Scottish Reformations, Parking Lots, and the Saints visit Taylorville CC this Weekend!

One of my goals is to learn more about church history and the faithful men who shared the Gospel over the past 2000 years.  I've got a long way to go, but one of the guys I am interested in learning more about is John Knox.  Knox led the Scottish reformation and is regarded as one of the heroes of church history.  I recently saw a post about Knox's final resting place.  Knox requested that he should be buried within 20 feet of the Saint Giles Cathedral, and they accommodated his wishes.  Unfortunately, over the years, someone paved over his grave and put a parking lot over it.  You can see a marker of where his body is laid...and then park your car there!

I found the idea of a parking lot over his grave somewhat funny because it is a good reminder that this life is not all about us like we sometimes think it is.  John Knox is a hero in church history but he wasn't above being forgotten enough when they paved this parking lot.  No matter what good things we do, we shouldn't get the glory.  It is always God who should be glorified.  I have had plenty of opportunities over the years serving with the Saints to be reminded about this.  God has allowed the ministry to be part of some really cool things in prison over my almost 13 years of serving Him but God is the only one who should be praised.  

This Saturday, our Saints Prison Ministry Illinois softball team heads to Taylorville CC.  I won't be making this trip because I will celebrating my in-laws' 50th wedding anniversary with our family.  

Please pray for the team as they travel, play softball, and share the Gospel.  

Hunter Stewart and Nick Sauder will be sharing their testimonies and Brent Gerber and Josh Frederick will share the Gospel.  

Taylorville told us to be ready for 200 men in the prison yard so please pray that God draws these men to Himself.  Please pray that the prison has no staffing issues and that we are allowed to go!

Pray that God is glorified this weekend!

PRAISES

• We recently made a visit to the Pittsfield Work Camp and Jacksonville CC  
• We won four games, handed out 122 Gospels of John, and saw 21 men indicate that they made a profession of faith.  
• The 2024 Illinois schedule is full!  We are going to 8 prisons over our 6 remaining dates this summer.  
• We have met our needed financial goal for our Illinois team.  
• My Achilles tendon is mostly recovered.  I played in my first game on the last visits to Pittsfield and Jacksonville.   
• Lord willing, I will be traveling to Colorado and Arizona later this year to go to prison and share the Gospel.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

• Pray for the 21 men who made decisions to follow the Lord at Pittsfield and Jacksonville.  
• Please continue to pray that we are still able to get into each facility despite staffing issues at the prisons.  
• 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.  
• I'm in the process of becoming a lay elder at my church.  Please pray for wisdom for my church's congregation and myself as we go through this process.

A Follow Up Including a Follow Up From 2018! Pittsfield Work Camp and Jacksonville CC Follow Up

 Before I give my usual update on how this past weekend’s visit went, I wanted to share one of the most encouraging things I have heard in my almost 13 years in the ministry.  

The last time we had gone to Pittsfield was in 2018.  I don’t remember the numbers for the day but I do remember that we weren’t so good on the field!  During our second game at Pittsfield on Saturday, I had a couple of minutes to talk with the prison chaplain.  I didn’t catch his name, but he also pastors a local church in a town near Pittsfield.  He told me that he got a note from the Saints a few years ago with the results from our last visit.  Each time the Saints visit a prison, we enter the response cards for the day into a database but we also let the chaplains know who had made a profession of faith.  He told me he followed up with several guys who had made a decision and followed up again and helped them get baptized in prison.  I didn’t have long to talk with him but it was so cool to hear about the follow up and discipleship that happened to these men who heard the gospel six years ago.  I love what we do and I love that we get to share the gospel in prison but I wish there was a way for us to follow up and spend time with these men after they make a decision to follow the Lord.  I was so encouraged that God provided a means for that.  I’m sure that some of you prayed for that visit six years ago and prayed for the “seeds” that were left behind.  

Here is how the rest of the day went!

On Saturday we prepared for our second outing of the year.  We met as a team at the Morton McDonald’s.  We spent time praying for the day and prayed for things like our guys who would be speaking, the hearts of the inmates that we would see that day, the other teams that were traveling, and our families at home.  It was a blessing to hear so many of my teammates pray and appeal to God to bless the day.  

We left Morton and started our journey to Pittsfield.  We were driving a church van and one of my vehicles.  When we arrived at the Pittsfield McDonald’s, the guys in the van looked over at us and were asking if I had a “spare”.  I had to get clarification on what they meant by spare, but, of course, it was my worst fear:  a flat tire.  While the team ate, I had enough air to get to a local gas station. The air compressor wasn’t working really well, and I was only able to get  20 psi of air into the tire.  I turned back out onto the main road to look for another gas station but I found a local tire shop that was open.  They sprang into action and took the tire, located the leak, and repaired it before our breakfast time was over!  I have plenty of funny stories about transportation issues over the years, but the Lord has always provided for us.  We made it back on the road and made it to our first prison on time.  

