shoe to fall. Yet every appointment was a confirmation of what we were witnessing – we were having a “miracle” baby. In April 2022, we welcomed our first child, a boy, Asher into the world. He is the joy of our life.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
In March 2016, Vince and his lovely wife Ashley founded a leadership development organization – The Outlet Consulting, LLC. Their mission is to empower leaders for the purpose of building stronger communities. He travels extensively throughout the country speaking and conducting leadership training for schools, churches, non-profit organizations, for-profit entities, and conferences. On the collegiate level, Vince serves as an Adjunct Professor of Urban Leadership at Oglethorpe University (Atlanta, GA).
He is a sought-out advisor for high-profile leaders and organizations locally, nationally, and globally. Most notably is his work in Washington, D.C. on Equity and Education that has allowed him to train leaders whose decisions directly affect millions of lives and billions of federal dollars. He also serves as Founder and Lead Pastor of The Outlet Community Church (Atlanta, GA).
What was your favorite childhood memory?
Spending time with my father. He was heavily into sports so every weekend we were either at a professional sports event (Detroit Lions, Tigers, Pistons, Red Wings) or on the golf course.
My fondest memories come from being in the Old Tiger Stadium to watch baseball games and to get a hotdog with a coke. To this day, whenever I go to a baseball game, I have to do the same thing.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.theoutlet.cc
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/vincethomasjr
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/vincethomasjr
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/vincethomasjr
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpMBS_1Sb-pIw2CYlL2OptQ
