The Crown That Lasts- 2025 Kentucky Crusade Day 4 Update

Blogger's note:  Usually I start my Saints updates with either something that God has laid on my heart from hearing or reading His Word and sometimes I choose something I think is witty or funny.  For my Kentucky Crusade updates, I wanted to share part of the team devotions that our team shared on the trip.  My good friend and coach of the North Georgia Saints David Cogliano wrote and shared the devotions on the trip and I wanted to share them in my update posts about our Kentucky Trip.  The theme of the devotions is "Compete for the Crown".  

Blogger's extra note:  The IL part of the trip missed parts of the day 4 devotions because we departed West to head back to Peoria while the rest of the team headed East to either catch a flight or drive home.  We did not present for the team devotions but we did manage to catch part of the devotions over Facetime!  I managed to get Cogs' notes and this is what he had for the devotion on the last night.  

1 Corinthians 9:25-  25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.

In this verse, Paul is drawing a powerful comparison between athletes in competition and Christians in their spiritual journey.  The believers in Corinth would have been very familiar with the Isthmian Games, which were similar to the Olympics and were held near their city.  Athletes would undergo rigorous discipline- physically, mentally, and emotionally- for the chance to win a perishable crown made of pine or olive branches.  Paul uses this image to teach a deeper truth.  Just like an athlete submits to strict training for a temporary reward, so must followers of Christ discipline themselves for an eternal prize- the "crown that will last forever."  This crown represents eternal life, God's approval, and the joy of finishing our race well.  This verse challenges men to take spiritual growth seriously.  Training for godliness isn't about coasting or comfort, it's about intentional, disciplined living.  It's about controlling our desires, denying ourselves when needed, and keeping our eyes fixed on the goal.  While athletic trophies fade, rust, or are forgotten, the reward God offers never perishes.  Paul reminds us that it's worth giving our best to the only race that truly matters.  This truth reshapes how we live, compete, and serve.  When the applause fades and the lights go out, the only thing that matters is what was done for Christ.  That's the crown worth living for.  Let's stay focused, stay faithful, and finish strong.  

Many of our Crusades include games on Wednesday or Sunday or both.  We were all feeling really good and reasonably refreshed going into the last day of the trip.  We got up, packed up for the trip back to Illinois, and got a small hotel breakfast before heading out the door to Roederer CC.  

We arrived at Roederer CC on time and we parked in front of the security building.  Once we went through the metal detector and got our volunteer ID's, we parked by the softball field.   We saw a small crowd of around 40 guys.  We played the first game and came out swinging pretty good and won the first game.  After the game we met in the outdoor weight room which was under a pavilion.  

I shared my testimony.  I started with saying my dream growing up as a kid was to play Major League Baseball.  Unfortunately that dream didn't work out.  I asked the group if they could remember the date of when they realized that dream wasn't going to happen.  For me, that date was February 16th, 1994.  That was the day I was cut from the Limestone High School baseball team.  I went home that night and cried in my room.  The tears weren't so much from not getting to play baseball, it was realizing that I didn't belong on that team.  When I threw a ball, it didn't make the same sound when it hit a glove as some of the other kids.  When I hit a ball, it wasn't quite the same sound as some of the other kids who had made the team.  In order for me to make that team, it would have taken a coach forgiving me my lack of talent.  He would have had to look past the fact that I wasn't as big, strong, or fast as some of the other kids.  He would have had to look past all of that in order to put me on that team.  

A year or so earlier on an Easter Sunday morning, the pastor of the church I grew up in preached about why Easter was important.  He preached about sin and that everyone had sinned and was separated from God and destined for a place called hell.  I was a decent kid growing up but I knew that he was talking about me and my sin was still enough to send me to hell.  He then talked about how Jesus went to the cross to take that punishment that I deserved and that all I had to do to avoid hell was to believe in Him and put my faith in Him.  

