Dr. Carla Crummie: A Life of Faith, Grief, and Purposeful Reinvention
When Dr. Tony Evans — one of America’s most widely heard evangelical voices — stood before his Dallas congregation in September 2023 and introduced the woman beside him, millions of people heard the name Carla Crummie for the first time. But the woman behind that name had been quietly doing serious work for decades.
Quick Bio
| Detail | Information |
| Full Name | Dr. Carla Michelle Crummie |
| Date of Birth | August 13, 1970 |
| Place of Birth | New York City, USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Parents | Clarence Ronald Clavon, Thelma Elaine Clavon |
| Education | B.A. in Education — Michigan State University; M.Ed. — Cambridge College; Honorary Doctorate — Denver Institute of Urban Studies |
| First Husband | Rev. Dr. Robert W. Crummie Sr. (m. July 25, 2009 – d. January 2, 2020) |
| Second Husband | Dr. Tony Evans (m. December 2023) |
| Children | Meagan Michelle Crummie, Robert Wayne Crummie II |
| Current Residence | Maryland, United States |
| Profession | Christian therapist, counselor, author, life coach |
| Certification | John Maxwell Certified Life Coach |
| Affiliation | The Urban Alternative – Kindness Ambassador |
| Awards | Governor Jennifer Granholm Award; featured in American Teacher Magazine |
Who She Is Before the Headlines
Carla Crummie is not famous for entertainment or wealth. She built her reputation slowly and deliberately, through counseling rooms, church corridors, and conversations with women who had nowhere else to turn.
She is a certified Christian therapist, a licensed counselor, and a John Maxwell-trained life coach. Her specialty areas are specific and personal: widows, blended families, couples in crisis, and women navigating identity loss.
That combination of focus areas is not random. It mirrors, almost exactly, every major challenge she faced in her own life.
See also “Karron Eubank: The Woman Who Walked Away From the Spotlight And Built a Fuller Life“
Early Life and the Roots of a Calling
Carla was born in New York City on August 13, 1970. Her parents, Clarence Ronald Clavon and Thelma Elaine Clavon, raised her in a household grounded in Christian values. She has spoken publicly of her mother’s formative influence.
She completed high school and enrolled at Michigan State University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Education. She then moved to Cambridge College, where she earned her Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education.
Her academic journey did not stop there. The Denver Institute of Urban Studies later recognized her contributions to education and community service with an honorary doctorate — the credential that precedes the “Dr.” her colleagues now use.
A Career Built in Ministry Corridors
After completing her studies, Crummie did not walk directly into a counseling practice. She first became an Advancement Officer at Carver College in Atlanta, Georgia — the same historically Christian institution that her first husband would later lead as president.
Her tenure there stretched over a decade. She organized fundraising events, managed community outreach, and embedded herself deeply in several ministry arms. She served in the women’s ministry, the couples ministry, and as AWANA Commander to the Ministers’ Wives Ministry.
She was not a passive supporter standing behind her husband’s institution. She drove real programming. For those efforts, former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm recognized her with an official commendation. The American Teacher Magazine also featured her work.
Starting in 2009, she expanded further into professional counseling. She focused her practice on widows, blended families, couples, and women broadly. That same year, she married Robert Crummie.
The First Marriage: A Partnership Cut Short
Robert Wayne Crummie Sr. was not simply Carla’s husband. He was a pillar of the same Christian community in which she worked.
He earned his Theology of Master’s degree from Dallas Theological Seminary in 1996. He served for nearly two decades as President of Carver Bible College in Atlanta. He simultaneously pastored Mount Calvary Missionary Baptist Church in College Park, Georgia, for over 21 years.
Carla and Robert married on July 25, 2009. Over the following decade, they built a family and worked side by side. They had two children together: Meagan Michelle and Robert Wayne II.
Rev. Dr. Robert W. Crummie Sr. unexpectedly passed away on January 2, 2020, following a severe heart attack. He was 58 years old.
The circumstances were wrenching. He died while the couple was reportedly traveling toward the funeral of Lois Evans — the beloved first wife of Pastor Tony Evans, who had herself just passed on December 30, 2019. Two grieving circles intersected at that terrible threshold.
