About Us

Our History

Worldwide Pilgrimage Ministries is devoted to helping people explore the roots of their spirituality, whether it be in the Holy Land, through Celtic countries, the Mediterranean, Asia or Africa.  We invite you to join us on an upcoming pilgrimage!

We plan spiritual and educational journeys for groups of adults and J2A to: The Holy Land, Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, South Africa, Greece, Italy, Germany, Spain, England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Russia and within the United States: Alaska, California and Arizona.  We also book individual and group cruises.

In 1994, The Rev. Dr. Robert V. Lee, III launched FreshMinistries out of his garage to restore hope, strengthen community and nourish the spirit of God's people.

Under his guidance, Worldwide Pilgrimage Ministries was developed to offer international bridge-building through pilgrimages to the Holy Land, Greece, Turkey and areas of strife in South Africa.  Through the travels of pilgrims with Worldwide, relationships of peace and understanding were created and continue today.

Worldwide sends youth and adults all over the world on mission trips, pilgrimages and journeys of discovery.  Our aim continues to be to visit the places of the wellsprings of faith and to meet the living stones of those countries.

Over 14,000 pilgrims have traveled the world since Worldwide began almost 20 years ago.

Worldwide Pilgrimage Ministries ... Services for Leaders

Worldwide Pilgrimage Ministries has the following goals:

And what we do for you:

Now, let us do what we do best . . . . make your pilgrimage dream a Reality!!!

Journeys from the Heart

At no cost to our pilgrims, we provide bags filled with new clothing to distribute to those in need in all the countries that we visit.

Additionally, our pilgrims might like to know that we frequently encounter children on our travels.  Many of these children in the poorer countries are disadvantaged.  We have found that these children prize an inexpensive writing instrument such as a ballpoint pen that they can show off to fellow classmates in school.  You might want to carry a few just in case the need arises.

Worldwide Pilgrimage Ministries Staff

Donna Tuten, Executive Director: Donna earned her BA in journalism from the University of Georgia and worked as an insurance adjustor and free lance writer before entering the travel industry as a customer service agent for Piedmont Airlines.  Later, she joined a travel agency in Atlanta beginning as a part time agent and working her way up to becoming president of the company.  After that, she served as manager of operations for corporate in-house agencies in a territory that ranged from Southern Illinois to New Hampshire.  Her final corporate travel management position was in Jacksonville, FL.

Now Executive Director, Donna joined Worldwide in 1995 as manager after nearly 20 years in corporate travel management.  “I was getting tired of the corporate world and felt that I needed to do something that might make a difference in someone’s life," said Tuten.  After managing the growth of Worldwide from 5 pilgrimage groups per year to 50 or more, Donna and her husband, Jeryl, took over Worldwide in 2001 when its incubation under the auspices of FreshMinistries was complete.  Today Donna plans pilgrimages to all parts of the world, develops new itineraries and works closely with advisors for the continued growth and development of the ministry.

Jeryl Tuten, Comptroller: Jeryl earned his BBA in marketing from the University of Georgia before joining Amoco Oil Company.  After 30 years with Amoco in various management positions, Jeryl came to Worldwide Pilgrimage Ministries in 2001 as Comptroller.  When Jeryl and Donna took over the management of Worldwide, Jeryl began handling all of the accounting functions of the ministry as well as serving in an advisory capacity for marketing and management.  Jeryl has managed to join together his love of travel with his own spiritual growth in the ministry.

Debbie Clements, Pilgrimage Consultant: Debbie had spent 12 years in the banking industry and had left to accept various temporary office assignments.  She first came to FreshMinistries on a temporary basis and, after becoming totally immersed in the life of the ministry and no longer being employed as a temporary worker, Deb began volunteering her efforts before being hired fulltime at FreshMinistries on a permanent basis.  Later, she moved to the Worldwide division where she assists Jeryl with accounting functions and assists Donna in pilgrimage planning.  Debbie is the cruise professional at Worldwide Cruise Planners where she books both group and individual cruises on any ship worldwide.  Worldwide has competitive pricing on all vessels and voyages worldwide.

Kathy Bryant, Pilgrimage Consultant: Kathy had previously worked with Donna in corporate travel and when Worldwide Pilgrimage had grown enough to require another fulltime travel professional, Kathy joined the ministry.  Kathy’s background in travel has proved immensely valuable to Worldwide and Kathy has used that experience plus her true love of pilgrimage to benefit the ministry and the many groups with whom she has worked.  Kathy has made her specialty within the ministry the planning of pilgrimages for youth groups.

Acknowledgements

We want to thank the many leaders who have led pilgrimages and have supported the efforts of Worldwide Pilgrimage Ministries as we strive to provide the superior pilgrimages that thousands have enjoyed.  We at Worldwide Pilgrimage Ministries also are grateful to Al Newberry for providing many of the photos that are used in this web site and for technical assistance in constructing the site itself.