The End of the Saints Season and the Start of the Bears Season- 9/12/26 Pittsfield WC and Jacksonville CC Follow Up

I had no intention of bringing up John Madden and his classic video game series two posts in a row but I don't think I can avoid it.  

The Bears won 59-37 on Sunday.  That score did not feel like a real life score because that is the kind of score that I get when I sit down and play Madden on the Xbox.  

That is the kind of score I get when video game Jay Cutler is hitting his targets and making some big throws down field to video game Devin Hester. 

(Note to self, it may be time to get an updated copy of the game!)

The older I get, the more I enjoy the fall season of the year.  Not just because of football, but I enjoy the hooded sweatshirt season, the weather, and having an excuse to eat an unlimited number of the small Nestle Crunch candy bars in October!

One thing that fall brings as well is the end of the Saints season.  

While I'm sad that the season is over, I am overjoyed with how the Lord worked in our ministry and with our team this summer.  

The Lord provided new places for our team to minister, new faces to minister alongside, and hundreds of inmates to share the Gospel with in prison.  

This last Saturday was a perfect bookend to a really good year for our team in Illinois.  

We met up last Saturday in Morton for our final trip of the year.  We loaded our vehicles up with all of the equipment such as bats, balls, several hundred Gospels of John, tracts, and our sound system.  We then spent a few minutes taking turns praying for the day and praying for the men that we will see.  

We started down the road to Pittsfield.  Pittsfield is about two hours away from Morton.  I enjoy making this trip in the early fall as the leaves are starting to change and farmers are beginning to harvest.

We made our way to the Pittsfield McDonalds and we enjoyed a good breakfast as a team.  There was a long table, and we enjoyed eating, talking, and making fun of each other.

After breakfast, we made our way to the prison.  The Pittsfield Work Camp is outside of town.  On the other side of the outfield wall is a horse pasture!

We got signed in and the staff checked our equipment before we walked out to the prison yard.  

The Pittsfield softball field is a fun field to play on.  It has a grass infield and the outfield fences are pretty close to what you would see in most park district fields.  

We started the first game and we were sluggish in every aspect of the game.  The Pittsfield team grabbed an early lead.  In terms of softball, we just didn't look right but eventually we tied the game and traded some leads with them until we eventually pulled ahead for an easy win. 

In between games, Robert Cook shared his testimony with the men and Brent Gerber shared the Gospel.  Several of our guys had good conversations with the men out in the yard after we were done preaching.  

We played and won a time-shortened second game.

After the game was over, we circled up with the men on the pitcher's mound and handed out some MVP award books to the best players on the day.  We then spent some time encouraging them to consider the Gospel message that was preached to them today and consider where they stood with the Lord. 

Overall on the day at Pittsfield, we handed out 68 Gospels and had 5 men make professions of faith.  

We left Pittsfield and made the drive to Jacksonville.  We stopped at the Jacksonville Casey's gas station and made a mad dash through the store to get some pizza and whatever else we could find that was hot and ready.  We ate in the parking lot and then loaded back up and made our way to the prison.  

We made our way through security and onto the field.  Once again, we got off to a sluggish start but we quickly recovered and cruised to an easy win.  In between games, I shared my testimony and Kyle Krall shared the Gospel.  

After Kyle shared the Gospel I talked with a younger guy who indicated that he made a profession.  I did my best to walk through the Gospel with him again to make sure that he understood where he stood with God.  I think his profession was genuine but please continue to pray for him and the other men who made professions at Jacksonville.  

We played a time-shortened game and won the last game of the year fairly easily.

After the game we circled up on the pitcher's mound one last time and handed out some award books to the umpires and MVPs.  We then encouraged the men to not postpone repenting and believing in Jesus before we prayed with them.  

Overall on the day at Jacksonville, we handed out 62 Gospels and had 6 men make professions of faith in Christ.  

We made our way out of the prison and we huddled up in the parking lot and shared some praises for how the Lord worked in both of the prisons and for the way He provided for our team all year long.  We prayed as a team and then left the prison for a dinner stop in Springfield which included some world famous horseshoe sandwiches.  It was also fun watching the Cubs and U of I football game as a team during our dinner.

We left Springfield and made our way back home.  Everyone shared some handshakes and hugs in the parking lot before everyone went home.  

This was a really special year, and, once again, it was cool to see how God worked through new prisons, new teammates, and all of the different circumstances this year.  

Overall on the year, we visited 9 different prisons over 7 dates.  We handed out 1088 Gospels, and had 136 men indicate that they made a profession of faith.  

The Saints did several bigger trips this summer and I was blessed to go on two of them-  Texas in March and Southern Illinois in July.  

While I am looking forward to some rest for my elbow and my knees, I am absolutely stoked about the 2027 season and being part of what the Lord is going to do to spread His Word in prisons across the country.  

Thank you for supporting and praying for our team this summer!

Heading into the Last Lap of the Year!- Saints Visit Pittsfield WC and Jacksonville CC!

Hey, here is something that you don't know about me:  

I once won a Madden video game tournament at a Walmart.

In the first round I beat another guy who was about my age, I knocked out a kid from Bradley University in the semi-finals, and then I absolutely destroyed the 11 year old who won his side of the bracket and had to face me in the championship game.  

For one day I was the World Champion of the Allen Road Walmart Madden Tournament!

Another little known thing I don't share often is that I used to be a little bit of a runner.  I wasn't a good runner but I had a few years where I ran consistently.  I don't really enjoy running but it always felt good to know that I accomplished something hard.  A few years ago there is one morning I ran 13.1 miles- a half marathon.  Nothing was pleasant about that run.  It was hard and it was incredibly boring running around the local grade school dozens of times until I got to 13.1 miles.  