I'm not 100% certain if that is when I became a believer or not but a few years went by and our family eventually started attending the church I am part of now.  I believed that God saved me from my sin but I wasn't really sure of how much I wanted to be involved in church.  The church did have two things I was interested in.  1. Church softball and 2. Kelly Holley!  Of course I ended up marrying Kelly Holley, but the church softball team played a big part in me growing in the Lord.  The other men on the team took their walk with the Lord seriously.  They spent time with me to help me grow to be more like Jesus.  I knew that there was nothing I could do to save myself from my sin.  I also knew that I needed to repent.  I'm sure repentance was preached on that Easter Sunday morning but it really didn't sink in until years later.  It's been a bumpy road but the Lord has been faithful and has allowed me to continue to use the game I love to share about Him while serving with the Saints Prison Ministry.  I then encouraged the men to believe and repent and listen to the next speaker as he shared the Gospel.  

Brent Gerber from the Illinois team shared the Gospel.  Brent walked through four basic points of the Gospel: 1. God 2. Man 3. Christ 4. Response.  

Once Brent was done, we collected the response cards, talked with the men, and prayed with them before starting our next game.  

The next game was a little closer but we won the last game of the trip on that field.  We circled up with the men on the pitcher's mound and recognized their umpires and MVP's.  We closed out the trip by reminding them about the Gospel and how they needed to believe and repent.  

At the end of the day we handed out 56 Gospels and had 13 men make professions of faith.  

After we shook hands with the men, we left the prison and went to lunch at a local BBQ place.  Before we ate, we had a time in the parking lot to reflect on the trip and praise the Lord for how He provided.  

We enjoyed some fun food as a team and were able to relax for a moment. 

Roederer CC is only 25 minutes away from Louisville so we visited the Louisville Slugger factory and museum as a team.  It was fun seeing the exhibits of bats used by Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Ernie Banks, and others were on display.  There were several Ryne Sandberg items on display as well.  I had the opportunity to hold a game used Mark Grace bat.  The tour of the factory was fun.  I work in a factory so it was cool to see baseball and manufacturing combined.  

At the end of the tour, the IL guys made our way back across Kentucky and Indiana back home to Illinois.  

Overall on the trip we handed out 469 Gospels of John and saw 40 men make professions of faith.  

I appreciate everyone who has been praying for the trip and for our season.  As I'm getting older, there are times where I wonder how much I have left in the tank regarding softball but I came away from the trip energized and excited about what God is doing through the ministry.  I'm looking forward to finishing our season and getting ready for the 2026 season!

Praise the Lord for what He has done in prisons across the country this year!

Compete According to the Rules- 2025 Kentucky Crusade Day 3 Update

Blogger's note:  Usually I start my Saints updates with either something that God has laid on my heart from hearing or reading His Word and sometimes I choose something I think is witty or funny.  For my Kentucky Crusade updates, I wanted to share part of the team devotions that our team shared on the trip.  My good friend and coach of the North Georgia Saints David Cogliano wrote and shared the devotions on the trip and I wanted to share them in my update posts about our Kentucky Trip.  The theme of the devotions is "Compete for the Crown".  

2 Timothy 2:5-  5 An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.

Paul emphasizes that integrity as the key to winning the prize.  Now if you're a Boston fan or more specially a Patriots fan (By the way, David Cogliano is a HUGE Boston sports fan), you could have some connection to this verse right?  The Patriots have been known to blur the lines of competing according to the Rules.  

We then starting pointing fingers at each other for being fans of the Patriots, Sammy Sosa, and Ryan Braun before coming back together in unison in agreeing that Lance Armstrong was the poster boy for not competing according to the rules!

We then talked about the spiritual shortcuts that we are tempted to take.  We can sometimes use an out of context verse and try and make it say what we want it to.  

We then talked about how our integrity affects our witness and what that looks like when Christians disqualify themselves because of sin.  

One of my biggest fears is being a Christian who fails and is disqualified from serving.  Please pray that I desire following the Lord more than my own heart.  

We got up early on Friday morning (8/15) and grabbed a quick hotel breakfast before making our way to Northpoint Training Center.  Northpoint has been a fun prison to play at over the years.  The outfield is extra hilly and there is a lot of drainage ditches in the outfield...

...and we thought that would still be the case...

When we arrived, we made our way through the security.  The security was a little tougher than I remember but the team there did a good job of getting us through and getting us out to the field.  When we arrived out to the field we found that they fixed most of the hills and ditches in the outfield.  It was in much better shape than in years past!

