Tonya Chandler

Founder/Executive Director

email: tonya@livinginfreedomministries.org

phone: 865-217-6586

Tonya Chandler is the Founder and Executive Director of Living In Freedom Ministries, a Christ‑centered nonprofit dedicated to serving women impacted by incarceration and addiction. Her passion for this work is born from her own testimony of redemption. Once deeply broken by an identity crisis, Tonya knows what it feels like to believe the enemy’s lies. But she also knows the power of Jesus to restore. As she often shares, “The enemy thought he had me, but Jesus said I was His. God picked me up, dusted me off, healed me, and set me free and if He can do it for me, He can do it for anyone.” For more than a decade, Tonya has served behind the walls, walking with women as they discover hope, healing, and identity in Christ. Her leadership is marked by compassion, authenticity, and a fierce belief that no life is too broken for God to rebuild. She is known as a mother hen to everyone she meets. She nurturing, protective, and deeply invested in the women God places in her path. Her presence makes people feel seen, safe, and loved. Before launching Living In Freedom Ministries, Tonya served as Executive Director of FOCUS Ministries, where she led jail ministry programs, volunteer teams, and community partnerships. She and her husband have been pastoring for 18 years, faithfully shepherding others and building a life centered on restoration, discipleship, and the transforming power of the Gospel. Tonya is also a devoted mother of twelve, eight biological children and four adopted through the journey of addiction and restoration. Her family is a living testimony of God’s faithfulness and the beauty of second chances. Through Living In Freedom Ministries, Tonya continues to expand classes inside detention facilities, develop reentry support, and work toward establishing a Christ‑centered residential program for women returning home. Her life’s mission is to help women encounter Jesus, experience true freedom, and walk boldly into the future God has prepared for them.