ADDITIONAL LINKS
The
Church At Prison
Serving the Incarcerated of Vermont
On the World Wide Web since 1999
"To be
a light to open blind eyes. To bring out prisoners from the
prison, those who sit in darkness from the prison house." Isaiah 42:7
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Serving the Incarcerated of Vermont On the World Wide Web since 1999
"To be
a light to open blind eyes. To bring out prisoners from the
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ADDITIONAL LINKS
Free online bible & study tools.
The Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry. An excellent site with the answers to just about any question you may have about Christianity.
Another excellent site with more answers to questions you may have about Christianity. It also has movie reviews, a section for children, a guide to video games, a book store and so much more!
Site Last Updated On: 8/27/07 |
July 2007 A Mother’s Call
After several years of struggling with Justin and his behavior problems, Mom is left with a broken heart, a husband who is hurting and alienated from their church, years of public embarrassment and humiliation, and more recently a bag of needles and other drug paraphernalia from cleaning out Justin’s apartment. We do what we can to pray with the parents, give counsel and some education on what to expect now that Justin is in prison. How do parents with broken hearts handle the desire to rescue their child while realizing that tough love is needed in order to stop enabling destructive behavior. It’s like a “High Wire Balancing Act” with consequences. Decision Time Justin’s parents decided to stand strong and not enable Justin by allowing him to be released to their home again. From the time of that decision they relied on prayer and God’s grace. Within two weeks Justin accepted the Lord at a Teen Challenge presentation in his prison. Now Justin has been transferred to NWSCF and is deeply involved in The Church At NorthWest. He is in Music Ministry as a guitarist, attending two Patmos Christian Academy courses, and was baptized June 10 along with eight other men. In Justin’s own words “I like it here. This is where God wants me. I wish I could live like this all the time (referring to Christian Community vs. having to live in the general population at NWSCF).” Justin’s life is in Godly control now and his life of addictions has been turned around. He once told us that the power he feels when people pray on him is better than drugs. David’s KAIROS Appointment Kairos (God’s timing in Greek) is God’s appointed time. Chronos (Greek) is clock time. My birth was Kairos time and my alarm goes off at chronos time in the morning. My time of repentance was Kairos time and my birthday party is scheduled with chronos time. We had made an appointment to enter prison on a Thursday at 10:30am (chronos). David came into the visiting room where we were waiting for him. He immediately remembered who we were from a few years ago when we met at a special event for his family. He shook hands, sat down in the chair, tilted his head back and the tears started flowing. At the age of 32 his life has ended up here in jail facing his 3rd DUI, a broken family without a home, and a judge who refused bail because of his past behavior. After 10 days of being clean from drugs he was ridden with guilt for the lives he had damaged. His wife and children were suffering on the outside because of his addictions and behavior. David’s tears continued to flow as he wept and told his story. He was at the end of himself like the prodigal son who found himself in the pigpen starving to death in Luke 15:11-31. David was ready to ask God to take over his broken life. As he prayed he trembled, sweat poured out of his skin, and we could feel the heat radiating from his body as his tears dropped on the carpet at his feet. David had his Kairos appointment with Jesus Christ. Within a week everything began to change. The Judge decided to place him on pre-approved furlough and told him he could stay with his parents for up to two months while he found a residence or residential treatment program to enter. David strongly agrees that first of all he needs to walk with the Lord and second that he needs the help, support of and accountability of Christian brothers and sisters to turn his life around for good. It is very exciting to see David’s life changing as God transforms the broken pieces and rebuilds them into a work of beauty. Through God’s grace he is committed to allowing the Lord to transform him into the beautiful man of God he was created to be and to glorifying God with his life. David is now living at The Covered Bridge Therapeutic Communities in St, Johnsbury to learn how to build a new life out of the scattered pieces. In the interim David, who is also a stone mason, built a stone wall around our flower garden. As God did with him, he took the old broken pieces of stone and slowly and carefully transformed them into a work of beauty that will last.
God has also provided this wall to remind us of the ministry He has placed us in. Every morning we can look in our backyard and see the beauty created out of the broken pieces put back together by the Master’s hands. What a symbol and reminder of our awesome Lord whose mercies are new every morning, whose plan is perfect and who is faithful to complete the good work He has begun in His people!
9 Baptisms
On Sunday night June 10 there were 9 men baptized at the Church At NorthWest. Among the 9 was a very tall young man who kneeled so Pastor Pete could reach the top of his head. Until we are able to use a portable tank, we baptize with a cup of water on the head. Collapsible Baptism Tank
We are praising the Lord for American Rehabilitation Ministries which donated a portable collapsible baptism tank to The Church At Prison. We paid $30 for the shipping and the rest, $825, was provided by ARM donors. The tank arrived on June 21 and will be used for our next group of baptism candidates. Jehovah Jirah, the Lord Provides, AMEN! This tank is meant to be shared with other ministries in the area. It weighs 30 pounds and is easy to use.