Widowhood as a Professional Pivot
Losing a husband suddenly, without warning, at the start of 2020, while the world had not yet registered the full weight of COVID-19 — that could have broken many people.
Carla Crummie went to work.
She began appearing in public forums specifically to address widowhood. In 2021, she participated in the Widow Strong initiative, a faith-based event aimed at helping women navigate life after spousal loss. She spoke from personal experience, not theory.
In a 2022 appearance on a Facebook show hosted by fellow ministry figure Chrystal Evans Hurst — who happens to be Tony Evans’ daughter — Carla was introduced as a counselor who works with widows “with a goal to help them heal.” She spoke frankly about the particular losses that come with being a pastor’s wife who loses her husband: the loss of role, identity, community, and spiritual home simultaneously.
That specific insight — the grief of losing one’s “first lady” status when a pastor-husband dies — gave her a credibility that no degree could manufacture.
The Urban Alternative and the Kindness Ambassador Role
The Urban Alternative is Dr. Tony Evans’ flagship ministry, broadcasting Bible teaching to over 1,400 radio stations across 130 countries each week. It is one of the largest Christian media operations in the United States.
Carla Crummie became its Kindness Ambassador. The role is not ceremonial. It places her at the intersection of community outreach, counseling programming, and public advocacy within a ministry that reaches millions.
She developed and implemented counseling programs through this platform, giving her access to families in need at significant scale. Her John Maxwell life coaching certification added a structured professional framework to her faith-driven instincts.
Meeting Tony Evans: A Story Born in Shared Loss
Tony Evans and Carla Crummie did not meet at a conference or through a mutual introduction. They came to know each other through grief.
Evans had lost Lois Evans — his wife of 49 years — to biliary cancer on December 30, 2019. Lois had been his co-founder, ministry partner, and the woman he publicly credited with helping him build everything he had.
Carla had lost Robert just days later, under circumstances directly connected to Lois Evans’ death.
Both were widowed Christian ministry leaders. Both were rebuilding identity and purpose. Over the next several years, that shared experience created a bond. By Evans’ own account, God brought Crummie into his life through the very grief that had wounded him most deeply.
The Engagement: A Public, Emotional Announcement
On September 10, 2023 — his 74th birthday — Tony Evans stood before his Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship congregation in Dallas, Texas. His four adult children stood on stage behind him.
He acknowledged the nearly four years since Lois had passed. He acknowledged that moving forward would bring complicated feelings in people who loved her. Then he introduced Carla Crummie, his fiancée, to the church.
The congregation responded with applause and cheering. Evans said: “As I worked through the ups and downs of singlehood, God in His sovereignty has brought someone into my life… I wanted to give you the opportunity to meet my new fiancée, Miss Carla Crummie.”
Additionally, he stated directly: “Please pray for us. This has already invoked some grief in some people, which I can understand.” That candor — acknowledging that remarriage after a beloved spouse can wound the people who loved them — was unusual in public religious settings. It was honest.
Evans also specifically praised Crummie for something that mattered to him deeply: she had honored Lois Evans’ legacy, not competed with it.
The Marriage: Private, Intentional, Final
In December 2023, Tony Evans and Carla Crummie married in a private ceremony surrounded by family and close friends. The wedding was not a public spectacle. Both had already lived through major public life cycles. They chose intimacy.
Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship announced the marriage on social media with the words: “Marriage is a blessing from God, and it brings us great joy to see our pastor blessed in this beautiful way.”
Carla Crummie became Carla Evans. Together, the couple joined two family units: her two children, Meagan and Robert Jr., and his four children from his marriage to Lois — Chrystal Evans Hurst, Priscilla Shirer, Jonathan Evans, and Anthony Evans Jr. Six children, two sets of grief, one new household.
Family: A Blended Life
Tony Evans’ children are not unfamiliar figures in Christian ministry. Priscilla Shirer is a lecturer and best-selling author. Chrystal Evans Hurst is a Bible teacher and author. Jonathan Evans is a chaplain and motivational speaker. Anthony Evans Jr. is a gospel recording artist.