The staff at Pittsfield said that we might have to play wiffleball since it had rained overnight.  After we assessed it with them, we all decided that we could play on the field.  The Pittsfield softball field is one of my favorite softball venues on our Illinois prison circuit.  They have a grass infield and the setting is in the country with rolling hills and pastures on the other side of the outfield fence.  

We hit a few home runs in our first game against Pittsfield and had a lopsided victory in game one.  Kyle Krall shared with the men his testimony of how he became a believer, and then Kris Mettelmann shared the Gospel. 

After our ministry time, we played one more game with the men in the yard.  The recreation director modified the rules so that the Pittsfield team started with men on 2nd and 3rd each inning.  The game was quite a bit closer but we still won the game in our last inning.  

After the game was over, we circled up around the pitcher’s mound and we handed out a team MVP book and recognized the umpire with an award book as well.  

Overall at Pittsfield, we handed out 47 Gospels of John and we saw 11 men make professions of faith.  

We left the Pittsfield Work Camp and we headed to Jacksonville.  We enjoyed a brief lunch at the local Wendy’s before heading to the prison.  

We arrived at the prison and made our way through security.  We arrived out at the field and after a few brief warm up throws, we started our game.  The Jacksonville team played us much tougher, but we still won 20-10.  In between games, Jon Isbell shared his testimony and Josh Frederick shared the Gospel.  

We had enough time to play a second game against Jacksonville.  We played “one pitch” which is where each batter starts each at bat with a 3-2 count.  Sometimes we do this when we are pressed for time.  We won the game again, and I actually had an opportunity to hit twice in the last inning.   It was my first time playing since hurting my Achilles tendon last fall, and I got two hits!.  

Before we left, we circled up with the men one last time and Brent Gerber closed out the session by using a sports illustration to remind them of how much fun it is to play softball but how vital it is that they make a decision to follow the Lord.  

Overall on the day at Jacksonville, we handed out 75 Gospels of John and had 10 men indicate that they made a profession of faith.  

We loaded up the vehicles and after a brief gas station stop for snacks and drinks, we headed home.  

I had an opportunity to talk to a couple of guys at both prisons who indicated that they made decisions to follow the Lord.  Please pray for these guys and the other men who made professions of faith.  Please pray that God sends people like the Pittsfield chaplain into their lives who will follow up with them and help them grow in faith and obedience to the Lord!

Thank you for praying for our team so far this year.  

Our next trip is June 29th to Taylorville CC.  Please pray for our team, the inmates, and that God keeps the doors open for us to go!

Let's Play Two!! The Saints Prison Ministry Visits Pittsfield WC and Jacksonville CC this Weekend!

Let’s Play Two!  Some of you read that knowing that was the catchphrase of Chicago Cubs legend Ernie Banks.  Some of you read that and your heart ached a little as you missed the Cubs hero.   

One of my regrets about being a Chicago Cubs fan (...and there are several…) is not seeing Ernie Banks play.  It would have been fun to see him playing both games of a Sunday double header and hitting a ball or two onto Waveland Ave. ...and it would have been fun to see his reaction to the Cubs winning game 7 in Cleveland in 2016.  

This Saturday, our Saints Prison Ministry Illinois softball team gets to play two!

Lord willing, we are heading to two prisons:  Pittsfield Work Camp and Jacksonville Correctional Center.  Please keep us in prayer as we travel, play softball, and share the Gospel.  

Kyle Krall and Jon Isbell will be sharing their testimonies while Kris Mettlemann and Josh Frederick will be sharing the Gospel.  Please pray for them as they prepare to speak on Saturday.  

I’ve already seen some of the communication with the prison and they are excited that we are going to be there.  Please pray that we are still able to get in despite some of the staffing struggles that several Illinois prisons are having.  

PRAISES

• We made our first visit of the 2024 season to Southwestern IL CC.  
• We won both games, handed out 52 Gospels of John, and saw 9 men make decisions to follow the Lord.  
• The 2024 Illinois schedule is full!  We are going to 9 prisons over our 7 remaining dates this summer.  
• We have met our needed financial goal for our Illinois team.  
• My achilles tendon is mostly recovered.  I am planning on playing in one of our June or July visits.  
• Lord willing, I will be traveling to Colorado and Arizona later this year to go to prison and share the Gospel.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

• Pray for the 9 men who made decisions to follow the Lord at Southwestern CC.  
• Please continue to pray that we are still able to get into each facility despite staffing issues at the prisons.  
• We are still in need of some extra players for the Colorado, New Hampshire, and Arizona trips.  
• 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.