Dear Friends and Family,
With the weather warming up and baseball season starting back up, it is time for me to start getting ready for the 2022 Saints Prison Ministry season! I’m heading into my 11th year of being a missionary athlete with the Saints Prison Ministry (www.saintsprisonministry.org). For those of you who may not be familiar with us, the ministry was founded in 1987 and we present the Gospel using sports. Since 1987 we have shared the Gospel in over 460 prisons, played in 4,500 games, and have seen 34,000 inmates make professions of faith in the Lord.
2021 YEAR IN REVIEW
Last year was definitely not a typical year for the ministry, but God provided several opportunities for us to serve in prison.
CITRUS COUNTRY 3 FLORIDA CRUSADE- 4/8/21-4/11/21
God opened the door for us last April to make our first visit after COVID concerns canceled most of our schedule in 2020. This was such a fun trip, and it was good to get back in the swing of things. Overall on that trip we visited 3 prisons, handed out 750 Gospels of John, and saw 6 men make decisions to follow the Lord.
SONSHINE STATE FLORIDA CRUSADE- 6/23/21-6/27/21
In June, I was able to make another trip with the ministry to Florida. This was my first time being in Florida over the summer months so this was one of my warmest Crusades! We visited 4 prisons, handed out 439 Gospels of John, and saw 10 men make decisions to follow the Lord.
OHIO TRIP WITH THE WEST VIRGINIA TEAM- 8/6/21-8/8/21
In August I was able to help fill a spot with the West Virginia team on their trip to Ohio. The West Virginia team is our newest team and it was fun to minister with those guys as they were getting their start in the ministry. We were able to visit 3 different prisons, including one of the prisons that I went to on my first trip in 2011. We handed out 443 Gospels and saw 66 men make professions that they followed Christ.
BROTHER BOB’S TRIP TO RACINE CI- 10/2/21
In October, three of us from our Illinois team were able to help out Brother Bob’s Outreach during their visit to Racine CI. We were able to play four softball games, share the Gospel four times, and exchange countless Bears-Packers jokes!
EVERGLADES EXPEDITION FLORIDA CRUSADE- 10/7/21-10/11/21
I was able to make one more trip to Florida to serve on a Crusade to Southern Florida. This was a fun trip because the roster was made up of several guys who had been serving in the ministry for a long time. There were some really good friends and really good prison ministers on this trip. Overall we visited 6 prisons, handed out 920 Gospels, and had 22 men indicate that they trusted the Lord.
HOW TO PARTNER IN 2022
After seeing God work in 2021, we are hopeful that we will get a little closer back to a normal Saints season. We are planning on making four visits to Illinois prisons this summer, and I am planning on going on at least two of the Crusades to Indiana and Wisconsin. Please pray that the Lord continues to work and allows us to make these visits, especially the ones in Illinois!
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 my prayer team to mail the enclosed orange card back indicating that they will pray for me in 2022. When you fill out the orange card, please include your email address as I will be sending updates before and after each prison visit this year. This is the most important area that I need help in and it is a huge encouragement to me and the rest of the teams when you pray for us!
I personally need to raise support this year to cover my travel, Crusade expenses, literature, inmate study materials, and softball equipment for the 2022 season. Our Illinois team goal for 2022 is $6,250 and my Crusade support goal is $1,800. I would ask you to prayerfully consider making a tax-deductible offering to support the Saints Prison Ministry in 2022.
There are two different ways you can donate this year:
Write a check made out to Saints Prison Ministry and mail to Saints Prison Ministry, PO Box 681, Moorestown, NJ 08057
Make a donation online:
Head to https://give.ministrylinq.com/app/giving/saints prison ministry
Under the Choose Fund drop down, choose “MA Support- Illinois Softball”
In the subsequent Note box, enter Missionary Athlete name (critical to confirm the correct MA receives credit)
Enter Amount
Choose your giving method (Credit Card or Bank ACH)
Fill in information, including email for receipt, and click Submit
I will be posting updates before and after each visit on my blog;
My NEW blog address is: https://gibsonupdateblog.blogspot.com/
Thanks again for your support, and Go Saints Go!!
In Christ,
Tom Gibson
