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Friends, family, musicians, and members of Winnipeg’s faith community are paying tribute to Tomislav Milardovic, a man remembered for his transformation from a street-involved rapper to a passionate preacher of the Gospel, who died suddenly earlier this week.
His daughter shared news of his passing in a Facebook post early Tuesday, writing, “I couldn’t have asked for a better father. God gave me the best dad in the world, and I mean that! I'm going live for him and make him so proud. I wish we had more time. I’ve learnt so much from him. My shelter and my home. My daddy. My protector. I’ll miss you forever and ever.”
From rapper to minister
Milardovic, who was known to some old friends as Tony, rapped with the award-winning Canadian hip-hop group Team Rezofficial and had been involved in gangs and drugs.
He turned his life around after being diagnosed with congestive heart failure in his early 20s and experiencing a miraculous healing.
That health crisis and healing became the catalyst for a dramatic shift in his life — one that led him to faith in Jesus and into full-time ministry.
A transformation 'almost like Saul to Paul'
Melvina Guiboche, a Winnipeg-based preacher who had known Milardovic since childhood, remembers encountering him again years later — this time not on the streets of the North End, but in a church service.
“I walked into a weekend service, and I didn't know many people there,” she recalled. “I had a heart for the Lord, and being in the presence of the Lord. I went to the service, and all of a sudden, there's Tony. He's rapping Christian gospel rap on stage.”
Guiboche was surprised to see someone from her past in such a different context. After the service, she said, “he came up to me and I was like, 'Tony,' but everyone was calling him Tomislav.”
That moment, she said, highlighted the profound transformation he had undergone. “It was almost like he had this identity change or this name change when he gave his own life to the Lord... It’s almost like that Saul to Paul kind of thing, and I was able to witness that. Who he used to be to who he is now in Christ.”
Guiboche remembers Milardovic not just for his transformation, but for how he made faith accessible. “He was like a teacher of the Word, and he made things so clear and easy to understand,” she said. “He didn't make the relationship between Christ and us so complicated.”
A man of peace and contentment
She also noted how natural ministry seemed to come to him. “He made ministry, not ministry. He made it almost like just a way of life. It was a way of connecting with people with the way of loving people and seeing the fruit of the spirit come to life.”
In reflecting on his life, she said one of the things that stood out most in recent years was the peace he carried. “One of my latest admirations of Tomislav was the contentment he walked in,” she said.
“The Word of God says in 1 Timothy 6:6, ‘Now godliness with contentment is great gain.’ I think that he understood that true fulfillment was not in relentless pursuit of more… but it was in appreciating the blessings already present in our lives, his life through Christ Jesus.”
Associate Pastor at Encounter Life Ministries
Winnipegger and Pastor Marty McLean has known Milardovic since he was roughly 14 years old, as a teenager who attended the youth group.
"Even as a youth pastor, I could see he had this charisma about him," says McLean. "He stood out from the crowd. Fast forward to today, he became one of our associate pastors at Encounter Life Ministries. It was amazing to see young people from our youth group rise up in ministry and be used by God."
Seven years ago, when McLean and his wife Rose decided to start up this church, they asked Tomislav and his wife Priscilla to walk beside them in it.
"From the very beginning, he helped us establish the foundation of the church. It was an honour to work alongside and with him. A church plant is a big deal. It's really tough to plant a church, but these guys had enough courage to step up, including Tomislav. It was tough, but he stuck through it. His heart was for people to come and know their identity in Christ."
McLean asks people to pray for Milardovic's family during this tough time of grief, even though they have the hope of seeing him again one day.
"He snuck away on us to heaven. I said to my wife Rose, 'I can't imagine what his family is going through right now.' I can't believe that he's gone but I thank the Lord that we were able to have that time with him."
Encounter Life Ministries will be hosting an honour ceremony with a few videos of Milardovic's former teachings in the future.
Local Musicians Coming Together
Winnipeg's own Grammy-nominated Christian rapper Fresh IE had the opportunity to work with Milardovic, as well as become a champion for him in the music industry.
"Tomislav was a very passionate man for the Lord. I knew him in 2000 and he was this young guy. That's when I first started doing Christian music and he would come watch us make music. Giving himself to the Lord after a life of coming up in the struggle that he did. He just flourished in the gospel."
Milardovic was a part of a well-known Canadian music group called Rezofficial, which brought him down the path of gangs, drugs, and alcohol.
"When he got saved, I thought, it's automatic that we need to do something. It happened at the right time. We connected in this song called "Life" and he ended up performing it with me at Springs Church."
See the video below.
"The moment that stood out to me was when I was working at Youth for Christ, and we basically had a church service. We had kids bused in from reserves and inner city. I'd have different guest speakers and musicians. Once Tomislav came and he preached and blew me away. Seeing him preach at that calibre was a blessing. God really moved that night."
Watch: Tomislav performs with Fresh IE at Spring Church in Winnipeg