Staff
Dr. Tom Grassano is the founder and director of UHM. He was raised in Detroit and South Carolina, but has roots in New York City where his father was born and grandparents immigrated. He came to the South Bronx for the first time in 1992 while leading a short-term mission team with the missions agency he directed, and then returned in 1994 with his wife Lidia and their four-year-old daughter to begin Urban Harvest Ministries by faith.
Dr. Grassano is educated in music (B.M. - Furman University; M.M. - U. of So. Carolina; D.M. - Florida State U.) and is an accomplished performer, composer and conductor. He became involved in ministry while in college, and eventually left the career to serve the Lord in ministry. His ministry has taken him to 41 states and 23 nations as a speaker, teacher, and mission team leader.
Lidia Grassano was raised in South and Central America where her parents served as missionaries and church planters. Her experiences on the mission field, especially as a teenager in war-torn Guatemala, shaped her passion for reaching the lost and hurting with integrity, relevance, and compassion. Lidia holds a B.S. in Psychology from Rafael Landivar University and continued graduate study in Christian Counseling. Tom and Lidia met at a missions conference in 1982 and were married in August of 1983.
Dr. and Mrs. Grassano's passion is to reach the unreached and empower the church to do relevant ministry among the urban poor and unchurched. "Pastor Tom" is also very engaged in student leadership development to raise up a generation to radically transform their world.
Dr. and Mrs. Grassano have two children, Angel (7-4-90) and Tommy (10-30-98). Angel is a junior in college and a student leader in UHM. Through Angel's leadership, the Ignite Gathering for young adults is experiencing growing impact in Detroit.
The Grassano's mission mission is to live their lives to truly bring glory to Christ and to see their biological children, as well as their spiritual children, fulfill their destinies in the kingdom of God.
Stephanie Collins
Stephanie (left in picture) grew up in the Bronx and came to The Harvest Center in 2002. "The first time I came in the doors I knew this was my home." Since that time, God has empowered Stephanie as a servant-leader who is making a significant impact in the South Bronx leading outreach and evangelism ministries and short-term mission teams. She is a key individual in Hope for the City in NYC and Detroit and a leader of The Harvest Center in the Bronx. Since hearing the Lord's call, she states, "I have never been the same and have never looked back . . . I am so thankful for what the Lord has done in my life and through my life. I just want others to feel His touch the way He has touched me."
There are many other servant leaders at The Harvest Center in the South Bronx whose dedicated service continues to be a beacon of light, hope and change to the people of this community and to those who come to serve with UHM. People like Vonetta Stevenson, Angel Medina, Lesly and Mikael Exil, Yvette Woodard, Elizabeth Farrar, Peck Sim and others volunteeer their time and talents for Christ to be exalted in the South Bronx.