We could tell that the team was going to be good.  We came out of the gate really strong and got out to an 8-0 lead.  The game intensified and we both played hard.  Both teams hit well and made great plays on defense.  Unfortunately, they kept chipping away and we found ourselves tied 22-22 in the 9th inning.  In the bottom of the 9th, they got some runners on and managed to get one across to win the game in walk off fashion.  

We set up our sound system and started our sharing time with the crowd.  Robert Jones shared his testimony of how he came to know the Lord.  Robert plays with the Middle Georgia team and is a fun guy to be around!  After Robert shared his testimony, Erik Meyer from the NJ team shared the Gospel.  Erik is a legit swimmer and is a really good athlete.  He has been a solid addition to the ministry since joining last summer.  

After our ministry time, we started another game and played a really fast game with the short amount of yard time we had left.  We won the shortened game and shook hands with the guys that we saw.  After shaking hands, we huddled up with the guys, handed out some awards, and reminded them of the Gospel message they heard today.  

After we said goodbye to the guys in the yard, we headed back to the vans, and had a quick moment to reflect on the day.  We shared stories of our encounters with the men that we saw and prayed for them as a team.  

Overall on the day, we handed out 131 Gospels of John and had 5 men indicate that they made a profession of faith.  

We then headed back into Lexington and had a quick meal at a local Chick-fil-A.  This was a nice time to reset from the games and ministry of the morning and have a some time as teammates to tease each other and to fellowship together.  

Once we finished our Chick-fil-A, we went across town to FMC Lexington.  This was another Federal prison and the building was historic and built like a prison you would see in a prison movie.  We got through security and left the security office to a downpour of rain.  There wasn't any rain in the forecast but it rained hard and there were puddles everywhere.  We walked through the rain and arrived at the prison field.  The field was incredibly muddy.  If this was a normal softball league, there is no way we would have attempted to play on that field but of course, playing softball in prison isn't exactly normal.  The men there had been waiting for months for us to arrive and play softball with them.  They put a bunch of work into the field and were ready to play when we got there.  Nobody from the administration told us that we weren't playing softball so we didn't think twice and played a very rainy and muddy softball game!  The field conditions were bad and made for some interesting trots down to first after we hit the ball.  

We got beat and while I think we could have won if it wasn't so muddy, both teams had to compete in the exact same conditions so it was more than fair.  

In between games, Warren Miller shared his testimony.  I've talked about Warren several times over the years in my update posts but Warren is a former Yankees minor league second baseman.  Warren is currently 84 and is still going strong.  Whenever Warren has to say something, the men in the prison yard are very attentive.  It is always a blessing to hear him talk and interact with the inmates.  

After Warren shared his testimony, Bruce Buri shared the Gospel.  Bruce is one of my closest friends in the ministry, and, like Warren, I have brought him up a few times in my updates over the years.  Bruce gave a very clear Gospel presentation.  After Bruce's presentation, I was collecting response cards.  I talked with one guy who marked that he became a believer today.  I walked through what he meant by that and we had a good conversation about the Gospel.  Please pray for this guy and that God sends other men to disciple him and tell him more about the Lord.  

By this time it had stopped raining.  Of course the sun came out and totally warmed everything up so it was very humid!  We played a second game and ended up tied before we ran out of time.  

We circled up with a bunch of men who let us know that they were thankful that we came, braved the elements, and played some softball with them.  We circled up on the pitcher's mound and shared with them again that the reason that we were there wasn't about softball but rather to tell them about Jesus Christ and the relationship they need to have with Him.  

Overall at FMC Lexington, we handed out 217 Gospels of John and had 17 men make professions of faith. 

We circled up briefly in the parking lot and shared our stories from the day.  

We made it back to the hotel and got cleaned up before venturing back out again to get a good Mexican food meal.  We had a new missionary athlete from Wisconsin named Wyatt Jicha.  One of the things that happens a lot on our trips is that the newest guy will often get to "celebrate his birthday" during a meal on the trip.  While Wyatt was eating his meal, the restaurant staff brought out some cake, a sombrero, and sang happy birthday to him in the middle of the dining room.  That was a fun moment with lots of laughs!

