Life in the Land of the Forgotten

The mail had just been delivered, but the letter I had hoped for had not come. Days, weeks, and then a month had passed without a response. Then one day, a letter arrived.

As I read it, tears welled up in the corners of my eyes. Pain gripped my heart as I read, "I am writing you to apologize. I found your letter unopened, and in the trash. I can't make excuses for our pastor, but I will say that I am sorry he did not respond."

The thought that someone, a pastor, would flippantly toss my letter into the trash really hurt me. I knew why he did it; I knew why no one had responded to my letters — it was because I was a prisoner in the Michigan Department of Corrections.

Though I was incarcerated, I was on fire for the Lord. Anyone who knew me knew that I was a follower of Christ, and they knew I loved our church. I had grown up an Adventist, but had fallen away, and become trapped within the drug culture. I found myself breaking into houses to support my habit. Ultimately, when my world collapsed, I was sentenced to 7 – 20 years in prison.

In the seven years I was incarcerated, I was housed in 13 different prisons. Though this may seem excessive, God used this as a way to spread the three angels' message. Wherever I went, I would hold small group studies and worship services, with attendees ranging from 2 to 20, and sometimes more.

However, my ministry was confronted with an obstacle. I could find a great number of religious materials, but they were all from faiths such as Jehovah's Witnesses, Catholicism, Islam, or apostate Protestantism. Our material was MIA - missing in action. I desperately needed material I could use to learn from, teach from, and evangelize with.

I was constantly writing or calling home, asking for various books, studies, curriculums, and Bibles. I would contact Amazing Facts, Harvestime Books, and anyone else I could think of, but I could never get enough materials for the needs that we had. What I needed was the equivalent of an Adventist Book Center store at every facility. The study groups I held grew, and attracted many other men just like myself. But these men were not as blessed as I was. They were not able to call, or write home, in order to get quality, truth-filled materials. Sure, I had materials, but my books only went so far, and at times my materials were not appropriate for specific needs. To make things even more complicated, it was illegal to share personal property with anyone. There was a policy strictly forbidding borrowing or lending of anything — no exceptions. When I loaned out my materials, I took the risk of not getting them back, and there were times when I didn't.

It was the need for Bibles and books that led me to write the churches around my facility. It was so bad, that when I arrived at one facility, I met a man who had been hosting a Seventh-Day Adventist group in the Upper Peninsula for four years, who knew nothing of our doctrines, except for the Sabbath, and the State of the Dead. He knew nothing about the health message, or the rest of our beliefs. He had been teaching for four years, sharing what he knew. God blessed him in his work, but he deserved more. At many prisons, the men had no study materials. They had no one educated in the twenty-eight fundamentals to teach them.

In addition to materials, we needed external support, to help supplement the ministry within. I needed these men to know that they had a body of brothers and sisters who would stand at their side, and help them navigate the road to recovery and re-entry. Sadly, in spite of the Scriptural mandate, support was virtually nonexistent. I wrote pastor after pastor, and with the exception of the one letter notifying me that my letter had been found in the trash, my letters received no response from the churches I had addressed. When men would move into my facility, I would ask them where they came from, and whether or not a local church had been actively ministering to them. There were only a handful of churches undertaking any type of prison ministry, and those who did, were not educated in how best to minister to those within, but at least their heart was in it. They did what they could, with what they had. They came in once a week for one hour, to talk about a spiritual topic, and then they had to go. I needed more. We all needed more.

Five years after the incident I previously referred to, I was at Cotton Correctional Facility. The Bible study group I was facilitating had a regular attendance of about 20. I decided to do a verse-by-verse examination of the book of Daniel. It was such a success, that we had prisoners from the main Protestant service sneaking over to our service. They were risking a major misconduct for being "out of place." As I began my series, I noticed that many of the men did not have a Bible, and some of the ones who did, had terrible translations. One had a New World Translation, (the Jehovah's Witness' amalgamation), and many others had the New American Bible with the Apocrypha, (the Catholic study Bible). Both were unacceptable, but both were available en-mass.

My father saw the difficulties I was facing, and made phone calls on my behalf to try and stir up some support, but it had very little effect. Those who are in prison, live in the land of the forgotten. What isn't visible can be easily forgotten. After seeing the dire situation within my group, I called home and asked my father if he would be willing to make a personal appeal to his church to purchase a case of Andrews Study Bibles, (outreach edition), for our group? He said he would, and fortunately, the board met that evening. The church agreed, and they purchased the Bibles from Andrews University Press. Three days later the Bibles arrived at our facility. The chaplain gave me permission to hand them out, and ten of the twenty men in the group were able to get new Bibles, which were filled with terrific study aides. The men were so elated, that the joy was palpable. I told them that if they wanted, they could send a thank-you note to the church. I wrote the church's address on the board, and didn't think any more about it.

In February 2012, three days after being released, I married the woman who had stuck with me through thick and thin. Shortly afterwards, we attended the church that sent us those Bibles, and I thanked them for their help. It was then, I learned that the men who had received the Bibles, had sent the church money, in order to express their gratitude. Some could send no more than a dollar, but one individual sent in one-hundred dollars. The average prisoner would have to work about three hundred and thirty hours in order to earn that much, and the jobs they work at can be extremely taxing. The Bibles they received were worth about fourteen dollars, but the act of reaching in to minister to them, was priceless.

It was then, that my wife and I decided we would do what we could to make sure the men and women who are in prison would not have to experience the spiritual hunger and destitution I had witnessed. We knew it was a problem that could be solved. More importantly, it was a problem that God commanded us to solve.

In March of 2012 Conviction Ministries, Inc. was formed. Conviction Ministries, Inc. is a prison ministry dedicated to helping others connect with God. Our desire is to unite the body of Christ within the prisons, with the body of Christ outside of the prisons. Our mission is multifaceted. Our goal is to solve the problem by:

• Highlighting the fact that God has commissioned us to fulfill this ministry We need to acknowledge, accept, and own this as our issue

• Immediately begin systematically and intentionally flooding the prisons with our publications

• Develop constructive relationships with the chaplains at each facility

• Train members how to identify and minister to the needs of a prisoner

• Train members how to capitalize on the opportunities afforded by the Department of Corrections

• Educate the churches about the dangers of working in such an environment

• Foster an open discussion about the responsibility that we have, and the role that each individual member can play

• Find a way to fund the ministry so it is sustainable

• In order for this ministry to be effective it must be able to weather the financial storms it encounters

We need to begin reaching out to those who are incarcerated. It is a huge vineyard, filled with ripe fruit. I can personally attest to that fact, as I am living proof. I am currently a Bible Work Coordinator, within the Michigan Conference. God has given us an opportunity to help solve a problem that used to bring tears to my eyes. I do not want to be the reason why some searching soul is not able to come into a greater knowledge of our Lord. I do not want to be the cause as to why some young man or woman does not have the true gospel, when they so desperately need its redemptive power. The question is, do you? It's time to act!

Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also. Hebrews 13:3 NKJV

If you would like to know more about our ministry, you can find information on our website www.convictionministries.com. Support is always welcomed. All funds received go directly towards fulfilling our mission. None of the individuals associated with our ministry receive compensation. If you are interested in having us visit your church to discuss ways in which you can form or strengthen an existing prison ministry, please fill out the contact form on our website, or email us at weproclaimliberty@gmail.com