SOME THINGS WE HEAR

Why do you waste your time? – It’s just jail house religion – We will never see them in church – Sure, they will listen, a captive audience! – It’s casting pearls before pigs – Just lock them up and throw away the key.

A THOUGHT

I hope it never happens to you!! If and when a family has a loved one arrested, it is amazing how suddenly their attitude change. PRISON MINISTRY IS WELL WORTH THE TIME, ENERGY AND MONEY. I could put a list together of men and women whose lives were changed by the power of the Gospel. And later were released and have done very well. The list would include ministers, missionaries, elders, deacons, Bible School teachers, song leaders, prison ministers, just good hard working members of the Lords Church, etc.

One out of every 31 citizens in the US is part if the criminal justice system. Either locked up or on parole, or probation etc. If you add chemical addiction to the equation, one in every three is affected. On the average one out of every two families are affected. It costs between $25,000 – $40,000 per inmate per year. We don’t always succeed in turning a prisoner into a faithful and fervent church member. However, he or she may leave prison and stop drugging, drinking, stealing, and beating his wife and or kids. HOW MUCH IS THIS WORTH? We must remember the value of one soul yanked away from Satan.

The spiritual growth process is simple: we plant and water and God does the rest. A willing few go behind the bars while many others send by praying and sending financial support to them. Thank you for your prayers and support. We could not do what we do without your prayers and support. GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME!!!! ALL THE TIME GOD IS GOOD!!!

6TH GRADUATION FROM FAITH AND CHARACTER BASED UNIT.

This unit is made up of believers in Christ. They spend there time in Bible and Life Skill classes for one and one half years. I have had the privilege to teach in this unit for several years. I have seen many men change there lives because of this teaching. Of the ones that graduate less than ten percent ever go back to prison as an inmate. The rate of all inmates is about 80 percent are back within 3 years. We graduated 25 men on Friday December 9, 2016. What a blessing to get to witness the change in these men because of the word of God.

Thank you from the bottom of our heart.

From all the jail and prison workers Jim Pinkston, Senior Prison Minister

Tulsa County Jail. Jim Pinkston, Francisco Davila and Zeth Parkhurst teach the men. Several ladies go to the women’s pods every Thursday and Friday for the last four years, to teach. Zeth is teaching with Jim each Wednesday and teaching the hearing impaired. We have baptized 398 of our students this year.

Back to the ladies: We have ladies teaching in all three ladies pods at Tulsa County Jail each week. They rotate lessons every thirteen weeks. Carol Siling, Elaine Russell, and Theresa Hawkins teach. Jody Gilkey was teaching but her job schedule is preventing her at this time but hopes to return soon. Elaine is the coordinator for the women. Many ladies are being changed by the Gospel because of these ladies.

Dick Connors Correctional Center. Jim Pinkston teaches NLB Lessons and CASA (Christians Against Substance Abuse). He also teaches in the faith based unit and preaches there four evenings each month. Jim Carmichael teaches every Monday morning and for the next three months also on Thursdays and preaches one night per month. Elaine Russell, Jim’s wife Jean, Jim & Jody Carmichael, Patrick Murphy, and Beverly Bennett help and Booker leads singing when he can. We go to the Minimum Security unit on the first and forth Sunday nights for services and to the Medium Security (behind the walls) on the first and third Tuesday nights for services.

Correspondence. 40 packages of 6 to 7 lessons mailed to many prisons in Oklahoma. Every two weeks = 260 lessons x 2 = 520 per month or 6,240 per year. Many of these are people we studied with at Tulsa and Creek County Jail and have gone on to prison or were transferred from one prison to another. This is one way we keep up with our students as they are moved from prison to prison. Elaine Russell & Carol Siling sends lessons to ladies who were former students at Tulsa County Jail who have gone to a prison or gone home. On the second and fourth Tuesdays evenings we have a group that meets to grade and get these lessons ready to mail.

John H. Lilly Correctional Center. Bryan Campbell is doing Celebrate Recovery every Saturday.

Creek Co. Jail . David Stikes is preparing to start teaching there again in January.

Re-entry program. (Hope City) It houses five 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) has been trained to go into the prisons and be a full time teacher. He leads a C.R. group there each Saturday.

In the last three years over twenty men have been helped and are closer to Jesus because of the Hope City ministry. Two of these men have their own businesses today and employ several ex-offenders.

Advisory Board. The board is made up of eight men: James Ivy,(deacon over ministry) Ken Williams, Steve Stade, Scott Blackwell, Gary Medley, Mark Clayton, Randy Milam and Kevin Neiman. Jim is the recruiter 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.

Rogers County Jail Mike Hawkins started a great jail ministry a few months ago and has been very successful teaching there. God just keeps growing this ministry along with the others.

Future Plans. To continue with the programs that are now successful and just see where God leads us in 2016.

This ministry was started by Terry Finch and James Ivy in 2009, Jim Pinkston came aboard in 2010 part time for 2 years then full time.

Baptisms from this work

2010 94

2011 109

2012 139

2013 259

2014 406

2015 382

2016 398

Total 1787 Since 2010 That we know of.

To put this in perspective, 1787 would more than fill first & second service at Park Central.

Impossible without your support.

“Jesus did it!!!”