Spencer Perkins, until his death in 1998, worked with Reconcilers Fellowship, and prior to that with the John M. Perkins Foundation for Reconciliation and Development and as editor-in-chief of the magazine Urban Family. Spencer was also a founding board member of the Christian Community Development Association. For twelve years he and Chris Rice and their families lived together in the Antioch Community and served as elders of Voice of Calvary Fellowship Church in Jackson, Mississippi. Spencer grew up in Mendenhall, Mississippi, where he was active in the local civil rights movement. In 1996 Spencer received the Belhaven College Distinguished Service to Mankind Award.