Strange Fruitfulness--A Prison Ministry Update

Strange Fruitfulness--A Prison Ministry Update

February 4, 2008
Reported by Chris Anderson, Leonard Parkison, and Jereme Suey

Overview
On Monday, January 28, 2008, Jereme Suey and I visited the Fayette County jail in Vandalia, IL. Leonard Parkison would have come, but the deputies will only allow two-member ministry teams into the facility. At 7 p.m., the deputies allowed us into the blocks, and we went from room-to-room to discuss Jesus with the inmates. It was an unusual night of ministry, with several in great advances, and a few minor setbacks. In all we handed out several new Bibles, and over 15 Bible studies copied from Rob Weiners Bible Studies for a Firm Foundation.

A Healing and a Halfing
Usually the guards will not let us into Block F, because they actually have to stand there and guard us since there are no bars for protection. Last night, a deputy was kind enough to watch over us as we ministered to this block.

One inmate, Billy, testified to Jereme that ever since we started coming to the prison and praying with him, nothing but good news has come. Before we came, his two-year-old daughter had been born with her umbilical cord wrapped around her, and she had been on a respirator and feeding tube in the hospital since birth. In the first week that we prayed with Billy, his daughter displayed miraculous healing. She was taken off of the respirator and the feeding tube was removed from her stomach. The doctors are working on helping her walk, something that they initially said would be impossible. This week, Billy was proud to report that his prison sentence had been cut in half. He gives God all the glory.

Bruce Almighty
In our last report, we introduced Bruce, who defied us saying, “I used to be like you guys. I read the Bible and believed it for five years. But then I realized that, what makes the Bible better the Quran? Christians all say that they're better, and that Jews and Muslims are all going to Hell, but that's what the Jews and Muslims say about Christians too, right? So what makes your claims any better than their claims? I used to believe in Jesus, but now . . . but now I'm just confused every time I think about it.” In the last visit, after a Bible discussion, Leonard and I prayed for Bruce, where he said that he felt peace enter his body.

In this visit, I asked Bruce how he was doing. He replied, “I've got my faith back!” Bruce told us how he felt like he was put in with his two cellmates to help and protect them, because they both are mentally unstable, and should probably be in an asylum and not a jail cell. We had an awesome discussion about Jesus and how His sacrificial blood saves and heals. I look forward to greater testimonies about Bruce.

Beating the Grinch who Stole Christmas
At Christmas, Christ Tabernacle blessed the inmates by purchasing and mailing Christmas gifts to their children. Three weeks ago, one inmate (Edward) informed us that his little girl received an empty box! This week, my wife and I bought his daughter (Keona) a bunch of late Christmas gifts and hand-delivered them to her doorstep in Belleville, IL. Keona was not home, but her mother thanked us and told us the rest of the story. Apparently, over the holidays she was in the midst of a move. She had told the post office not to deliver, but they left the packages on her doorstep anyway. By the time she found them, all that was left was an empty box. Praise God that we were able to deliver what the devil thought he stole.

Another inmate (David) has informed us that his boy did not receive anything from us for Christmas. Last night, David handwrote a personal letter to his six-year-old son. This week, my wife and I will mail a Spongebob DVD, a football, and a helicopter to his son in Decatur, IL with the letter. He was thankful.

Great Hunger
As Jereme and I entered Block C, the three inmates eagerly greeted us and ran to the bunks to grab their Bibles.

The first inmate said that after our last visit, he was compelled to start reading the Bible from the beginning, something that he had never done before. Currently he was on Exodus 29. We were able to discuss some of the wonderful nuances of the first five books of the Bible, allowing him to recount some of the things that he had read. With each passing sentence, you could see his hunger grow to get back into the Word of God.

The other two inmates said that God was really speaking to them out of Acts 2. As you can imagine, our eyes lit up. Over the next 45 minutes, we were able to go line-by-line through Acts 2, helping them to understand the storyline. By the end of the discussion, all three inmates confessed that, while they had been baptized when they were younger, baptism in Jesus' name was something that they had not heard before, and that they could clearly see the need to get baptized correctly with this new understanding of the power of Jesus' name.

WANTED: One Baptismal Tank
As evidenced by the above paragraph, many (even most) of the inmates see a need to get baptized in Jesus' name immediately. Unfortunately, the jail does not have any way for us to baptize with immersion. Please pray with us that a door opens so that we can get these men baptized! I believe that if we pray with faith, this door can be opened.

Unexpected Violence

Due to the extended Bible study in Block C, we only had a limited time to speak with Blocks A and B, so Jereme and I decided to split up. I walked him over to Block A and reintroduced him to the group since he had not been to the prison in a month and a half. (Keep in mind that our Block A Bible studies have been off-the-charts.)

I went over to minister to Block B. Ten minutes later, as I was praying with a group of inmates, I heard from around the corner several of the Block A inmates razzing Jereme and giving him a hard time. I heard Scripture being quoted loudly by one of the inmates as he was trying to debate Jereme on the Godhead. He thought Jesus was the Son of God, but not God Himself.

Fearing an incident, I quickly wrapped up my prayer, and went to rejoin Jereme. The inmate with the contention was a man who was supposed to get out last week, and had never participated in our studies before. In my opinion he was frustrated with his situation and decided to take it out on Jereme. Although I generally find theological debate in this setting unfruitful, we could not let such an insistent fallacy stand without correction. Too many of the other inmates might get confused if we allowed this inmate to get the last word on whether Jesus could be revered as God in the flesh.

As the debate raged, the guards' door swung open suddenly. The guard said, “We gotta get you outta here quick! A couple of inmates got in a fight, one of 'em got hurt, and the administrator is on his way. We can't let him find you up here. You guys gotta go now!” We quickly gathered our Bibles and went back downstairs. The night ended abruptly.

Strange Fruitfulness
All in all, it was a strange but productive week of prison ministry. God has been faithful to meet us at the prison bars, and it appears He has given us favor with one of the prison guards. A special thanks to all of you who cover us in prayer. Keep praying that we can get a baptismal tank inside the facility.

ninetyandnine.com

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Chris Anderson is the Editorial Designer for Word Aflame Publications. He also serves as Children's Minister under Pastor Thomas Suey at South Central Regional Apostolic/Christ Tabernacle in Herrick, IL. Anderson did not know what to expect when asked to participate in Free Indeed. Thus far he has felt intimacy with Christ like no other ministerial opportunity.