Melvin E. Banks, Sr.
Founder and Chairman

Melvin E. Banks is the founder and serves as chairman of UMI (Urban Ministries, Inc.). Under his direction, UMI has grown to be one of the leading publishers of Christian education resources for churches in the African American community, serving nearly 100,000 teachers with Sunday School and Vacation Bible School materials.

Dr. Banks became a Christian believer when he was 9 years old in Birmingham, Alabama. Just three years later he heard an old African American man speak movingly about the great spiritual needs within the Black communities throughout the country. At that moment, Melvin dedicated himself to this task.

In 1955, he graduated from the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago and married Olive Perkins. Shortly thereafter, he went on to Wheaton College where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Theology and a Master of Arts and Biblical Studies degree.  He received an honorary Doctorate of Literature from the same institution in 1992.

After graduation, Dr. Banks was employed by Scripture Press Publications, Inc., where he specialized in leadership development and literature distribution. This experience led to the founding, in 1970, of Urban Ministries, Inc., which produces Bible study and other resources specifically geared for the needs and life concerns of urban people in general and for African Americans in particular.

These resources include some scores of publications for use in Sunday School in which two have earned recognition by the Evangelical Press Association. Additional publications include dozens of  resources for Vacation Bible School and eight Christ-centered videos, which facilitate communicating Christian and moral values to children and teens. Four of these videos earned either Chicago Emmy or Angel Awards. More recently a series of leadership training texts has been developed, which equips leaders within the church to serve more effectively.
Dr. Banks is the author and editor of a number of books and Bible studies, including Winning and Keeping Teens in Church. He also is founder of the Urban Outreach Foundation, an organization that conducts leadership training institutes. He is an elder in his local church and� serves on the board of trustees of Wheaton College and the Circle Y Ranch, a summer camp for children and youth. 

Dr. Banks lives in South Holland, Illinois with his wife Olive. They have three children: Melvin Jr., Patrice, and Reginald.