INTERNATIONAL BIBLE CONFERENCE,
PRISON MINISTRY WORKSHOP – PRESCOTT, AZ –
JANUARY 2006
I arrived late to the Bible
conference. Pastor Mitchell was already preaching, the sound of his voice
was like music to my ears! I leaped out of my truck and ran to the tent.
Oh, the joy of hearing a clarion call, an oasis of sanity in this sick and
insane world!
I was ‘prayed up’ and ready to
hear what God would speak to me through the conference. The week was
packed with seventeen sermons (sixteen preachers) and through each God
revealed His ‘truth’ and brought conviction, repentance, healing,
deliverance, and encouragement. Later in the week, my sons Chris and
Robert joined me and had a great time being in the presence of God and
fellowshipping with other teens. Robert & his friend Richard, fresh out
of Marine Corps boot camp, cut a dashing figure in their uniforms.
This was our 10th
year to host the Prison Ministry Workshop and we had 56 in attendance.
Our goal is to inspire, encourage, equip, and challenge people to be
involved in jail & prison ministry. Thirteen of those in attendance were
ex-convicts! A number gave testimonies of being ‘saved’ in prison and how
their lives had changed. It was very encouraging! I asked “How many
prison chaplains are here today?” (I already knew my friend Pastor Tom
Cunningham was in the audience) Tom introduced himself and said “I have
just been hired as the chaplain at a new prison here in Arizona and want
to invite you to participate with us in the ministry there.” (I will be
taking a team of men from my church to observe what he does and decide if
they want to be involved) This provides us with a ‘door of opportunity’
that has not existed for our fellowship before in AZ! Praise God!
‘WEEKEND OF CHAMPIONS’ – AUSTIN, TEXAS
As USA Today headlines read,
“Crime surge threatens growth in cities nationwide”, my friend Bill
(another ex-con) and I flew to Austin for a ‘Weekend of Champions’ in
local prisons. Greg Hamilton, Sheriff of Travis County addressed our
group of 428 volunteers, urging us to “Save Souls!” Vasyl Koschinyets,
director of all prisons in the Ukraine, (a nation of 50 million) was there
to observe what we do and to give us a special invitation: “I want to
invite you to come to our prisons and bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”,
he said through an interpreter. “May your work be fruitful!” (he is not a
Christian) Plans are already in place for our team to go there in June.
Jack Murphy told us “If you come with us, don’t worry about the
translation, it’s an introduction to ‘speaking in tongues’” Bill Glass
spoke and encouraged us to believe God for a great harvest in Austin.
We ministered for two days in 7
prison facilities in the Austin area, 3,985 inmates. Bill and I were
assigned to the ‘Segregation & Intake’ units at Travis State Jail. The
first two men I spoke to said they were not interested in making a
decision for Christ. Then I prayed with ‘Fernando’ to receive the Lord
and he said “I am very happy to have received Jesus!” He said that he
would soon be paroling to El Paso and would check out our church there.
In ‘Intake’ I approached a cell with 8 men in it. Another teammate had
already started witnessing to them and they had begun to laugh and mock.
I told them, “If you don’t want to listen, shut up! And let these other
men hear something that will change their lives!” I shared my testimony
and 6 men received Christ!
I asked to go to the ‘Faith
Pod’, where men are housed that say they want to be discipled and study
the Bible. I grabbed a microphone and had 15 minutes to share my
testimony with the 50 men in the unit. I stressed the importance of
finding a good church when they get out. “If you don’t plan on becoming
part of the local church when you get out, you better tell your cell mate
to hold on to your stuff, you’re going to need it when you get back.”
Our programs went well on the
yard with hundreds in attendance. I wondered what people might think if
they saw inmates having such a good time, laughing, clapping, and cheering
our performers. “But they don’t deserve it! They need to be punished!”
might be the response. Then God spoke to me and said “None of you deserve
it! You all deserve hell! So what’s the harm in providing a ‘good time’
for these men, letting them know that I care about them? My Son put on
quite a show for you!” Former NFL player, big Rich Garza, closed the
program. “How many know we need to get the bad news before we can get the
good news? We are all sinners in need of a Savior. Education won’t
change you, religion won’t change you, only receiving Jesus Christ will
change you. How many will there be.. ? Those who raised your hands get
up and go to one of our teammates, they will share with you how you can
have this life changing experience.” Many responded.
During the weekend six
teammates, including 84 year old ‘Jewel’, led someone to Christ for the
first time in their lives! “This was the best day I’ve had in 84 years!
I’m 6 feet off the ground!” she said. Sixteen ex-cons also joined our
team for the weekend! God answered our prayers and brought in a harvest
of
1,683 decisions
for Christ!
By Saturday night I was
exhausted, but I still had to speak at a local church. I called home and
asked my wife to pray. I made it through the evening and five people were
‘saved’! Others asked if I could write to their loved ones in prison.
Several responded to the chaplain’s call to follow up on those inmates
who had received Christ at the prison.
Thanks for
sending me. Please pray for us. Great is your reward!
