Ministering inside a women’s prison was not what I signed up for when I started with the ministry 13 years ago. When the Denver Women’s Correctional Facility showed up on our Crusade itinerary, I was very surprised. To cut to the chase, the day was very different and much more weird than anything we have done before and my comfort level was most certainly tested.
This women’s facility wanted to be added to our schedule. Our director told them that our men's softball teams really only minister and play softball against men’s prisons. The prison responded with, “The message that you’re sharing is still valuable to the women, right?” Our director saw this as an opportunity to share the Gospel with this prison and added them to our schedule knowing that this would be a unique experience.
All of us probably know a young lady who ruined her life, relationships, and motherhood because of trouble with drugs, alcohol, and jail/prison. I can think of a few young women in my life who have done that and I wish these women would have had an opportunity to hear the Gospel and be reminded that they are loved by an infinite God. While this visit was outside of my comfort zone, I thought of some of the women in my life who could have used a message of hope in their lives and I was glad that we shared the Gospel with these women.
This trip was my 23rd Saints Prison Ministry Crusade. This was also my first Crusade since getting injured last fall. I was excited to wake up and get to the airport. We flew out of Peoria and after a very quick connection in Chicago, we made our way to Denver, Colorado.
In addition to our two Illinois guys, our team had guys flying in from Wisconsin, New Jersey, Georgia, and West Virginia. We met at the airport and had a quick meal and the local In and Out Burger nearby the prison. We arrived at the prison and made it through security. We then walked through the prison compound to the softball field where we met the men and women that we would be playing that day. The team was made up of several women who were residents at the prison and a few men who were residents of another local prison.
The field was made up entirely of gravel but that didn’t stop several of the residents from sliding into bases and crashing around the field. We played two games were more fun than competitive.
Overall on the day, we handed out 60 Gospels and had 7 people make a profession of faith.
After our game, we made a gas station stop to get some Gatorade and snacks before hitting the road for a long drive through the mountains to Rifle, Colorado. The drive was long but it was incredible driving through the mountains and seeing the beauty of creation. Once we made it to our hotel in Rifle, we got cleaned up and had some dinner at a local BBQ place.
While we were at the restaurant and while we were waiting on our food, we gathered for our team devotions. JJ did the team devotions out of Luke during the week. The first devotion was from Luke 19:1-10. This passage is about Zacchaeus showing interest in Jesus and how Jesus made the relationship personal and intentionally spent time with Zacchaeus. JJ challenged us on how we should be intentional and personal with those in our lives when it comes to sharing the Gospel.
After dinner, we got to get some rest from a very fun and unique first day of the trip!
