Dear Friends and Family,
With the calendar rolling over to 2018, I am looking forward to playing softball and sharing the Gospel in prison this summer with the Saints Prison Ministry (www.saintsprisonministry.org). 2017 was the most fun, most rewarding, and busiest year I have ever had while serving with the Saints Prison Ministry, and I am looking forward to what God is going to do in 2018!
2017 YEAR IN REVIEW
Angola Adventure Crusade – March 15-19
Angola, Louisiana is home to the largest maximum in the United States. We made a brief visit thedre in 2014 but this time we had the opportunity to spend an entire week. We visited 7 different populations, saw 51 men make professions of faith, and handed out over 600 Gospels of John.
Lake Erie Crusade – July 12-16
Ohio holds a dear place in my heart because that is where I went on my first Saints trip in 2011. I spent the first day of the trip at O’Hare airport in Chicago because of flight delays but I was still able to travel to seven different prisons. Overall on the trip 85 men indicated that they had made a first-time profession of faith, and we handed out 1527 Gospels of John.
Land of Tomorrow Crusade – August 17-20
This was an unexpected trip to Kentucky, but, due to the New Jersey team being short on Missionary Athletes, two other guys from the Central Illinois team and I had the opportunity to join the New Jersey team for the last few days of this trip. We visited 3 different prisons and saw 28 men make decisions to follow Jesus. We also handed out over 500 Gospels of John.
2017 Central Illinois Team
Our team in Central Illinois had a great 2017 season. We visited eight different prisons. For the first time in our team’s six year history, all of our visits were to places that we have previously been, so we were able to see many familiar faces. Our team also sent five different Missionary Athletes on the 2017 Crusades to Louisiana, Ohio, and Kentucky.
Somewhere between our first trip to FCI Greenville in 2012 and our trip home last fall from Robinson CC, our team has really become a veteran group of prison ministers. This is a solid group of men who love the Lord and want to share the Gospel in prison! During our Illinois trips, we handed out 1066 Gospels of John and we saw 128 men make professions that they were going to follow Jesus!
HOW TO PARTNER IN 2018
2017 was a great year for our team and a great year for the Saints Prison Ministry. I’m really looking forward to what God will do in 2018! Our Spring Crusade will be April 11-15 in Arizona. A Crusade is a short-term missions trip to an area or state that doesn’t have a Saints Prison Ministry team. I have had the privilege of going on 13 different Crusades since 2011. I am also planning on going on the Fall Crusade to Florida in October. Our Illinois season will start in May and we will visit approximately 8-9 different prisons across the state.
As a Saints missionary athlete, I am asking for your support in two areas.
I need to establish a team of people who will pray for me, the Saints team, and the inmates to whom we will be ministering. If you would like to receive a prayer card, please contact me at tgibson62@gmail.com
I personally need to raise $2,400 this year to cover my travel, Crusade expenses, literature, inmate study materials, and softball equipment for the 2018 season. As a team, our Central Illinois team needs to raise $13,800 this year. I would ask you to prayerfully consider making a tax-deductible offering to support the Saints Prison Ministry in 2018.
I will be posting updates before and after each visit on www.tomgibson.me . While you are here you can also sign up for my email updates.
Thanks again for your support and Go Saints Go!!
In Christ,
Tom Gibson
