Leadership
Loose the chains of injustice… set the oppressed free and break every yoke…Share your food with the hungry and provide the poor wanderer with shelter-- when you see the naked, clothe him…. Do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk. Spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed…
Then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear. Then your righteousness will go before you, and the Glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here I am …
The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land... You will be like a well-watered garden... Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
Pastor Tom Pokorni
The founder and director of GloryWorks, was born in Chicago in 1947. Raised a devout Catholic in a middle-class family, Tom nonetheless turned his back on God during his teen years. He thrived as a rebellious hippie during the sixties and seventies, but even then had a sincere desire to bring peace to the world.
After graduating cum laude from John Carroll University in 1969 he taught humanities at a private school in Washington, D.C. before turning to a career in politics. He was the Research Director for the national Campaign Monitoring Project of the peoples’ lobby, Common Cause in the early 1970's, including during the Nixon-McGovern race for the presidency in 1972.
But political life did not satisfy Pokorni’s soul. He recognized a deeper need for his own inner peace, and so left his rising star in politics and began searching for truth. After investigating the major philosophies and religions of the world, Tom had an unexpected, dramatic meeting with Jesus Christ in 1977. From that moment he knew he had to spend his life telling people that God wanted to live inside their hearts.
Tom was ordained in 1981 from the Crystal Springs Bible School in Lindale, Texas. After serving as Senior Editor for Agape Force ministry, he moved into Miami’s inner city in December of 1982. He founded the non-profit Christian ministry, Agape Force Miami, as well as Community Christian Church and the non-profit, Gang Alternative.
In 2002, after turning the church and ministries to Rev. Eddy Gervais, Tom founded GloryWorks, with a vision of ministering beyond Miami with both words and action. He serves as Executive Director of GloryWorks.
Fanes Priva
The founder and Director of the Kingdom Children program (Royaume Des Enfants) was born in Haiti in 1985. A self-starter and highly motivated, Fanes began to study English on his own at age 12. By age 18 he was teaching English.
After completing a two year Leadership Class in his church in June of 2009, Fanes felt that he needed to put into practice what he had learned. Seeking a project he could throw himself into, Priva was impacted by the large number of children in his neighborhood who could not afford to go to school.
He talked to several school principals before finding one that would allow him to use part of their school on the weekends. Fanes then talked to several of his friends and acquaintances and got commitments from them to teach the children on Saturdays and Sundays – for no pay – and thus Royaume Des Enfants, the Kingdom Kids program was born.
Fanes is employed by Mission Aviation Fellowship. He lives with his wife, Kaciana, in the Meyotte neighborhood in which most of our outreach takes place.
Michael Nozile
Mike was born in Haiti and lived in the Port-au-Prince suburb of Carrefour until the age of 12, when he moved to Miami with his family. Living in Little Haiti, Mike was soon led to Community Christian Church, where he became one of the first Haitian youth to give his life to Jesus Christ under Pastor Tom Pokorni.
Mike sits on the GloryWorks Board of Directors and serves as our treasurer. He is currently the Executive Director of Gang Alternative, with a goal to prevent youth delinquency in Miami by offering positive and healthy alternatives to gang involvement.
Mike received his B.A. in Criminal Justice from Florida International University in 1998. He obtained his Masters in Public Administration from FIU in 2000. He has also served as Director of the youth program, Weed and Seed, in North Miami Beach.