We went back to the hotel and did our team devotions on 2 Timothy 2:5.  We prayed for each other and for the men we saw.  

Our group leader, JJ, let us know that the second prison of the day was cancelled so we would only be visiting one more prison on the trip.  That was a bummer, but we know that God timed this accordingly. 

After we prayed, Rodney Stewart and I (at the egging on of Bruce Buri) tried the new and most likely soon to be discontinued, Sprite tea.  We tried it together and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be...with that being said, I wouldn't try it unless you too are caught up in the egging on of a pal...  

After two days of softball and travel, I fell right asleep after devotions and the Sprite tea!

Competing for the Crown- 2025 Kentucky Crusade Days 1 & 2 Updates

Blogger's note:  Usually I start my Saints updates with either something that God has laid on my heart from hearing or reading His Word and sometimes I choose something I think is witty or funny.  For my Kentucky Crusade updates, I wanted to share part of the team devotions that our team shared on the trip.  My good friend and coach of the North Georgia Saints David Cogliano wrote and shared the devotions on the trip and I wanted to share them in my update posts about our Kentucky Trip.  The theme of the devotions is "Compete for the Crown".  

1 Corinthians 9:24-27-  24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

These verses really resonate since sports are part of our ministry.  We aren't just playing softball but we are really competing with the men we see and trying to win when we go out there.  As Missionary athletes, we understand the discipline, sacrifice, and focus it takes to win on the softball field.  But, Paul reminds us that life itself is a race, a spiritual race, and only those who run with a purpose and intentionality will receive the prize.  The prize isn't a trophy or a medal but rather the eternal reward of Christ saying "Well done" and the joy of reaching people for Jesus.  

As we sat down as a team to discuss this, we talked about how we are training.  Some of the guys from Georgia go to the same church and they have the opportunity to encourage one another and to hold each other accountable.  Some of us brought up our current Bible reading plans and our attempts to memorize God's Word.  We also talked about what it looked like to do stuff outside of our comfort zone.  Getting up early to read and pray isn't comfortable.  Memorizing the Bible isn't easy.  Sharing our faith with those around us is incredibly uncomfortable, but we need to be running a race and we need to continue to run hard, and prepare ourselves to continue to run hard towards the prize of our relationship with Jesus.  There should be a sense of passion and urgency as we go through this.  

Between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, our team starting making the trek towards Lexington, KY.  Three of us from Illinois drove over together.  The car rental place at the Peoria airport was supposed to have a standard size SUV but they didn't have one on the lot so instead, they gave us a really, really, nice Ford Expedition that was incredibly nice to drive!

We arrived at our hotel in Lexington and went out to an Italian food restaurant for dinner.  This was a fun dinner as I got to meet up with several old friends and meet some new teammates.  

After dinner, we went back to the hotel and had our team devotions before getting some sleep for the night.  The next morning we got up early and made our way to USP McCreary.  I have been in a couple of other USP's over the years but basically a USP (United States Penitentiary) is a maximum security Federal prison.  These are a little harder to get into because of security and logistical reasons.  We got word that we were the first group to come in and do what we do.  It was a thrill that God opened the door for us to go!

We made our way through security and eventually ended up out on the prison yard.  We basically got to minister to the team, some umpires, and a scorekeeper.  We did eventually get to see a few guys who met us at the fence in an adjacent yard.  

We started the game out well and got out to an early lead.  During the game things were going along well, but then we heard some commotion.  There was an incident, most likely a fight of some kind, going on in one of the nearby dorms separate from the fenced in area where we were.  We all had to take a knee where we were on the field and not move until the incident was over.  Most prisons give us some brief training on how to respond in situations like that but this was the first time I have had to use that training.  

