John grew up making slingshots and exploring caves as a “missionary kid” in Venezuela. Nikki grew up playing with her matted-fur dog between a cow pasture and a creek in rural Indiana, USA. We met when John went to university in the same town Nikki grew up in, and by God’s grace we re-met through mutual friends after we’d both left university and Indiana. A long-distance friendship, and then romantic relationship, took hold.
Eventually, our desire to pursue this relationship involved both of us moving to the state of Oregon, where a local church hired John and Nikki to minister with the youth and in the church office for several years. We married and had our oldest child, Elianna. before departing for the mission field in Cambodia with Food for the Hungry (now FH). Laelle and Azariah (we call him Riah) joined our family while in Cambodia. After serving for nine years in Cambodia, first working directly with church leaders and eventually leading FH’s operations there, we prayerfully sensed God leading us in a new direction, to step out on a new venture of faith.
Part of that venture of faith was leaving the mother-ship of FH and joining up with a daughter organization called Disciple Nations Alliance, or DNA. At the invitation of DNA’s African partners, we moved our family to Kampala, Uganda in 2013 to work alongside and support the network of DNA partners in Africa.
Over those first few years in Uganda, God grew a vision in our hearts to plant a church here in our city oriented towards mission and discipleship, influencing the wider Ugandan church by disciplining mission leaders, raising mission resources, and growing a mission network among churches. Sensing the time was right, we gathered a few key leaders for a team to start The Source church. The rest, as they say, is history.
The Source church is legally registered in Uganda under The Source Christian Ministries, which is governed by a local Board of Directors and spiritually led by a local team of Elders. Source Mission is a legal entity in the USA, dedicated to supporting the vision of mobilizing mission from Uganda to the nations through The Source Christian Ministries. It is through Source Mission that the Tuggy family is able to be in Uganda.
Nikki is also involved in leading an international ladies Bible Study in Kampala, leads the Parent Council at Acacia school, and has a heart for and training in Christian Life Coaching. John actively pastors the church, runs the organization, and tries to find time to network and write.