Pastor Connie Longe’s “Makeover” for Sisters at Dale Scripture talks about "When I was thirsty you gave me something to drink and when I was in prison you visited me". That is what we have been doing since Dale Correctional Facility was first opened. I never thought this would capture my heart like it did. Since the first time I went in to do a Bible Study the women there snuck into my heart and now they have captured it. So we go in there with living water and unconditional love for whosoever may come. I do believe we make a difference in there. They are hungry for the "Word" and accept it openly and unashamedly. We (I believe in going either 2 by 2 or with more) have tried different things, showing videos, reading from the Word, but the most successful thing is going through Rick Warrens book "The Purpose Driven Life". This book has much Scripture, wonderful insights and a message the "Girls" can understand. I am now trying to raise the money to buy them each their own copy as I photo copy each chapter now. We have done this book now three times. We go in at 9:00 am and have about a 2 hour slot in which they write their prayer requests down, we pray and chat for a while, do the chapter and discuss it, and then form a circle and pray for each individual. One of the women who comes in with me has a strong prophetic gift and is able to touch on many of the past traumas and hurts the women have. Another important thing we do is we laugh a lot. Humor so often breaks the ice and they see us as having fun in the Lord. We also give them Study Bibles so they can study on their own and I also meet one on one with them if they desire it. One of the volunteer women has written a book, "The Compulsive Women", that deals with many of their issues. Dale is a holding facility for those who have not been sentenced and those with medical conditions. So there is usually a big turnover. There are regulars there that say our Bible Study has saved their lives. There are also those about whom we may never know if they receive anything about Jesus, but we aren't there to judge but to love and accept them for who they are with us. We have also done extra things. Our church brings in worship teams and Pastor Tony Longe has shared with the women his life before and after Jesus came into it. I have brought in special guests to minister to them and am about to do the second “Mary Kay makeup party” where the girls can feel good about themselves and how they look on the outside. But the real reason any of us go into the prison is to make a total make-over on the inside by having Jesus come into their hearts.
Pastor
Connie Longe Released at Last In April, Mike completed his time and was approved to get out on Furlough if he could find a suitable residence. But Mike has a special disability from birth that made meeting that condition difficult. He stutters badly and it can take him several minutes to say a simple sentence, making it very difficult to speak to prospective landlords on the phone. So on July 6, after several failed residence inquiries, Pastor Pete and Jo prayerfully decided to have Mike released to their home. Their house contains an extra bedroom and bath referred to as the UPPER ROOM. Mike’s mother, two brothers and three nieces came up from Florida to help him during this transitional time. (See the next photo)
Mike had to pay a fine to the DMV and is presently taking the CRASH program in order to get his driver’s license restored.. He is prayerfully taking the first job offered to him with another much better one in the wings for when he has his license to drive again. At the same time Mike and his brother Nate (left) are developing a tree service business. Mike needs to get a good job. You see, he has 3 beautiful daughters and a handsome son, who are currently in foster care. Praise God the girls are regular attendees of the Kids Alive Ministry with Pastor Doug Hoffman. Mike’s goal is to establish himself in the workplace and work his way to getting a residence suitable for his children so he can finally be the father God created him to be. It may be a long hard road, but with the Lord’s help Mike is trusting that he can be reunited with his family once more. His family sees the difference Jesus has made in Mike, who though tested is now a calm well spoken polite man of God who attends Maranatha Christian Church in Williston VT and is on his way to being a productive citizen. We consider him a dear brother in Christ, a friend and our dog Alex will miss her daily walks with him once he leaves. We will also miss Mike but at the same time we will rejoice with him. The Church At Prison needs your help As the cost of living for all of us increases so does the cost of operating this ministry. For the first time in 14 years, our income from donations has dropped 25% this year as compared to last year. BUT! During the same time we experienced a significant increase in attendance for the church service at NWSCF and for our Patmos Christian Academy classes, resulting in more men coming to the Lord, more counseling, more family members needing ministry, more time needed in the prison, and inmates men asking for assistance in their release back into society. Our mission to become more involved in helping with all aspects of their release is another added expense. There is more travel, more gasoline, more Bibles, more textbooks, more funding needed, etc. etc. etc. We are also planning ahead for the release of Inmate Pastor Fred Little. He will reach his eligibility date for release in 2008. After leading the Church At NorthWest as Senior Pastor for several years we believe God will continue using him in ministry after release. It is our prayer that God will use him within the Church At Prison Ministry to begin working with men being released. Fred’s desire is to help develop transitional housing and vocational training & placement for the men we work with. We certainly need and ask everyone to pray for this Ministry. Other ways you can help are: · Prayerfully consider pledging or increasing your pledge to CAP · Prayerfully consider a one time donation · Helping to recruit pledging churches and individuals by: o Approaching your Church Missions Committee o Helping to schedule speaking engagements with churches and civic groups o Organize a meeting at your home with friends and neighbors to hear a presentation o Providing names to add to our newsletter mail list o Organizing/sponsoring a fund raising event Please prayerfully consider your support of this ministry. With your help we will continue in this mission field and the Kingdom of God will continue advancing one soul at a time. God Bless you! |
THE
CHURCH AT PRISON
