Park Plaza Prison Ministry Report 06/15/16
Tulsa County Jail. On Pace to deliver 5,000 Classroom lessons this year into David L. Moss or Tulsa Co. Jail. Jim Pinkston & Francisco Davila teach the men. Ron Babbet teaches with us men when his schedule allowes. Four ladies go to the women’s pods every Friday for the last two and one half years, to teach. Elaine Russell, Carol Siling, Teresa Hawkins and Alison Valentine. Jody Gilkey’s job has caused her to take a break from this ministry for a while. We have just received permission to teach in the third POD #18 on Thursday afternoons. This will have us teaching in all the lady pods. Carl Moore and Zeth Parkhurst have finished the training and have received their badges. Zeph is teaching with Jim and the hearing impaired. On June 11, 2016 over 100 inmates were baptized at DLM. 79 were the students of the Park Plaza Prison Ministry. Bill Hamrick, Ron Hass and Ralph Hunter Church of Christ preachers also go into DLM between us all the men’s pods are visited each week. So far this year Park teachers have baptized 233 precious souls into Christ at the jail
Creek Co. Jail is a new work started by Terry. He takes Celebrate Recovery into the jail every Monday and on Friday afternoon New Life Behavior. Due to this ministry going into Creek County, The inmates there studied salvation and 107 were baptized into Christ. Over 20 of these are Terry’s students. The last time Creek held baptisms was 5 years prior to these. David Stikes now has his badge and is teaching there.
John H. Lilly Correctional Center. Terry teaches New Life Behavior, Thinking for a change, and sponsors Celebrate Recovery. He is also the Assistant Chaplin. Roger Bentley has received his training and got his badge and has started helping Terry at John Lilly. Bryan Campbell is helping on Saturdays with CR. On Wednesday April 13, 2016 Terry baptized two men into Christ.
Dick Connors Correctional Center. Jim has worked there since 1990. Elaine started a couple of years later. Jim teaches NLB Lessons and CASA. He also teaches in the faith based unit and preaches there four evenings each month. Tuesday night Oct.20, 2015 one inmate was baptized during the service the Park Plaza Prison Ministry did. On November 4 another young man was baptized into Christ. Jim and Jody Carmichael, Elaine Russell help and Booker leads singing when he can. Jim’s wife Jean now has her badge and is going with the group to the services there. So far this year we have had four baptisms there.
Prison Apologetics:
Jim Carmichael is about to complete the first course in Christian Apologetic training at Dick Conners Correctional Center. This class will be continued, and we will be starting a new session very soon.
Correspondence. 35 packages of 6 to 7 lessons mailed to many prisons in Oklahoma. Every two weeks = 228 lessons x 2 = 456 per month or 5,472 per year. We have several helpers that show up every other Tuesday night to grade all of these and get them ready to mail. John Ulrich is helping with this work each week. Many of these are people we studied with at Tulsa and Creek County Jail and have gone on to prison. This is one way we keep up with them.
Re-entry program. (Hope City) It houses four men at this time. Randy Milam is the onsite manager. We have the space for five. Two units are being remodeled to where it can handle seven. We also have a RV that is being plumed at this time to where it can house one making the total eight. One of these men (Bryan Campbell) is being trained to go into the prisons and be a full time minister like Jim Pinkston and Terry Finch. He has a degree in bible and masters in drug & alcohol counseling. Through the ministry he was funded for these while incarcerated. He will receive his badge in January. In the last year and one half over twenty men have been helped and are closer to Jesus because of this great ministry. Two of these men have their own business today and employ several ex-offenders.
Advisory Board. The board is made up of eight men. James Ivy, Ken Williams, Steve Stade, Scott Blackwell, Gary Medley, Mark Clayton, Randy Milam and Kevin Neiman. Jim & Terry are the recruiters for the applicants. The board decides who is approved to enter the reentry program. They go by a set of guidelines approved by the Elders. The board also oversees the operation of the program.
Future Plans. To continue with the programs that are now being successful and just see where God leads us in 2016.
Baptisms from this work
2010 94
2011 109
2012 139
2013 259
2014 406
2015 382
2016 Jan Tulsa County 56 March Tulsa County 85 As of April 1 2016 Dick Connors 6 John Lilley At Boley 7. = 154 plus 79 at DLM 6-11-16 = 233 So Far in 2016
Total 1622 Since 2010 That we know of.
To put this in perspective, 1622 would more than fill first & second service at Park Central.
Impossible without your support.
“Jesus did it!!!”
THOSE WHO GO FOR SERVICES
AT THE DIFFERENT PLACES
Jim Pinkston
Terry Finch
Elaine Russell
Booker Murphy
Jerona Robey
Jim & Jody Carmichael
Francisco Davila
Carol Siling
Teresa Hawkins
Alison Valentine
Jody Gilkey
NEW WORKS FOR 2016
Tulsa County Jail
Carl Moore & Zeth Parkhurst have finished their training and will soon receive their badges. They will be teaching the hearing impaired at Tulsa County Jail.
Lori Varnell & Jan Upton have finished their training and will soon receive their badges. They will be teaching the ladies with the other Park Plaza ladies at Tulsa County Jail.
Creek County Jail
David Stikes & Jody Gilkey will soon receive their training and receive their badges and start teaching at the Jail.
JOHN H. LILLY CORRECTIONAL CENTER
Roger Bentley, Brian Campbell and John Ulrich will receive their badges and start teaching at this prison with Terry.
Dick Connors Correctional Center
Jim Pinkston has started teaching in the Faith Based Unit. This is a program where every inmate in the unit is a believer in God. The men stay in this unit for eighteen months and spend there time studying Gods word.
Jim’s wife Jean is getting her badge and will start going to Dick Connors with the group soon.
Jim Carmichael will start teaching Apologetics the first Monday of April. That is how to defend the Christian Faith.
New Classes will begin the first of July on Tuesdays.
