One City Ministries was founded in 2008 with a focus on empowering the severely oppress and helping them break the chronic cycles of poverty. The Light Village, One City’s Life Science Center, is a 23-acre campus located on the Eastern edge of Uganda. Originally established as a poverty-fighting research center the purpose over time has been transformed into a working model to demonstrate OCM’s successes and offer others a conducive environment to share, learn, and collaborate.

The Gilbert’s entered the mission field with an abundance of practical life and business experiences that have served them well in achieving their mission objectives. Accompanying Deb’s diverse media and business background is a well-honed set of people skills that help her empathize, relate, and communicate with others at an extremely high level. Mike’s background is equally diverse with business ownership, senior-level management, engineering, and theological training that harmonize to give depth and practical relevance to their skill sets.

Their wonderfully comfortable life took a dramatic turn on July 30, 2007, when their 18-year-old son, Sean, died from an accidental overdose of oxycodone and alcohol. Life was forever changed for the Gilbert’s and a new eternal perspective engulfed them both.