Dear Friends and Family,
We are almost there! The snow has melted, the weather is starting to go from heavy coat to hooded sweatshirt weather and the Chicago Cubs will be taking the field yet again! It won’t be much longer and another summer of Saints Prison Ministry will be here!
When our family hasn’t been traveling around the state with the Limestone Marching Rockets, going to Norwood basketball games, or volunteering for our church’s youth group, we have been enjoying our winter. In preparation for the 2019 Saints season, I have been taking a Systematic Theology class. So far, I am keeping up with it and I am really enjoying the lectures and diving head first into God’s Word. I’m also taking some hitting lessons. As someone who just turned 40, I’m just trying to figure out how to hang on to the game of softball just a little bit longer!
I’m heading into my 8th year of being a missionary athlete with the Saints Prison Ministry (www.saintsprisonministry.org). For the last several summers we have loaded up on our bus or on a plane and have headed to prisons across Illinois and the rest of the country to not only play softball in prison but also to share the Gospel with the men who are incarcerated. The last 7 years, 15 Crusades, and 78 prisons, have been a blessing and I am looking forward to what’s ahead in 2019!
2018 YEAR IN REVIEW
Arizona Crusade – April 11-15
I always feel guilty leaving my family to travel to Arizona while it’s cold in Illinois, but this trip was a blessing! During this Crusade we made five visits to Federal Prisons in Phoenix and Tucson. Overall, we saw 76 men make professions of faith and we handed out over 488 Gospels of John.
Indiana Crusade – August 14-19
I hold a Saints distinction of being the only Saint in the 32-year history of the ministry to play and win a game of Madden football on a Playstation in prison (despite 5 Jay Cutler interceptions!). This was a fun trip, and, despite some delays, sketchy weather, and a cancellation, God worked in a mighty way! Eighty men indicated that they had made a first-time profession of faith, and we handed out over 800 Gospels of John.
2018 Central Illinois Team
Our team in Central Illinois team just wrapped up our 7th season, but this year was far from business as usual! For the second year in a row, we visited eight different prisons including a first time visit to Southeastern Illinois Correctional Center. During our Illinois trips, we handed out 1047 Gospels of John and we saw 152 men make professions that they followed Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior!
HOW TO PARTNER IN 2019
2018 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 2019! I am going on a Crusade in October to Alabama. 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 15 different Crusades since 2011. I am also planning on going on another Crusade this year as the Lord provides opportunities. Our Illinois season will start in May and we will visit approximately 7-9 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. I would ask those who are intending to pray for our 2019 season to please email me and let me know.
I personally need to raise $2,625 this year to cover my travel, Crusade expenses, literature, inmate study materials, and softball equipment for the 2019 season. As a team, our Central Illinois team needs to raise $11,000 this year. I would ask you to prayerfully consider making a tax-deductible offering to support the Saints Prison Ministry in 2019. You can give online at http://www.saintsprisonministry.org
I will be posting updates before and after each visit on my blog at www.tomgibson.me . While you are there you can also sign up for my email updates.
Thanks again for your support and Go Saints Go!!
In Christ,
Tom Gibson
