About TuneDem
TuneDem was formed in 2005 after its founder, Kepha Charles, came across an article in a magazine about Pastor Mark Mohr and Christafari. He was then inspired to start his own reggae band in Kenya for the sole purpose of sharing God’s love with the world.
Our Mission
TuneDem utilizes reggae music as a tool to share God's love to the world. As musical missionaries, their primary goal is to reach as many individuals and nations as possible with the undiluted gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
They are committed to sharing this great news through their actions, humanitarian efforts, music, and by consistent calls to salvation at outreach events. They strive for all of their actions and materials to give glory to God, edify the body of Christ, and encourage the church to embrace diverse styles of worship.
Our Vision
To see God’s truth transform lives through music, the Gospel, discipleship, and various humanitarian efforts.
“Sanctify them by the truth, thy word is truth”
(John 17:17)
TuneDem has set out to evangelize and disciple through their concerts as well as identify needy families (including orphanages) where they feed and clothe - all in an effort to reach out. Additionally, the band shares a passion for prison ministry. It is from this specific calling that the TuneDem Foundation was initially born.
The word “TuneDem” is derived from the words 'tune them’, referring to the ‘tuning’ of the body of Christ.
Through their time with the Lord, they have come to the realization of a clear calling: to tune the world to Jesus Christ through their music and humanitarian efforts.
Biography
Kepha was born and bred in Kibera, the largest slum of Africa by a single mother. He lived with his five siblings, two nephews and a niece in a small one-room shanty with no running water or toilet in the heart of the slum. Kepha began schooling as a child, but, due to lack of money, he was sent home several times and was eventually unable to proceed with his education until much later on.
Kepha was hardened by the slum life and could have easily turned to crime, alcohol, and drugs to escape the harsh reality of life at the time. Despite his hardships, he chose to immerse himself in music and find hope in Christ. In 2002, he found Jesus at a youth camp. His life was completely changed.
Since he already had a passion for reggae music, he decided to pursue it whilst integrating his faith. Music was an escape for him and to use it for the Lord was his ultimate goal. In 2005 Kepha merged his love for reggae and Jesus together when he formed the TuneDem Band.
In 2015, Kepha reached out to Pastor Mark Mohr of Christafari as his mentor. Pastor Mohr began mentoring him and planned a mission trip to Kenya with Kepha’s help.
The mission was a huge success and the band has returned each year since, with Kepha coordinating and organizing each tour in Kenya and throughout Africa with splendid results.
TuneDem has since recorded 7 albums, including "Share the Love." It has 9 active members who are all Christians and skilled musicians in their own right. Like Kepha, each member has their own unique story of struggle and they all share a passion to minister to those still living in the squalor of the slum in Africa.
Christafari continues to record music and partner with them even beyond the borders of Kenya.
TuneDem, along with Christafari, are now under The Sowers International; a non-profit global missions organization that helps its members participate in the greatest mission on earth. To help facilitate in this this vision, Sowers now collects, accounts for, and distributes all missions support through their online platform.
TuneDem has also worked with Blackhawk Ministries and Livingston Foundation, based out of the USA, in school, children's, and prison ministry outreaches as well as community clean-up services.
“Thanks to the hard work of Kepha and his incredible TuneDem team, we’ve seen hundreds of thousands of decisions for Christ over the years, held countless outreach events, slum ministry, feeding and clothing programs, orphanage visits, prison ministry, and tribal outreaches in Africa!”
— Pastor Mark Mohr
The TuneDem Foundation
Due to the social background and vision of their founder Kepha, the focus of the foundation’s efforts are on Kibera, the largest slum in Africa, as a way to give back to the community that he was raised in. Their calling is to minister in the same slum and reach out to the young and old alike with the Gospel of Jesus.
Tunedem Foundation is a non-profit, Christ-centered, non-governmental organization based in Nairobi, Kenya. The main objective of the organization is to reach out and rehabilitate prisoners and ex-prisoners alike, support vulnerable families, as well as reaching out to young, talented individuals living in less privileged communities.
“Our goal is to be a lifeline of hope using music and missions to reach out to the least for the Lord and His Great Commission.”
— Kepha Charles
They do this through the sharing of the Gospel of Christ, feeding programs, teaching basic life skills, music, and the arts. Time and time again they have seen their efforts save lives, win souls, impact life skills, and help build character.
They also participate in community feeding projects that they have dubbed “Share the Love Food Basket.” In addition to these feeding projects, they also engage in community clean-up, school ministry, and youth development programs (such as leadership training, workshops, and talent development).