My favorite part of the run was knowing that I was finally on my last lap.  I dug down a little deeper and tried my best to finish with my strongest run.  When I finally looked down at my phone and saw that I made it to 13.1 miles I knew that was an incredible feeling.  I was absolutely exhausted and every muscle hurt but that felt incredible to know that months of training paid off and I did everything I could to accomplish that half marathon.  

We are coming up on our last Saints date of the year.  Just like that big run, there is a big part of me that is looking forward to the rest after this last lap of the season, but it is so cool to look back and see how God worked this past year.  In a lot of ways this has been one of my favorite seasons- if not my favorite season in the ministry.  Our Illinois team was able to go to four new prisons that we have never been to, I was able to make a trip back to Texas to minister in some big Federal prisons with some incredible teammates, I was able to travel on a Crusade to the Southern part of Illinois to go to FCI Marion which is one of the most infamous prisons in the country, and our Illinois team got to return to FCI Greenville- the place where our Illinois team played their first game back in 2012.  We also welcomed a few new faces to our team and saw God do some incredible things in the ministry this year.  

Thank you for praying for our team so far this year.  Please pray that we are able to finish strong and are faithful when we share the Gospel this weekend!

Philippians 1:3-6- I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

The original plan for this weekend was to go to Sheridan CC, but, unfortunately, they had to cancel.  Our Director of Team Operations was able to quickly pivot and get us scheduled to visit Pittsfield Work Camp and Jacksonville CC.  We have been there several times over the years, and it will be exciting to share the Gospel and play some softball there!

During the morning session at Pittsfield, Robert Cook will be sharing his testimony and Brent Gerber will be sharing the Gospel.  

During the afternoon session at Jacksonville, I will be sharing my testimony and Kyle Krall will be sharing the Gospel.  

Please keep our team in prayer as we travel, play softball, and share the Gospel throughout the entire day!

It has been a good season, and I'm looking forward to finishing strong!

PRAISES

• Last month we visited FCI Thomson.  We went 2-1 on the field, handed out 346 Gospels of John and we saw 52 men make professions of faith.  
• My son and Missionary Athlete, Joe Gibson had successful triple jaw surgery last month.  He is recovering well and is making some strides towards eating solid food again!
• My wife, Kelly had a medical procedure this week and is recovering at home for a couple of weeks.
• We often bring up the prayer request that God works in the hearts of the men that we will see.  God has answered that prayer request all year but it was cool how many good conversations we had with men who were eager to hear about the Gospel.  
• We have had the opportunity to meet with some men who are interested in the ministry and who will be joining us later this year- this is an answer to prayer!

PRAYER REQUESTS

• Pray that God continues to keep the doors open for our last visit this weekend. 
• Pray for all of the other teams going out over the last month of our season. 
• Pray for the hearts of the inmates we will see the rest of this summer. Pray that God draws their hearts to Himself.
• Pray that God provides more missionary athletes across the country for all of the opportunities to go in and share the Gospel!
• Pray for the hearts of our own missionary athletes and pray that we are bold in our prayer lives and bold sharing the Gospel this summer.
• Pray for the upcoming Angola, Louisiana trip coming up next week.
• Continue to pray for Joe’s recovery.
• Continue to pray for Kelly's recovery.

A Forgotten Super Mario Game and an Unforgettable day at FCI Thomson! 8/29/26 FCI Thomson Follow Up

Super Mario Bros: "The Lost Levels" is a frustrating game that probably affected my blood pressure this past weekend. 

"The Lost Levels" was a game that was never released in the US when it came out in the late 80's in Japan because of the complexity of the game which made it not as fun to play.  You can read more about the legacy of the game here.  

I played the game with my sons the other night and watched Mario fall to his death dozens of times as I attempted to make him jump across the many gulches in this game.  

Playing this game wasn't on my radar for the other night but it was the byproduct of having my middle son at home while he is recovering from his jaw surgery.  

We are three weeks removed from his surgery and he is making some progress and is getting closer to eating some solid food.  

His recovery from the surgery has been a praise we have shared with each other and with our church family.  

I recently got to lead the Wednesday night devotion before our prayer time at church.  I went through Psalm 111-113.  The Psalmist reminds us over and over again that we are expected to praise the Lord.  There are so many things about the ministry that need to work out in order for us to do what we do.  We are dealing with the government, transportation, team sports, and ministry- all at the same time!  

God has been merciful and has answered prayers over the years and has blessed us with the Gospel opportunities that He has provided.  

Our last visit to FCI Thomson was a day full of praises for the Lord!

Last Saturday (8/29/26), we met up at my church at 4 AM and packed up our gear.  We spent some time in prayer as a team before departing north for Thomson, IL.  Usually our drives are full of bean and corn fields in the dark.   This time we took a route where we got to see Iowa on the other side of the Mississippi on the the western side of Illinois.  

Of course, this route was in the dark as well.  

We made a quick breakfast stop at the local Casey's which involved breakfast pizza, bottles of protein shakes, and my personal favorite, Casey's donuts!

We departed the Casey's and we arrived at the prison on time and made our way through the security process.  The walk to the field from the entryway was actually shorter than most prisons.  

The field is a multi-sport recreation yard so it wasn't quite a true softball field- there was a walking track that went through the outfield, a huge light tower in center field, and a basketball court in left center field.  However, it made for one of the more fun and interesting fields we have played on all year.  

We started our first game, and the game was a hard-fought one.  We went back and forth for several innings before taking a break for our ministry time.  

Josh Thompson who is in his first year of the ministry, shared his testimony of how he came to know the Lord.  After Josh shared his testimony, Kris Mettelmann shared the Gospel with a big crowd.  

