1. Teaching and discipling the men and women that come to the studies in the jails and prisons,
2. Minister to those that are on death row, and
3. Train up others to do the ministry.
I have prayed for years about these three aforementioned goals. I've been teaching and discipling since the beginning of our ministry. It wasn't until just last year (after 10+ years of ministry and prayer) that the Lord finally opened the door for me to get into death row. And now, I am blessed to see the training up of others coming to fruition. Praise God!! He is so faithful to us. If God has given you a vision for what He wants to do, He will accomplish it if you let Him!
He has been steadily adding to the number of new people who want to serve in the prison ministry. I recently had the amazing opportunity to lead a training class to prospective volunteers. 15 people came to the training!
At the Pasco County Detention Center, the Lord recently opened a door to start a Bible study in the women's unit. A few of the women from the Chaplain Corps are coming in with me. The goal is to hand it over to them once their training is completed and the Bible study is more established. For the first study, 41 incarcerated women attended, and the second meeting had 38; what an awesome beginning! These Bible studies are scheduled on an ongoing basis for the second and fourth Saturdays of each month.
A couple Fridays ago, I visited a few of the men on death row. One man is growing in the Lord by leaps and bounds! He told me that some of the discipleship studies that I've had with him have equipped him to be able to minister to his mom. He showed me a letter from her that expressed how appreciative she was of me going in and seeing her son and also helping her understand the Bible more through teaching him. She even forwarded some of that teaching to her pastor who then taught their church on that portion of scripture. The particular teaching she was referencing was that God can and will forgive all that we have done, no matter how sinful. I used 1 John 1:5-10 which reads:
"This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us."
It doesn't matter if you are locked up for a heinous crime or if you are the nicest, kindest person in the world, you are still in a prison cell of sin until you repent. I remember the first time I confessed my sin to God and how much weight was lifted off my shoulders. For the first time in my life I felt truly free! You too can be free!
We will be starting a Sunday service in the Pasco County Detention Center on the second and fourth Sundays of the month with the goal to move to every Sunday by 2020. My pastor, other volunteers, and I will be able to do something like a typical church service. We are able to bring in a guitar to lead in a time of worship, and then the sermon. This is a great opportunity! Most of the people who go to jail will be getting out. Oftentimes, it feels daunting for these individuals to go to a church after release because they are fearful of judgment. Being able to participate in a typical church service inside the jail can prepare them for a much easier transition to attend church after they are released.
There are even more opportunities that I will have to wait to share in future posts. God is really moving and it is so exciting! Through your prayers and support, you are a vital part of the ministry to these incarcerated men and women. Please continue to pray for our family and the ministry. Without your prayers and support, we would not be able to continue!