After the event was over, we were able to resume play and finish our game.  We did our ministry presentation near the left field fence, which is where the other yard was located.  Several guys from that yard met us at the fence to hear our ministry presentation.  My good friend Tom Carberry shared his testimony of how he came to know the Lord and how the Lord has brought him through some really hard points in his life.  Tom's wife is currently battling cancer so please keep her in prayer.  After Tom shared his testimony, Jim Jefferson shared the Gospel.  JJ was one of my first teammates from my first Ohio trip in 2011 and he has been such a good friend for several years!  JJ shared the Gospel with the men.  It was cool because the team we played with and the men on the other side of the fence were locked in as both Tom and JJ talked with them.  

After our ministry presentation was over, we were told that the prison had to go on lockdown.  We had planned to be in the USP all day to play 4 games and share the Gospel twice but we were going to have to leave the USP.  That is bad news.  But, the good news was that the warden arranged for us to spend the rest of the day at the connecting lower security camp at the facility.  

Before leaving the USP for the day, we were able to eat lunch in the staff dining room.  We enjoyed a good lunch of burgers and chili dogs.  We had an opportunity to pray with one of the officers who had cancer and who was getting cancer treatments.  

After lunch, we left the USP and made our way to the camp.  The camp was much lower security and had no fences.  We played our first game at the camp and won again pretty easily.  Jon Isbell from our team here in Illinois shared his testimony of how he came to know the Lord.  Don Conner, who was also on my first Saints team in 2011 shared the Gospel.  

After the ministry time, we played another game.  This game was a little closer but we held on and won.  

After the game, we huddled up with the men, and acknowledged some MVP's and umpires.  While we were still circled up with the men, we reminded them again about the Gospel message that they heard and why it was so critical that they put their faith in Jesus Christ.  

Overall at the USP, we handed out 39 Gospels and had 4 men make professions of faith.  At the camp, we handed out 26 Gospels and had 1 man make a profession of faith.  

After we left the camp, we went back to our hotel, got cleaned up, and went out to a local BBQ restaurant for dinner.  

We got back to the hotel and did our team devotions.  

The devotions continued with the same theme of Competing for the Crown were about 1 Timothy 4:7-8.  

1 Timothy 4:7-8-  7 Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; 8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

In the first verse, "Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.  Paul warns us not to get caught up in myths or distractions.  Things that sound spiritual, but don't lead to truth.  

We talked about things like "God wants us to be happy" or "That we are all God's children" or that "God helps those who help themselves".  Those all sound like nice things to say and hear but we know that they are half truths at best.  If we dig into Scripture, we see that God wants our worship, and that God's children are those who repent and believe in Him, and that we are totally powerless to help ourselves and that our reliance needs to be on God.  

We talked about how physical training is a good thing but training for godliness is far more important.  

We then talked about how we can train for godliness and encourage our teammates to train and grow spiritually.  

We prayed together as a team as we closed out our devotion time.  

After devotions, some of us made a quick ice cream and Walmart run but once we got back to the hotel, we had no problems falling asleep after a busy full day of ministry!

Ministry Collision Course! Centralia CC and Vandalia CC Update

One of our favorite things about sports is collisions.  Runners crashing into a catcher, NASCAR crashes, anytime someone gets checked into the glass during a hockey game, and anytime a quarterback gets sacked....unless it's the Bears quarterback.....If you look up that the list for the most sacked single season leaders, you see Chicago Bears 2nd year starter Caleb Williams right there tied for #3 on the list.  (This has nothing to do with this update but former Bears quarterbacks Justin Fields, Jay Cutler, Jim Harbaugh, and Jim McMahon also appear on this depressing list as well...)

And sometimes there are collisions in ministry...

I just celebrated my first full year of being an elder at Calvary Baptist Bible Church which was a few days apart from celebrating my 14th year of being involved with the Saints Prison Ministry.  

It has been cool how the Lord has worked in both ministries over the years, but this past weekend, both ministries collided!

This past weekend (8/9), I had the opportunity to spend an entire day serving in two different prisons and preach during the worship service at my church!  While I would wholeheartedly admit that I was exhausted afterwards, it was a blessing to serve in both capacities.  