After the ministry time, we continued our game and squeaked out a one-run victory!  After the game we circled up with the men and handed out some award books to the umpires and team MVPs.  

After we finished up the first half of the day, we made our way back out of the prison and had a really quick lunch at the same Casey's gas station.  It was still around 10 am so we did our best with some more Casey's breakfast food and whatever we could find in the food aisles of the store.  

After lunch, we made our way back to the prison and got ready to play a new team and minister to a different crowd of men.  We came out with one of our best offensive games of the year and cruised to an easy win.  

In between games, Ray Koonce shared his testimony and I shared the Gospel with another big crowd.  

After I got done preaching, I had a conversation with a man who was from India who said he was Hindu but he believed in Jesus.  Unfortunately, there was lots of broken English and we had trouble communicating.  He said he wanted to write to me to continue the conversation.  Please pray for this man and that he follows through with writing to the ministry.  

We played a third game and lost on a tough walk-off hit.  It wasn't fun losing but it was cool to see their team celebrate as though they won the World Series!

We circled up on the pitcher's mound one more time and handed out some MVP awards.  Kris Mettelmann challenged the men on where they stood with Christ and encouraged them to believe and repent before praying with them.  

Overall on the day we went 2-1 on the field, handed out 346 Gospels of John and we saw 52 men make professions of faith.  

We huddled up outside the prison and we shared our stories about the day.  Several guys had stories of one on one conversations where they were able to share the Gospel.  One of the biggest blessing as the coach of the team is hearing our men share praises about how God worked and provided opportunities to share the Gospel.  

We made our trip back home along the Mississippi.  This is actually one of my favorite drives home as we went through several small towns and villages along the river.  

We stopped at a local restaurant on the way for a meal which included some incredible cheese fries and Midwest tenderloin sandwiches!

We made it back to the church and unloaded all of our stuff, gave each other some handshakes and hugs, and then headed home to promptly go back to bed after the early start time.  

Our next date is 9/12.  It was supposed to be a visit to Sheridan CC, but they had to cancel.  

However, our Director of Team Operations was able to work the phones and get us into the Pittsfield WC and Jacksonville CC.  We have visited both prisons before several times and we are looking forward to wrapping up our season there!

Thank you for praying for our trip and for praying for the ministry!

Name Dropping and a New Prison! Saints visit FCI Thomson Tomorrow!

My good friend, John MacArthur, once told me that it is not cool to name-drop people.  

No, I never met the late John MacArthur, but I have benefited from some of his teaching material over the years.  

One of the things I appreciated about the ministry of John MacArthur is his reading plan.  

You can find a link to the plan here.  

I am currently going through the middle section of the book of Matthew.  There is one verse in chapter 15 that I have been convicted by as I have read through it.  

Jesus is talking to the Pharisees and quotes Isaiah in verse 8:

Matthew 15:8-  “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.”

This verse was intended for the hard-hearted Pharisees who loved their rules.  It did strike my heart as I pondered the verse.  I felt convicted about the times I talk a good game but my heart for the Lord is checked out and focused on something else.  

This month as I have listened to the passage, I have tried my best to pray that my heart will honor Him and that He will protect my heart from wanting to serve anything but Him!

This Saturday our Saints Prison Ministry Illinois softball team is heading to FCI Thomson.  This will be the first time a Saints team has ever visited Thomson.  

We are planning on having two different speaking times and planning on playing 3-4 softball games and hopefully seeing a couple hundred guys out in the yard.  

During the first session of the day, Josh Thompson will be sharing his testimony and Kris Mettelmann will be sharing the Gospel.  

During the afternoon session, Ray Koonce will be sharing his testimony and I will be sharing the Gospel.  

This will be another really early morning, but the weather is looking fantastic for a day filled with softball.  

Thank you to everyone who has been praying this year.  It has been a blessing to continue to share the Gospel in Prison with the Saints Prison Ministry!

IN OTHER NEWS....

My plan next month was to be on the Louisiana State Prison trip.  Unfortunately, Kelly has a medical procedure scheduled and I won’t be able to make that trip.  Please pray for the men who are serving on that trip and that the Gospel is proclaimed boldly.  

PRAISES

• Earlier this month we visited FCI Greenville and we handed out 347 Gospels and saw 28 men make professions of faith during our time there.
• My son and Missionary Athlete, Joe Gibson had successful triple jaw surgery.  He is recovering well and is counting down the days until he can move on from his liquid-only diet!
• We often bring up the prayer request that God works in the hearts of the men that we will see.  God has answered that prayer request all year but it was cool how many good conversations we had with men who were eager to hear about the Gospel.  
• We had a prison back out for our 9/12 visit but we had the date filled by another prison the next day.  
• We have had the opportunity to meet with some men who are interested in the ministry and who will be joining us later this year- this is an answer to prayer!

PRAYER REQUESTS

• Pray that God continues to keep the doors open for our remaining Illinois visits. 
• Pray for all of the other teams going out this coming week.
• Pray for the hearts of the inmates we will see the rest of this summer. Pray that God draws their hearts to Himself.
• Pray that God provides more missionary athletes across the country for all of the opportunities to go in and share the Gospel!
• Pray for the hearts of our own missionary athletes and pray that we are bold in our prayer lives and bold sharing the Gospel this summer.
• Pray for the upcoming Angola, Louisiana trip coming up in September.
• Continue to pray for Joe’s recovery
• Pray for Kelly’s procedure and her recovery next month

The Ohio Anniversary and a Return to Greenville- 8/8/26 FCI Greenville Follow Up

Today (8/11) marks 15 years since I played my first softball game with the Saints in Toledo Correctional Institution.  That trip changed my life in so many ways and God has been so faithful since that fateful trip.  I'm thankful for the men on that trip who modeled what it meant to take the Gospel to prison.  They also modeled having fun playing softball and enjoying team meals!

