Rev. K.W. Tulloss, Author and Pastor, Weller Street Missionary Baptist Church
Its title, Born to Make a Difference, shares a powerful and insightful story built on stubborn hope, quiet courage, and unyielding.
Recently, the Inland Valley News (IVN) had the pleasure of speaking with Rev. Tulloss and discussing how his path brought him here. Behind the pages of his book beats a genuine purpose – one worth noticing. This phase? It carries weight, more than most realize.
IVN: Your book begins with a quiet truth, shaped by early days never easy to tell. Born in Compton, you grew up under a family that fought hard, made space, and never allowed guilt steal their worth. What made placing the start of your journey there so significant?
Rev. K.W. Tulloss: That is where the miracle began. Into a world I entered, inside a city faced with struggles, yet full of strength and drive. Compton shaped the ground beneath my feet – tough ground, harsh conditions, still rich with life. This type of soil makes warriors, leaders, and those who change things. Let it be clear: where someone begins is not an obstacle. It’s exactly where they stand.
IVN: It starts before any crowd sees you. The path stretches back years, maybe longer, when quiet shifts began – not because you asked but because God was moving ahead of time. What moment clicked, making clear your journey wasn’t just ordinary living?
Rev. K.W. Tulloss: I didn’t realize it at the time, yet each struggle, each fractured part had been shaping me. Back then, unclear on purpose, I was being fitted for sermons, meetings in offices, jails, protests, and also undergirding neighborhoods begging for fairness. Long before speaking from the pulpit or guiding crowds toward change, a quiet voice murmured within: “Your arrival mattered from the start.” This story unfolds around finding something soft – like a quiet breath – and slowly teaching yourself how to move through life without fear.
IVN: Your words trace more than a past; they shape a path forward. What kind of reader were you thinking about while writing?
Rev. K.W. Tulloss: That story? Wrote it for people like me – born into quiet hardship, weighed down by shame, told I’d never make it past where I began. Mom was young when I arrived; we didn’t have much, things weren’t easy, still – somehow faith pulled us forward. Became a pastor, yes, built movements, raised kids, earned respect others didn’t expect. This book? It quietly says what they tried to tell me back then: your origin doesn’t lock in your destiny.”
IVN: Born to Make a Difference – that name, it sticks with me like a subtle push forward. What do you want people to take away from these pages?
Rev. K.W. Tulloss: “What I hope sticks after they finish the book is an overwhelming sense that their life means something. It is not tied to where I’ve been – it’s about stirring something deep in the reader, too.
The book release happens this Thursday, January 22, 2026, at 7pm. 1431 W. Knox Street, Torrance, CA 90501 (following the MPAC MLK Community Reception).
A unique gathering, bringing together stories and people in a quiet way. A talk prepared just for this moment takes center stage, followed by pages filled with thoughts getting signed directly by Rev. Tulloss.
Conversations unfold where questions meet experience, letting those present catch glimpses of what it means to live through what was written. What stands out isn’t just a story of his life – it’s how that path becomes a mirror for something greater. Not every beginning announces itself; yet here it unfolds differently. He reshapes what’s fractured into evidence others can lean on.
Rev. K.W. Tulloss shows how fate writes through unexpected starts, ignoring where we begin. His point? Moments that seem ordinary often hold quiet force. He puts it plainly enough: “Where you start does not determine where God can take you.”