Sunday (8/10), I preached from John 13:31-38.  The main point of my message was from verses 34 and 35 about how we as Christians are to love other Christians sacrificially like Christ.  One of the application points that I had was that loving other Christians is going to be inconvenient.  It is going to interrupt sleep.  It is going to interrupt finances.  It is going to look like walking across the pew and praying with someone who is hurting.  It is going to look like spending time over coffee discipling and being discipled.  It is going to look like taking joy in spending time with someone whom you have nothing in common with other than you both have been saved by God and will spend eternity together in His glory.  We don’t want to do any of those things naturally.  God has to work in us and He sent His Spirit to help us.  That should drive us to our knees to plead with Him to change our hearts to love one another and to love one another sacrificially.  

This ties in with how I need to serve my church and how I need to serve my Saints team.  I am proud of how my Saints teammates sacrificed comfort and sleep to spend the day sharing the Gospel and serving one another.  

We gathered up in our usual meeting spot to pray and to pack up the vehicles.  We were on the road heading towards Centralia a little after 4 am.  Despite the early morning, we had some nice conversations in the van while making the drive down.  

We arrived at Centralia on time, gathered our literature and equipment, and made our way through security. Centralia is very much a prison but it almost has a college campus feel to it with the layout of the buildings and sidewalks.  We made our way past the gym and the chapel and made our way out to the field. We got out there before the team and had some time to stretch out before we started. We also had some time to talk about some of the trips to Centralia from years gone by and also some stories about the prisons in Kentucky for those of us preparing for the upcoming Kentucky trip!

The other team came out to the field and we got the game started shortly afterwards.  Centralia had three teams ready to play so we made plans to play three shortened games.  Despite the "jet-lag" of driving three hours early in the morning, we came out swinging and won the first game easily.  Kyle Krall shared the Gospel with the men there.  After Kyle shared the Gospel, we played games two and three and won those two games as well.  

After the games were over, we had an opportunity to acknowledge the umpires and a team MVP before circling up and praying with the men.  During this time, we encourage the men to think about the Gospel message and encourage them one last time to believe and repent.  

Overall at Centralia, we handed out 65 Gospels of John and had three men make professions of faith.  

After we wrapped up at Centralia, we got in the van and headed back North to Vandalia.  To save some time, we bought some sandwiches the night before so we were able to enjoy those in the van.  

We got to Vandalia CC on time and made our way through security before going out to the field.  Vandalia CC is one of the oldest prisons in Illinois and definitely has an "Old time prison movie" feel to it.  

The Vandalia field is one of our favorites to play on and we came out roaring in the first inning by scoring several runs.  The Vandalia team started to come back at times but managed to keep scoring runs and we won game 1.  

In between games, I shared my testimony of how I came to know the Lord.  After my testimony, AJ Salmon shared the Gospel.  AJ did a good job illustrating that there was a price that needed to be paid for our sins and that Jesus Christ took that punishment on the cross for us.  

After the ministry time, we played another team and came away with another win in a time shortened game.  

After the game we huddled up on the pitcher's mound, handed out some award books, and had one last moment to talk with them.  Just like we did at Centralia, we encouraged the men to get things right with the Lord by believing and repenting.  

Overall on the day at Vandalia, we handed out 73 Gospels of John and we saw 14 men make professions of faith.  

We circled up in the Vandalia parking lot as a team and shared stories of conversations that we had with the men we saw and shared praises of how the Lord worked in both prisons.  After that, we prayed and hit the road back toward home.  We stopped in Springfield and enjoyed some "horseshoe" sandwiches as a team.  The team meals are a blessing where we tease one another, share more stories about the day, challenge each other to keep growing as men, and to encourage each other to be men who serve in our churches.  

Our next Illinois softball visit is September 6th as we visit Danville CC.

...However...

This week several Missionary Athletes from across the country are heading to Kentucky for a four day trip to play softball and share the Gospel.  

Thank you for supporting the ministry and for praying for us as we travel and share the Gospel!

The Kentucky Crusade Starts Today!

Today 14 Missionary Athletes from across the country are meeting up in Kentucky for a 5 day Crusade.  This is my 25th Crusade. This will be my third time visiting Kentucky with the Saints and I am looking forward to sharing the Gospel!  I am looking forward to getting back on the field this week with some good teammates!