Since then, I have made 229 visits to prisons across the country.  Out of those 229 visits, there are so many that are memorable and special but one of the most special if not the most special is FCI Greenville.  

2011 Ohio Crusade Team

Greenville was the first place that our Illinois team went in 2012.  Those of us who made that first visit remember everything about the day.  We remember the sound of the gate being pulled shut behind us as we walked into the yard and we remember just how good the Greenville team was and just how far we were in over our heads!

2012 First Visit Team

One of the special things about Greenville is this has always been the model of a Saints day.  There is a big crowd that will stick around and watch the game.  There is competitive softball- this is a challenge and a thrill all at the same time.  And, there is a supportive administration that helps facilitate the day so we can share the Gospel with the men.  

This Saturday met and exceeded all of those expectations and made this visit one of my all time favorite visits our Illinois team has ever made.  

Saturday our team met up to prepare for the day at Greenville.  Because of the early yard time, we met at 4 AM to pack up and then pray for the day.  After we prayed, we drove for a while in the dark until we got to Greenville.  We stopped for a restroom break and then made it to the prison on time by 7 AM.  We went through the security process and made our way out to the field.  We got to meet several guys on the Greenville team once we got out to the softball diamond.  Our team got some warmup throws in before we huddled up as a team.  During our huddle we discuss the ground rules for the game, go over the lineup, discuss the ministry portion of the day, and pray as a team.  

The game was really close to begin with.  We had to break early for ministry time because several guys in the crowd were going back in before we could complete our game.  

We paused our game and Hunter Stewart shared his testimony about how he came to know the Lord.  After Hunter’s testimony, Kris Mettelmann shared the Gospel.  

After the testimony and Gospel message, we have some time with the men as they fill out response cards and prayer requests.  I had an opportunity to talk to a young man about where he stood with the Lord.  He marked on his response card that he decided to follow the Lord.  I wanted to make sure that he understood where he stood with God so I asked him, “If you were to die today and meet God at the front gates of heaven, and if He were to ask you, “Why should I let you in?” what would you say?”  This opened a door to walk through the Gospel and explain that our good works don’t save us.  It is only by putting our faith in what Jesus did on the cross.  

Several guys on our team also had some good one on one conversations as well during this time.  

We transitioned out of ministry mode and right back into game mode.  After the ministry time, we came out of the gate scoring runs and put the game out of reach.  

After the win, we circled up with the men in the yard.  During our closing circle time, we handed out some award books to the umpires and the team MVP.  After this we prayed with them and told them to consider the message that was preached to them and encouraged them to follow Jesus.  

While we were putting our equipment away in the recreation director’s office, we had an opportunity to talk to a guy who wanted to know how to know Jesus.  Bruce Buri and I walked him through the Gospel and that it is only by faith in what Jesus did on the cross that we can be saved.  I also told him that a call to believe is also a call to repent and make Jesus the King of your life.  We were able to pray with the man while we were leaving the yard.  

We left the field and made our way back through the front gates of the prison.  The Education Director and the Recreation Director took us to a local diner for a breakfast/lunch.  We enjoyed some time as a team eating diner food, making fun of each other, and sharing stories about the first half of the day.  

We got back to the prison and we had a little bit of time in an air conditioned workout room.  Some of our team rode an exercise bike to stay loose while some of us got to play some drums and guitar in an adjacent music room.  

Once the staff was ready, we made our way back to the field and prepared for game 2.  Unfortunately, our lunch was a little too good and as a result, we had trouble getting the bats going and we suffered our first defeat of the year.  

After the game, Jon Isbell shared his testimony of how he came to know the Lord and Kyle Krall shared the Gospel.  

After Kyle shared the Gospel, I had another opportunity to talk to a guy who was indicating that he was making a profession of faith and walk him through the Gospel.  

We started the third game and the game went back and forth for several innings.  We were the “home team” for the last game.  The score was tied in the last inning.  James Mast hit a deep fly ball and one of the Greenville outfielders raced back toward the outfield wall- which is also a perimeter prison fence covered in razor wire.  The outfielder jumped up and got hung up in the razor wire which delayed and eventually ended the game.  

The staff immediately provided medical attention to this man and helped him off the field.  

Please pray for “JD” the outfielder and his recovery.  

We then circled up with the men one last time to hand out some award books and pray with them one last time.  

Overall on the day we won 2 games and lost 1 game.  

We handed out 347 Gospels of John and saw 28 men make professions of faith.  

We huddled up one last time and shared praises about how God worked during the day in the conversations that we had with the men.  We then spent some time in prayer as a team, thanking God for the day that we had and for the way that He worked.  At the very end, we huddled up around one of our teammates who lost his job the night before and we prayed for him as a team.  

We made the trip back home while making a stop at Darcy’s Pint in Springfield to get the best horseshoe sandwich on the planet!-  Springfield is known as the legendary home of the horseshoe sandwich!

Eventually we made our way back home.  This was one of the best prison visits in my 15 years with the ministry and it was an answer to prayer in so many ways.  Thank you for praying as God answered prayer about the Gospel going out to the prison and He answered prayer about having good Gospel conversations with the men we saw in the yard!

Our next time out is August 29th as we make our first ever visit to FCI Thomson.  

Thank you again for praying and supporting our team this summer!  

The Trading Deadline and a Return to Where it All Started- Saints go to FCI Greenville on Saturday!

