Only Three Weeks to Go! April Ministry and Achilles Update

Dear Friends and Family,

I recently had an opportunity to go to a conference this past week.  One of the speakers preached on the parable about the talents in Matthew 25.  

He made the connection that God gives us ministry opportunities and how we need to be faithful with those opportunities.  I was most certainly challenged to be faithful with the ministry opportunities in my life and I was also thankful that God is merciful to me when I’m not as faithful as I should be.  

We are only three weeks away from our first visit.  Our team is excited and we are looking forward to getting to Southwestern IL Correctional Center for our first game and Gospel sharing time of the year.  

This summer we are planning on visiting 10 prisons over 8 dates.  Please pray that we are faithful and that God allows us to share the Gospel this summer.  I’m really excited about our season and what is in store for us!

We are close to 70% of our team financial goal for this summer. It has been exciting to see how God has provided for our team this year and every year that we’ve done this.  

My Achilles tendon is getting stronger every day.  I have been able to go on three runs of over a mile each on an anti-gravity treadmill during my physical therapy sessions.  I have also started some exercises where I can jump a little.  It has been encouraging how much better this has gotten over the last 6 months.  I’m still trending ahead of schedule and I’m looking forward to seeing how soon I can get back on the field!

Thank you for supporting and praying for our team.  I am really looking forward to sharing the Gospel in prison this summer!

Praises

• My physical therapy for my Achilles tendon is going well. Physical therapy has been hard but fun. I’ve also been playing catch and hitting off a tee with very few issues.
• I had the opportunity to share the Gospel last month at Pathway Ministries (Peoria Rescue Mission) on 4/19. Please pray for the guys that heard the Gospel.
• I had the opportunity to preach on a Sunday morning at First Baptist Church of Mason City, IL on 4/14.
• Kelly and I were able to attend the annual RHMA conference in Morton, IL last week. It was a blessing to be encouraged to share the Gospel and spend time with Luke and Shannon Wolford.
• Our 2024 schedule is complete and has us visiting 10 different prisons over 8 Saturdays

Prayer Requests

• Pray that God keeps the doors open for these 10 prisons that we will see this summer.
• Pray that God provides our financial and prayer support for the season
• Pray for the hearts of the inmates we will see this summer. Pray that God draws their hearts to Himself.
• Pray for the hearts of our own missionary athletes and that we are bold in our prayer lives and bold sharing the Gospel this summer

Inside the Mind of Gibby- Super Bowl Dos and Don'ts

Now that the Super Bowl is over, the NFL has completed a multi-week study as to what makes the Kansas City Chiefs team so special. They are back-to-back champions, a team for the ages, and I believe we can learn from them to make our teams here at the Saints Prison Ministry better. 

Finding #1 - DON’T fire Andy Reid 

Out of all of the stats we dug up, this was the most impressive. Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid has been the head coach for the entire Chiefs Super Bowl run. If we figure out a way to hire - and then not fire Andy Reid - we should be on our way to several championship caliber seasons. Andy Reid has only been fired once and our research team is hard at work looking up what dumb team would have ever fired Reid in the first place… 

Finding #2 - DO invite the most popular celebrity on the planet to get involved 

People like your team more when Taylor Swift is hanging around. The folks upstairs who edit this thing will never give me enough words to share why Taylor Swift will never work out for our ministry but, to cut to the chase, I blame all of the single guys in the ministry who passed over Taylor Swift in their search for true love for our limited exposure. 

Finding #3 - DO make Donna Kelce the universal team mom 

If Donna Kelce were our team mom, I have no doubt that our uniforms would be cleaner and that our manners would be on point. I am, however, a little worried that Mama Kelce would frown upon the amount of pizza and wings that are consumed on an average Saints Crusade. 

Finding #4 - DO pay attention to Father Time 

Nobody on the Chiefs is over 34 years old. Besides figuring out that no one is over 34, they also determined that athletes in their 20’s and 30’s somehow perform at a higher level than MAs who are in their 40’s and 50’s. Our research team has recommended getting some younger guys in the mix……or possibly investing in time travel technology. 

Finding #5 - DO sign the best athlete in all of sports 

Patrick Mahomes is a once-in-a-generation talent. He is only 28 years old, and he is already considered an alltime great. Not only is he talented, but he plays through pain and is the clear leader on that team. The research says we could sure use a guy like Patrick Mahomes. The only drawback is that it will cost us $45 million dollars a year to get him on the Saints bus! 

Finding #6 - DO hire Matt Nagy when given the chance 

Hiring Matt Nagy is a good move for any organization. Matt Nagy has spent the last two years as one of the offensive coaches for the Kansas City Chiefs. If you didn’t know, Matt Nagy was also head coach of my beloved Chicago Bears during some really frustrating and infuriating years. I consider myself to be a decent amateur writer, but I’m not sure that even I can make a Matt Nagy joke funny… 

The Saints Prison Ministry is hard at work implementing some championship caliber changes as we speak. I’m looking forward to writing next year’s article where we study how our teams got better and what we can learn from the Chicago Bears winning the Super Bowl!