Carla stepped into a family with substantial public ministry footprints of its own. Reports indicate the couple officially adopted each other’s children as part of their new family structure.
Net Worth and Financial Life
Carla Crummie has not disclosed personal financial figures. Her husband, Dr. Tony Evans, holds an estimated net worth of approximately $12 million, built through decades of pastoral leadership, syndicated broadcasting, and over 100 published books.
The couple lives in Maryland, maintaining what sources describe as a deliberately private lifestyle regarding their home and assets.
What Makes Her Distinct
Carla Crummie is not a celebrity in any conventional sense. She did not seek public attention. She built a specialized, years-long career in a quiet but consequential space: helping people whose lives had fractured.
She understood widowhood not because she studied it but because it happened to her. She understood blended families not from a textbook but because she is building one. Her work has a texture that formal credentials alone cannot provide because of her experiential authority.
She has also navigated something genuinely complex: becoming the second wife of an icon whose first wife is publicly mourned and deeply beloved. She did not erase Lois Evans. She honored her. That required both emotional intelligence and personal security.
Final Words
Carla Crummie’s story is a study in resilience that does not announce itself. She lost her husband suddenly in January 2020. At the age of 53, she finally entered a new chapter after grieving without the luxury of time and continuing to help others deal with their own pain.
She is not a woman who built her identity around proximity to a famous man. She had already spent years doing the work before anyone outside Christian ministry circles knew her name. The marriage to Tony Evans brought public attention to a life that had already earned its depth.
Her full story — the education, the decade at Carver College, the specialization in widowhood, the awards, the quiet but significant ministry work — belongs to her, independent of whose last name she now carries.
That, arguably, is what makes it worth telling.
FAQs
1. Who is Dr. Carla Crummie?
She is an American Christian therapist, certified counselor, author, and John Maxwell-certified life coach. She currently serves as Kindness Ambassador for The Urban Alternative, Dr. Tony Evans’ international ministry organization.
2. When was Carla Crummie born?
She was born in New York City, USA, on August 13, 1970. She will be 55 years old in 2025.
3. Where did she go to college?
She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Education from Michigan State University. She later completed a Master’s in Early Childhood Education at Cambridge College and received an honorary doctorate from the Denver Institute of Urban Studies.
4. Who was Carla Crummie’s first husband?
Rev. Dr. Robert W. Crummie Sr. — a Dallas Theological Seminary graduate, President of Carver Bible College for nearly 20 years, and longtime pastor of Mount Calvary Missionary Baptist Church in College Park, Georgia. They married on July 25, 2009.
5. How did Robert Crummie die?
He died suddenly from a massive heart attack on January 2, 2020. He was 58 years old. He passed while reportedly en route to the funeral of Lois Evans, who had died just days earlier.
6. Does Carla Crummie have children?
Yes. She has two children with her late husband: a daughter, Meagan Michelle Crummie, and a son, Robert Wayne Crummie II.
7. When did Carla Crummie marry Tony Evans?
Tony Evans announced their engagement on September 10, 2023 — his 74th birthday — before his congregation in Dallas. They married in December 2023 in a private ceremony.
8. How much older is Tony Evans than Carla Crummie?
On September 10, 1949, Tony Evans was born. Carla was born August 13, 1970. The age difference between them is approximately 21 years.
9. What does Kindness Ambassador mean in her role at The Urban Alternative?
The role involves community advocacy, counseling program development, and outreach within Evans’ ministry, which broadcasts to over 1,400 radio stations in approximately 130 countries each week.
10. Has she written any books?
Multiple sources identify her as an author, though specific titles are not widely documented in publicly available records as of mid-2026.
11. What awards has she received?
She received an official award from former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm for her community and educational contributions. She was also featured in American Teacher Magazine.
12. How did she handle the public attention around Tony Evans’ remarriage?
She maintained a low public profile before and after the marriage. Evans specifically noted publicly that she honored the legacy of Lois Evans rather than competing with it — a point he cited as one of the things he most appreciated about her.
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