This past week my beloved Chicago Cubs made some trades to try and get better for a hopeful upcoming playoff push.  

Some of the moves were exciting…and, some of the moves were head scratchers...but, at the end of the day, the Cubs made roster moves that should help them finish strong. 

This past Sunday our church went through Acts 23 during our worship service.  The first point of the message was about finishing well. 

Acts 23:1 says:

Acts 23:1-  And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. 

My goal, and the goal of every missionary athlete across the country should be to say the same thing once we get to the end of the season.  We should all want to finish strong.  We should have a clear conscience that we gave everything we had.  

I have some prayer requests for our team at the end of this email but please pray for me, my teammates, and the other Saints teams across the country that we finish well this year.  Please pray for me that I am faithfully in God’s Word, faithfully praying, and faithfully sharing the Gospel in prison during the remaining month and a half of the season.  

This Saturday we are going to FCI Greenville for the first time in 11 years.  FCI Greenville is the very first visit for our Illinois team way back in 2012.  It is exciting to finally get a chance to go back and revisit where it all started!

There will be some time to be nostalgic but there will be softball to be played and some time to minister to the men we see as well!

We are planning on having two speaking times and will hopefully see a few hundred guys.  

During our morning session, we will play two games and share the Gospel in between.  Hunter Stewart will share his testimony and Kris Mettelmann will share the Gospel.  During the afternoon session, we will play another two games.  Jon Isbell will share his testimony, and Kyle Krall will share the Gospel.  

This will be another really early morning and it will be a little hot toward the end of the day so please pray that we can stay strong throughout the day.  

Thank you to everyone who has been praying this year.  It has been a blessing to continue to share the Gospel in Prison with the Saints Prison Ministry!

IN OTHER NEWS....

My plan next week was to head to New Hampshire for a four day trip to visit four different prisons.  Unfortunately, the scheduling with the prisons fell apart and the trip was cancelled.  This is a bummer and a tough pill to swallow as several Missionary Athletes from across the country were looking forward to traveling and sharing the Gospel.  However, this is in God's perfect timing.  

PRAISES

• During our last outing at Southwestern IL CC, we handed out 43 Gospels and saw 6 men make professions of faith during our time there.
• Earlier this month we had a Crusade to Southern IL.  We visited three prisons, handed out approximately 330 Gospels of John, and had 42 men indicate that they made a profession of faith.  
• Things are coming together for our upcoming trips to New Hampshire, and Angola, LA.  
• God has been good to us and allowed our Illinois team to minister without any cancellations so far this year.  
• We have had the opportunity to meet with some men who are interested in the ministry and who will be joining us later this year- this is an answer to prayer!

PRAYER REQUESTS

• Pray that God continues to keep the doors open for our remaining three Illinois visits. 
• Pray for all of the other teams going out this coming week.
• Pray for the hearts of the inmates we will see the rest of this summer. Pray that God draws their hearts to Himself.
• Pray that God provides more missionary athletes across the country for all of the opportunities to go in and share the Gospel!
• Pray for the hearts of our own missionary athletes and pray that we are bold in our prayer lives and bold sharing the Gospel this summer.
• Pray for the upcoming Angola, Louisiana trip coming up in September.
• My son, and Saints teammate, Joe, is having jaw surgery in less than two weeks. Please pray for the surgery and his recovery.

A Fun Day Despite Being Nearby St. Louis!- Southwestern IL CC Follow Up

I've got better things to do than go to St. Louis.  

As an avid Chicago Cubs fan, I typically get my nose rubbed in it about how much better the St. Louis Cardinals have been over the years than the Cubs so driving to a town with a concentrated population of Cardinal fans isn't at the top of my list.  

But, in God's perfect sovereignty and perfect sense of humor, I found myself looking out the team van window and seeing the big arch as we made our trip to prison last Saturday.  

Hey, at least we got to go to prison rather than Busch Stadium!

Our team met up at the Morton McDonald's at 4 am on Saturday morning.  We were all a little sluggish that early in the morning but it was encouraging to hear several guys pray before we started our drive.  We stopped for breakfast and a quick bathroom stop about 20 minutes away from the prison.  

We arrived on time and made our way through security.  We went out to the yard and had a chance to get some throws in before the men came out to join us on the field.  We went over some ground rules and started our game.  

The first Southwestern team hadn't had much time to get out and play softball so we won the game rather convincingly.  

In between games, Joe Gibson shared his testimony with the men.  This was Joe's first time sharing his testimony and he did a really good job.  When Joe was done, I shared the Gospel with the men.  

We then had a few moments to circle up with the men and hand out some awards books to the umpires and we recognized a team MVP from their team.  Brent Gerber reminded the men of the Gospel and of their need to believe and repent.  

We then got to go back into the staff dining area and enjoy a really early lunch.  

After lunch we went back out to the field and played two more games against a different group of men.  

In between games, James Mast shared his testimony with the men and Brent Gerber shared the Gospel.  During this time, I had an opportunity to sit down with the three men who helped set up the field.  They sat off by themselves.  I talked with them for a bit and I shared what it meant to have a relationship with Jesus.  Please pray for these three guys.  

The games weren't really that competitive and we won both rather easily.  We spent the end of the day just letting them hit.  

We circled up with the men one more time before we left.  We acknowledged the team MVP and gave him an award book.  

Overall on the day, we handed out close 40 Gospels of John and saw 6 men make professions of faith.  

We departed the prison and made our way to Litchfield for some Chicago style deep dish pizza.  Unfortunately, the place was packed so we went a block over for some Mexican food.  

A few days later, we got a couple of really encouraging notes from the warden and the chaplain of the prison.  

