Hello
John Tolo is the Founder and Director of Koinonia MN, the parent organization of GodTown and the Safe City Project. For over 15 years, John and his wife Jen have served as Urban Missionaries with a focus on Community and Transformation in the Twin Cities and with exciting projects in other Cities of the World.
My Story
In 2006 Jen and I began our first full time mission assignment together: we opened a free coffee shop at the University of MN called the Hotspot. Amazing Community with Young Adults began to develop. Before that we worked with Alpha Twin Cities. We helped start and run a number of the 8 to 12 week courses in Churches, Cafes, Campuses and more. We saw many miracles and salvations. We experienced the impact of healthy community in the lives of those wo participated.
In 2010 we felt the Holy Spirit tell us to move our mission to the inner-city neighborhood of Frogtown and find an abandoned drug house. It would become a home, a base for Urban Ministry and a visible evidence of transformation for the community.
We call it Godtown!
What Now? Transformation!
Since that time God’s added His favor to our efforts. We have worked on over 20 properties, operated 2 community centers and run 3 large gardens. We get to work with hundreds of young missionaries every year and are now bringing Transformation to Cities around the World!
What is Koinonia? We Are!
The first expression of the Church listed in the Bible after Pentecost (Acts 2:42-47) - the Kingdom of God revealed and active in Community. A word that comes from the Greek of the New Testament. Used during the time of the early church to describe the Community of Believers.