Isaiah 41:10 - "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous hand.
Psalm 27:1
The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid.
Have you ever been inside the prison walls, or felt the quiet desperation that resides there? I spent one night in jail in West Palm Beach. I was 20 years old, afraid and in need of a Savior, but totally unaware of that at the time. Oddly enough, I found a bible lying around that night and I began reading scripture, totally oblivious to the fact that God was courting me until I finally laid it all down three years later.
Jail is indeed a scary place, but it is also a place where God meets us in our hour of need. Jail is a place where if you look hard enough, you will see streams of heavenly light pouring through the constraints, offering a different kind of freedom, an eternal freedom where the soul is not confined but free to soar on the wings of Eagles!
Evangelism Explosion Women's Prison Ministry
A small EE team has been blessed with an open door for ministry in a maximum security prison in Florida, where they are teaching Evangelism Explosion. The current leader Cindy, has been going to the prison for about seventeen years and has a profound commitment to and love for the women she serves there.
In her words, "One of the greatest rewards in the ministry is seeing the beautiful growth and maturity in the ladies." Cindy and her Mom used to go together for years until her Mom passed away. Mary Jo, Jocelyn, Jill, Elise and others have helped as facilitators in this prison in recent years. Charlie and Lois Rozzelle are also well-known and much loved and appreciated by the inmates in this facility and in other prisons where they have been teaching EE.
The inmates attending the Evangelism Explosion training have powerful testimonies of God’s amazing grace and His unrelenting love for them. There are many stories of deep pain, destruction and death, and how the Lord’s hand reached out and pulled them out of their despair, broke the bondage of sin and truly set them free. They now joyfully serve Him even under difficult circumstances, where they experience painful separation from family and friends, and yet enjoy sweet fellowship with the other believers around them. How glorious!
Carmen, one of the girls who is now in level three EE training said: “I attended church and married a Christian man, but I had doubts as to whether God would accept me into his Heaven. It wasn’t until I came to prison and took the Evangelism Explosion training that I came to trust that I have eternal life; I now have the tools to witness to others the same assurance available to them through a relationship with Jesus Christ. The kindness, humility and sincerity of the facilitators have given me strength and courage and inspired me to share my faith with others.”
Doreen, (Jewish background,) said that EE helped her to grasp the meaning of Christ being fully God and fully man. “It was explained in a simple, 'easy to understand' way.” She said that she has found freedom in Christ, and is more free now, than she ever was before her incarceration.
Karen told us that she often experiences the power of asking the 'two' questions. Just the other day Karen spoke with a lady she works with in prison and when Karen asked her the first question, the lady dropped her head and said that she did not know for sure that she was going to Heaven one day. Karen believes that the two questions really make people stop and think about their eternal destination.
Charlene, also from a Jewish background, said that she was so blessed to be growing through all the levels of EE and to become an EE teacher/trainer: “It solidified to me that I have the gift of teaching; I felt empowered in proclaiming the Word of God.” After a recent Kids’ EE workshop at the prison, Charlene said that the Kids’ EE helped her to know how to share the Gospel with children. “In the Visitor’s room a few weeks ago, my four-year-old son was fascinated by the Kids’ EE cube. He played with it for hours and asked many in-depth questions about who Jesus is and what He did for us.”
Kristy used to be very shy and withdrawn. She admits that she had a tendency to isolate herself from others. She dreaded going anywhere and had a fear of people and a lack of trust, but through EE and learning more about God, “I’m coming out of my shell a bit, realizing it is not all about me. There are so many hurting people out there who need us to tell them about Jesus.”
The ladies all agree that they are grateful to have the assurance of eternal life and that they are equipped to share the Good News with fellow prisoners, and their family and friends through talking with them, or writing letters to them. They love the EE illustrations: “The illustrations bring things to life and make it real; they help to clarify the Gospel and people can better relate to it.” The ladies like to encourage churches to teach Evangelism Explosion, because they have experienced the great freedom in Christ and want others to also know for sure that they can have the gift of Eternal Life by trusting in Jesus Christ alone.
Amazing Grace
I am not surprised, but as always I am amazed by the goodness of God and what He can accomplish through the willing hearts of His children. I try to imagine what it must feel like for these women to have a new found hope in a risen Savior, when the alternative is so devastating and hopeless. Some, I am sure, have never experienced true relationship with other women let alone a risen Savior in the person of Jesus Christ!
I am very humbled and blessed to be able to bring you this encouraging report from the 'Women's Prison Ministry'. I would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to Elise Stimpson for getting the latest update into my hands.
May we all be inspired in one way or another to minster the truth to these precious women; the opportunity is great and it is before us!
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