The chaplain said:  

"Just wanted to let you know that the Saints Prison Ministry went fantastic today. The guys thoroughly enjoyed the day. There were no injuries. The Good News was shared. Thank you for supporting these volunteer services. Many of the men expressed their appreciation for being able to participate in the event. I am looking forward to hearing more good reports about decisions made and lives changed.

In case you are interested, the 1&2 house team scored just 2 runs against the Saints while the 3&4 house team scored 10! They are the clear winners of today’s games!"

And the warden said:

"Awesome SWICC! Let’s Go!  

Rev Cochran and Saints Ministries,

Thank you for spending your time, your hearts, and your energy with the individuals in custody through the game of softball. What may have seemed like a simple game became something much greater- it became an opportunity to inspire hope, build meaningful connections, and remind others that new beginnings are always possible. 

Thank you for being today’s light at our facility. Your ministry is making a lasting difference, and we are truly grateful for your partnership. "

Anytime we get a note like that, it is very encouraging.  

Please keep praying for the men there and pray for our team as we get ready to head to FCI Greenville next month!

The Key to Prison Ministry is to Not Lose the Keys!- Saints Visit Southwestern CC this Weekend!

Last week was filled with several blessing and praises as we traveled through Southern Illinois going to three different prisons in four days.  

I got several "atta boys" for taking care of getting equipment to the Crusade, making sure rental cars were picked up and dropped back off, and even a few high fives on some timely hitting during the games.  

Those things always feel good but there are also times that we just mess up.  

We were on our way to the prison on our last day of the trip.  I was in a rental car with the fancy key fobs that newer cars have.  I kept it in the middle console while I was driving.  

We had a tight window to get breakfast before we arrived at the prison so we got our food to go.  I ate my sausage biscuit and threw the McDonald’s wrapper in the middle console as we made good time down the road.  

We stopped at a gas station about 30 minutes away from the prison.  I shut the car off, grabbed my McDonald’s wrappers and threw them out in the trash before going into the gas station to use the bathroom.  

When I came back out, I could not find the keys.  I double traced my steps and was panicking now because of the tight schedule we were on.  I felt the pressure from my teammates as I tried to find the keys.  I kept on retracing my steps but after a couple of minutes, my roommate, Ernie Bergvall, reminded me that I threw some trash out before going in.  

I sprinted over to the trashcan and began going through the gas station trash.  

Sure enough, I found the keys in the trash.  

I managed to accidentally throw out the keys to the rental car.  I ran back inside to wash my hands but from that point on, I wasn’t the guy who took care of the equipment, or the guy who started the Illinois team, or the guy who was known for being a good teammate…I was the idiot who threw out the keys to the rental car!

My teammates gave me some good natured teasing about this but just like every Saints trip I have ever been on, I fell short of having a perfect Saints trip.  

I look back on that and laugh now but it is another reminder that no matter how hard I try, I am going to come up short in softball, electrical work, parenting, and apparently keeping track of keys.  I long for the time when I will get to be with the Lord forever in a perfect reality where I can worship Him in a reality that isn’t affected by my sin and my flaws.  

We got the opportunity to share the good news of the Gospel and how men can spend their eternity with Him this past week and we get that same opportunity again this weekend!

This weekend we are going to Southwestern IL CC in East St. Louis.  This will be our third trip there as a team.  

We are planning on having two speaking times and will hopefully see around 80 guys.  

During our morning session, we will play two games and share the Gospel in between.  Joe Gibson will share his testimony and I will share the Gospel.  During the afternoon session, we will play another two games.  James Mast will share his testimony, and Brent Gerber will share the Gospel.  

It is going to be an early morning and a hot afternoon of softball so please pray for us as we navigate the day on and off the field!

Thank you to everyone who has been praying this year.  It has been a blessing to continue to share the Gospel in Prison with the Saints Prison Ministry!

PRAISES

• During our last outing at Hill CC, we handed out 76 Gospels and saw 14 men make professions of faith during our time there.
• The Southern IL Crusade went well! We visited three prisons, handed out approximately 330 Gospels of John, and had 42 men indicate that they made a profession of faith.  (The update posts from that trip will come out soon!)
• Things are coming together for our upcoming trips to Southern IL, New Hampshire, and Angola, LA.
• Praise the Lord that the cancellations this year have been minimal!

PRAYER REQUESTS

• Pray that God continues to keep the doors open the rest of the year for us to minister
• Pray for all of the other teams going out this coming week.
• Pray for the hearts of the inmates we will see this summer. Pray that God draws their hearts to Himself.
• Pray that God provides more missionary athletes across the country for all of the opportunities to go in and share the Gospel!
• Pray for the hearts of our own missionary athletes and pray that we are bold in our prayer lives and bold sharing the Gospel this summer.
• Pray for the upcoming New Hampshire and Angola, Louisiana trips coming up over the next couple of months.
• My son, and Saints teammate, Joe, is having jaw surgery next month. Please pray for the surgery and his recovery.

Finishing Like Daniel- Middle America Crusade Day Four Update

I often say, "I hope the Cubs win today" or "I hope this restaurant has my favorite ice cream."

Hope is probably the appropriate word to use in both of those instances but it is a much more powerful word when paired up with the right circumstances. 

As we moved through Daniel 6 as a team in our devotions, our topic for the last night of the trip was:

"Godly Exiles Live and Die in Faith, Looking For the Coming Kingdom"

The exiles started to come back to Jerusalem but as far as we know, Daniel probably never made that journey.  Daniel's life did not work out according to his plan but he was faithful to the end.

Despite living and dying as an exile, Daniel's hope was in the Lord.  This was a good topic to discuss as a team as we know that we need to serve Him faithfully to the end just like Daniel did.  

