Our church does Prison Ministry. Many people say to themselves, as I did many years ago before I knew what prison ministry was all about, "I don't want to do that, and those people are criminals." During my years of prison ministry, I have found that criminals are people just like you and me. Many want a different life, one that works for them and gives them a measure of true happiness. They just can't figure out how to do it and they end up in prison.
Christ has commissioned us to give hope and to show others a way to achieve the life we all want through Him. Prison ministry achieves Christ's purposes through connecting with another human being on a personal level and by sharing that Jesus Christ is the real answer to life problems, not drugs or criminal behavior.
There are many forms for prison ministry. Writing, visiting, or going into prison under the covering of a large prison ministry, either through a national organization such as Prison Fellowship or Kairos, or a small prison/jail ministry through a local church or minister. The message is the same whatever form we chose. Christ is the answer. Through Him we can have a life of peace and happiness.
Do all prisoners get the message when they hear it? Do all of us out here in the free world get the message when we hear it? Do some prisoners come to meetings to get cookies and make a connection with people to get money? Well, do some of us come to church in the free world to get food or money from the local church? Do inmates struggle with being hearers of the word but have a hard time being doers of the word? Do we struggle in the free world? It should not be a secret that they are no different than anyone else. The important difference is that their chances of being successful in the outside world are much greater if they hear Christ's message.
When people decide to follow God’s leading and go into prison ministry, there is always training and support from others in prison ministry to help the person know exactly what is expected of them and what to expect from inside the prison. It is important to an institution that the prison ministry volunteers are trained properly. This helps the institution run smoothly while free world people are inside on the grounds.
We have several godparents to the guys at Tomoka Correctional in our congregation. If you have an interest in prison ministry or questions about prison ministry, ask any godparent or me. We are always happy to answer ANY question.
A Pleasant Surprise
Dear Brother Conrod,
What a pleasant surprise it was to get your response to the Christmas
greeting on our website. I immediately accessed your "journal" and even with my familiarity with Makapwa, I found the content uplifting.
I have shared it with some of my staff and it's fun reading your narration. Lilongwe is of course bigger now and more diversified. The economic problems are also bigger and more complex and I'm in the middle of it all. The Church? Well, it continues to struggle for a new identity.
Thank you for picking out the message and for your website. It makes me feel proud of Makapwa and the work that is done there. You have provided a rare service for a small church in Malawi.
Greetings to the family and all friends.
Ellias Ngalande, Governor
Reserve Bank of Malawi
Early Settlers of Roanoke Village
By Roy Bird Cook
1924
Richard Bond, about 1825, located just below the site of the Seventh Day
Baptist Church. He was born in Harrison County, February 16, 1814, and died
February 11, 1871. He married (1) Lydia M. Davis, a sister of "Uncle" Samuel
Davis and (2) Ann Elizabeth Crowl. A son, John, was one of the early land owners
on Canoe Run. The land books for 1848-9 charge him with one tithable, "2 hosses
at 10›", a "wood clock at 13›", 197 acres of land on "crooked Run of West Fork"
and "road tax on same as revenue $1.32" in all totaling $3.59. Such was taxation in that early day under old Virginia.
At the mouth of Middle Fork, John C. Bond, a son of Richard, located in 1865.
He married Elizabeth Schiefer and a son A. J. C. Bond had been very prominent in
the annals of the Seventh Day Baptist Church. The beginning of the Seventh Day Baptist Church dates back to meetings held
at intermittent periods at the homes of Richard Bond and Ruben Hevener. At the
close of the Civil War enough local support existed to erect the building still standing on the brow of the hill below Canoe Run. It was dedicated January 19, 1872.
A small church building was constructed, located on the
river "bench" below the site of the Seventh Day Church. This served not
only the church body but for local meetings and as a school house, and was
long known as the "Union School House." Services were held - with
intermission during the Civil War - until the latter part of 1880, at
which time support had become so small, due to the rise of the Methodist
Protestant faith, that the organization was dissolved. The records show,
among the names of ministers, that of Brigadier General J. A. J.
Lightburn, who had achieved considerable prominence in
the Federal Army. Some time later the building was removed to the village of
Roanoke where it was used for a mill.
-reprinted from HISTORY OF ROANOKE COMMUNITY
VIEW FROM THE HOSPITAL WINDOW
by anon.
Two men, both aged and seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their old jobs, their experiences in World War II, and all kinds of other things.
One man managed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon where he could look out the room's only window, and every time he did, he would describe to his roommate all the things he could see. He told of a park with a lovely lake. Ducks swam on the water while children sailed their model boats. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance. One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn't hear the band, he could imagine it as the man by the window described it. Finally, after many weeks, the man by the window died. The other man asked the nurse to be moved next to the window so he could see the view.
The nurse was happy to make the switch, but when he was finally able to look out the window, he found that it faced the blank, brick wall of the building across the street! The man asked the nurse how the man was able to describe such wonderful things outside the window. She said, "Maybe he just wanted to make you happy."
There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations. Happiness when shared is doubled. Count your blessings. "Today is a gift; that's why it is called the present."
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Copyright © 2001 New Covenant Ministries. All rights reserved.
Last update: 2005.
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