Our time at Brooks Correctional Facility was a life changer for all of us. I asked Lisa Blystra, Ridge Point’s Partnerships Pastor (this is the team that leads all of our local and global ministry initiatives); to share her reaction to the visit and a bit of what she senses God calling Ridge Point to do in the future. Enjoy … and ask God where He is calling you to get involved.
Lisa writes …
God opened doors and hearts so that we would be to be able to share the gospel with almost 300 people on Sunday at Brooks and it was GOOD! Part of our team was in Level 4 sharing communion, the Gospel and leaving the inmates with a copy of “The Case for the Resurrection.”
The rest of us welcomed 250 men into the gym, greeting them with donuts and coffee (they never get donuts and coffee and some of the guys “hugged” their 16 ounce cups as the sipped the coffee), smiles, handshakes, and conversations about their families and “out dates.” God was in the midst of it all. One man said it best, “You guys make us feel like we are all on an even playing field; like God sees us like He sees you.. WOW! How Cool is that?!?!?
Throughout the evening, it was a bit mind boggling to be able to worship, teach, share communion, and pray with these men. It's humbling knowing that because of JESUS, we were able to bring a few moments of light into this very dark place. God used Doug’s testimony (Doug Cupery is the leader of our re-entry program and is himself an ex-felon) in a powerful way. He was able to close the gap between “us and them” while talking and joking about his personal experience “inside the walls”. The Spirit used his words to communicate a real picture of how God redeems the ugliness of our lives, using us in our weakness for HIS greater glory if we are willing, obedient and available.
We also gave each man a Bible. I watched one man pick up his Bible, open it and continue reading it the entire time we were there. He seemed to not be able to get enough of what was written on the pages. The warden pointed out the “head of the Muslims” reading the Bible we were able to give him. Prayer time was heart breaking as most requested prayers for their minds to be protected from the darkness of prison, care for their families and almost all for peace and strength to get through each day - and that we would come back.
The chaplain at Brooks is working with Prison Fellowship to ensure men who are interested have opportunities to further explore their faith. There remains a wide open door and very few churches are willing to step inside the walls and “own” the responsibility to reach this population for Jesus. We are already exploring future opportunities including summer softball and basketball teams, outdoor worship services, providing DVDs of Ridge Point’s weekend services that could be shown on their Prison TV channels, ongoing networking to find partnering churches in Muskegon and even starting a Ridge Point Campus in Muskegon. .
Thanks for your prayers. They were answered! Keep praying hard – these men and their families need Jesus.
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