During our devotion time as a team, we were reminded that God is sovereign and it is our job to be faithful and that our faith will be costly sometimes.  

We woke up early on Saturday because we had a long drive in front of us.  We left the hotel at 5:30 AM.  We grabbed some McDonald's breakfast before making the two and a half hour drive to Robinson.  

We made a brief bathroom stop before arriving in Robinson.  

There is a comical/stressful/embarrassing/blood pressure inducing story that I shared in an earlier blog post about this part of the trip involving a set of keys for the rental car.  

If you missed it or if you feel like you should read it again to feel better about how you handle your car keys, please click here!  

We arrived at the prison on time.  The LTS (Leisure Time Specialist Officer) and Volunteer Coordinator met us in the parking lot and let us know that the field was too wet for softball and that we would be in the gym all day.  

We opened up our day with the men there with a game of wiffleball.  We had fun running around the prison gym.  We lost the first game, unfortunately, but it was fun to see them celebrate a win.  

There were 14 guys in the gym, so the LTS let us use an adjacent classroom for our ministry time.  Matt Schimpf shared his testimony of how he came to know the Lord, and Jon Schimpf shared the Gospel.  

Matt shared his story of how he and his wife battled cancer at the same time and how the Lord helped them through that.  Jon gave a very clear Gospel presentation to the men in the room.  

One of the men in the room was a young man who grew up in Peoria.  I had a chance to talk to him.  I'm not sure where exactly he is with the Lord so please pray for him. 

After our ministry time, the men went to their scheduled lunch period.  The staff brought some food to the gym and we enjoyed some team time together.  

After lunch, we played some games like bags, pickleball, and a little basketball.  This allowed us to have some good conversations with the men.  

After this we finished up the day with a few really fun games of dodgeball.  Prison dodgeball is always fun!

At the end of the day, we huddled up with the men we saw in the gym and prayed with them before going.  

Overall on the day at Robinson, we handed out 14 Gospels and had 2 men make professions of faith.  

We huddled up as a team in the parking lot and shared some praises about the day and the trip.  When we were done, Jon and I headed back home while the rest of the team headed to Indianapolis to catch a flight back East.  

I was able to make it home in time to call in for the team devotions.  Bruce Buri did a good job with the team devotions and it was a joy to walk through Daniel 6 together as a team.  

This was a fun trip and I appreciate all of the men who I got to serve with.  Overall on the trip we handed out over 300 Gospels of John and had 42 men make professions of faith!

A few days later, we got a note from the staff at FCI Marion. 

Our next big trip like this is next month as we travel to New Hampshire and then we travel again to Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola for our last big trip for the year.  

Our Illinois team still has four visits left as well.  

Thank you for praying for our team this summer!  This has been a very busy but very fruitful year for the ministry and I'm looking forward to finishing strong!

Collisions and Consequences- Middle America Crusade Day Three Update

The name "Pete Rose" tends to bring several different things to mind such as:  

• The Hit King
• Lifetime ban from baseball
• The Big Red Machine
• Former USP Marion Inmate

Pete was a complicated character who most certainly left an impact on the game of baseball.  

If you watch any news story or clip about Pete, there is always one highlight they show.  

In the 1970 All-Star game, Pete was rounding third and heading home.  Ray Fosse from the Oakland A’s was playing catcher.  Fosse was blocking the plate and Pete bowled over Fosse and scored the run.  

This is probably the most famous collision in baseball history.  

Rose went in hard, dislodged the ball from Fosse’s glove and Fosse laid injured on the ground. 

Fosse’s career was never the same after that, and Rose was often criticized for the play.  

There were consequences of Fosse blocking the plate and Rose colliding with him.  

Our devotions for this evening took us back to Daniel 6.  The topic for the evening was:  

“Godly Exiles Expect Consequence When Kingdoms Collide “

Daniel was faithfully serving King Darius and was now the second in charge in the kingdom.  Unfortunately, this didn’t sit well with the other officials.  They hated Daniel and they set him up.  

Daniel’s righteous life was colliding with the evil intentions of the officials.  They put a plan in motion to get Daniel killed by some hungry lions.  

Chances are as American Christians, we aren’t going to be fed to some lions for our beliefs but we will face consequences for being followers of Jesus.  During our team devotion time we talked about what this looks like for us as American Christians living in 2026 and how this should affect our lives and how we pray.  

Thanks to the “off day” and the convenience of having a hotel nearby the prison, I got lots of good sleep on this trip but I woke up a few times to the sound of crashing thunder outside.  We got lots and lots of rain overnight.  

We woke up and geared up for a day of softball with some backup plans in the event that we had to move indoors.  

We ate a quick hotel breakfast and loaded up all of our gear for the day into the vans.  We arrived at FCI Marion on time.  FCI Marion was formerly USP Marion which was one of the biggest “Supermax” prisons in the country.  John Gotti, Victor Bout, and the previously mentioned, Pete Rose all spent time there.  

Pete did six months on the camp side of the prison.  The story that was passed down was that Pete really didn’t play but he was the coach of one of the teams.  He would hit infield practice to the other men who played softball during the recreation time.  

We went to the camp side first.  Typically the camp side of a prison is lower security and has guys who are close to going home.  The field on the camp side had taken quite a bit of rain overnight so we had to “invert” the field and play most of the game in the outfield.  We played two games back to back and won both of them fairly easily.  After the games, we went into their gym and shared the Gospel.  Rob Brown from the Northeast team shared his testimony of how he came to know the Lord and how the Lord used missions and some medical issues to use him for ministry.  Jim Jefferson shared the Gospel.  JJ always does a really good job preaching with clarity and passion. 