Here are a few very specific prayer requests for our team:

Traveling Mercies– There are 14 men going on this trip from all over the place! We have guys traveling from Wisconsin, New Jersey, Georgia and of course Illinois,  We will spend quite a bit of time in the Tucson area but keep us in prayer as we travel this week.  

Team Unity– This is going to be a fun group to be around this week!  Please pray that fellowship will be sweet and morale will be high as we serve together.  Most of the team is made up of Saints who have been around for a while.  

Team Performance– The results of the games aren’t important but it is critical that we play well and that we earn the respect of the inmates. If we play well and earn their respect, they will be more likely to stick around and listen to us share the Gospel.  There are a few people my age on this trip so pray that we are able to avoid the injury bug!

Kentucky is always hot so please keep our team in prayer as we battle it out!

Speakers– Pray for the Missionary Athletes who will be sharing their testimonies of how they met Jesus and for the Missionary Athletes who will be sharing the Gospel. I will be sharing my testimony later this week.  

Families– Several of the 14 Missionary Athletes are leaving a family at home so they can minister. Please pray for all of the wives and moms who have to brave work and kids by themselves. I’m very thankful for the support that I have from home on these trips!

Inmates– Most importantly, pray for the men that we will encounter as they are the purpose of this trip. Pray that they hear the Gospel and will see a need in their lives to follow Jesus!  Pray that God works in their hearts and that God draws them to Himself.  

I will be updating my Facebook page throughout the week.  

Thank you in advance for the prayer support and for all of the encouragement many of you have been over the last several years! I’m looking forward to sharing the stories from this week!

P.S.  Here is a picture from our visit from Saturday to Vandalia CC.  I will write about our visit to Centralia CC and Vandalia CC when I get home!

Down the Stretch They Come!! Saints Visit Centralia CC and Vandalia CC Tomorrow!

We are heading down the stretch run of our season!  

There are only 3 more Illinois prison dates.  

There are two Federal visits left (I will miss one because Joe is moving into his dorm that weekend).

I am also going on the Kentucky Crusade which starts next week.  

Despite the busy stretch run, this has been one of my favorite years of being involved with the ministry.  It has been fun to see a wave of younger guys coming behind some of us who used to be the younger guys!  It has been fun getting to visit new places get to know new teammates with the Federal team.  It has also been fun to visit some of the same places and get to develop relationship with those prisons and spend time with some of the men in the ministry who have made it very special for so many years.  

Tomorrow we are heading to Centralia CC and Vandalia CC.  This is probably tied with Robinson for the longest trip of the year.  While the travel is grueling, it is a blessing to have the opportunity to share the Gospel in two different facilities in one day.  

We are planning on playing a couple of softball games at each facility and sharing the Gospel in between games.  

At Centralia, I will be sharing my testimony and Kyle Krall will be sharing the Gospel.  I'm looking forward to spending time with the crowd there.  

At Vandalia, Kyle Krall will be sharing his testimony and AJ Salmon will be sharing the Gospel.  

Please pray that God keeps the doors open to both prisons and that we are allowed to go in and share the Good News.  Please pray for the hearts of the men and that God would draw them to Himself.  Please pray for our speakers.  Please pray that the rest of the team will have opportunities to share about Christ and that we would all be bold with those opportunities!

I'm really looking forward to updating everyone on how the day goes.  

PRAISES

• We have completed four IL visits to IL River CC, Taylorville CC, and Robinson CC, and FCI Pekin.
• So far our IL team has handed out 518 Gospels and seen 36 men make professions of faith
• Our new guys are learning the ministry and have contributed in big ways this year
• Three guys from our IL team are heading to Kentucky next week for a 5 day trip to several prisons across the state.  
• We have met our needed financial goal for our Illinois team!
• The Lord provided funds for an expensive repair to one of the ministry vans.

PRAYER REQUESTS

• Please pray for the 36 men who have made professions of faith during our IL visits this year
• Please pray for the 60 men who made professions of faith during our Federal Prison trip to Texas in June.  We will be visiting the following prisons:
• 8/14-  USP McCreary
• 8/15-  Northpoint Training Center
• 8/15-  FMC Lexington
• 8/16-  Roederer CC
• 8/16-  Luther Luckett CC
• 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.