After our ministry time, we moved to the FCI side of the prison.  We got to enjoy a meal in the staff dining area before heading out to the yard.  This was a big prison yard and they were really excited to have an outside group come in.  I had several guys tell me that they had never seen anything like this during their time in prison and how special it was that guys took a day off to come see them.  

The crowd was wound up and were most certainly engaged in the game.  

The game was close but we pulled away after the first few innings and cruised to an easy victory.  

During the game, I had a few good conversations with some guys on the first base side.  

In between games, Butch Smith shared his testimony and Wayne Errig shared the Gospel.  One hiccup that we had to deal with was the sound system didn’t work but the crowd was respectful, gracious, and quiet.  They moved in closer so that they could hear the words that Butch and Wayne were saying.  

After the ministry time, we started the second game.  We came out of the gate strong and won the game easily.  

After the game, we met with the guys on the pitcher’s mound and handed out some award books to the umpires and team MVPs.  

Overall on the day at Marion, we handed out close to 200 Gospels of John and saw 25 men make professions of faith at the camp and the FCI.  

We left the prison and went back to our hotel to get cleaned up.  We went to a local Texas Roadhouse for dinner.  This was a fun meal and we got to share several stories from years gone by from the teams across the country.  

That evening we had our devotion time.  I really appreciate the time that Bruce Buri spent on the devotions and the time we spent together in Daniel 6.  

A few days after we got home, we received an encouraging note from the staff at FCI Marion:

” I just wanted to take a second to thank you both for the event on July 10th.  The men you sent did a phenomenal job like I have never seen before.  Hundreds of inmates turned out and for one afternoon FCI Marion did not feel like a prison.  In my 20 years, I have not experienced anything like that.  I try not to reflect on many things I've seen in prison because it keeps me up at night.  It is great to have something so positive that I can reflect on now.  I have attached the article and photos we submitted for our website.  Thanks again and god bless.   

And this was the communication shared in the prison:

On Friday, July 10, the Saints Prison Ministry softball team stepped onto the field at FCI Marion and SCP Marion. Facing off against our inmates in spirited games of softball, the visiting team brought much more than just athletic competition—they brought encouragement, hope, and ministry.  

Based out of Philadelphia, this dedicated team features players from across the country. While they all hold down regular jobs, they take the time to raise funds within their own communities to finance their travels to different correctional facilities nationwide.

The energy on the fields were matched by the enthusiasm in the stands, as inmates who weren't playing lined up to cheer on the teams. Many inmates were praying with the Saints players and reading scriptural literature that was available to all inmates. It was a day defined by high spirits, mutual respect, and positive connection. The inmates expressed deep appreciation for the visit and noted that they are hopeful of seeing more events like this in the future, leaving everyone involved with great memories of a game well played.

Faithfully Serving Wherever God has Placed Us- Middle America Crusade Day Two Update

Day one of the trip had everything you could have asked for in a Saints trip.  There were no travel hiccups, there was really good team chemistry off the bat, good softball, the ministry end of the day was executed to perfection, we had some good team meals, the devotions were solid, and to really make it an official perfect day, there was ice cream at the end of the day!  Our first day gameplan was pretty much drawn up on the whiteboard and executed perfectly!

Day two did not go the way we drew it up…

…However, we had an opportunity to do what we talked about during our devotion time the night before…

“Godly Exiles Serve Faithfully Wherever God has Placed Them”

The two prisons that we planned on visiting were cancelled because they had to go on lockdown.  We found that out right before we left for the trip so we knew that we would be facing a “free day”.  

We got a little extra sleep and had a decent breakfast.  A few of us ran across the road to the Krispy Kreme for a Hot and Fresh donut.  

The leadership on the team contacted a couple of Rescue Missions/Food Pantries in Marion to see if they needed any help for the day.  

We went to The Promise Mission in town.  We met the director of the mission and heard about all that they do to serve the homeless in their community.  

We helped by picking up some trash around the mission, doing some painting, assisting with some plumbing, and cleaning some rugs.  

Our team did a good job interacting with the folks at the mission and there were several guys who had good conversations.  I had a few opportunities to talk to some of the guys who stopped by there and did my best to try and bring the Gospel into those conversations.  

About halfway through the day, part of our team went over to the Lighthouse Shelter across town to help with some cleaning and organizing.  

It was humbling hanging out with some guys who were homeless and were in need on several different levels.  Please pray for these men and women. 

We left the missions and made our way back to the hotel.  We got cleaned up and went to a local BBQ place for dinner.  

After dinner, we went to a local bowling alley and did some bowling.  This was a blast as we made fun of each other’s scores and cheered for each other as we knocked down some strikes.  

When we got back to the hotel, we met for our team devotions.  

We were still in Daniel 6 and our topic for the evening was:

“Godly Exiles Stay Loyal to God Above All Earthly Powers”

In Daniel 6, the high officials and satraps didn’t like Daniel and tried to set him up to die in a pit of lions.  

Their plan was to have King Darius sign off on a law that no one could pray to any god or man except the king.  The king signed off on the law.  Daniel heard about this and was still faithful to Lord by praying to Him in front of an open window where everyone could see him.  The king doesn’t want to but he has Daniel put into the pit of lions.  Daniel is protected by the Lord and survives the lions.  The king then has the officials and satraps thrown into the pit and they of course become Old Testament cat food.  

We discussed the applications of this and discussed that it is convicting for our prayer lives since we probably don’t pray as often as Daniel.  We also talked about what it looks like to stand up for ourselves in a world that hates the Lord and to be bold to identify as believers in Jesus Christ in an unbelieving world.  

After our devotion time, we got to sleep to get ready for a full of day of time in one of the most historic Federal prisons in the country!