The 2026 Saints Prison Ministry softball season is going by very quickly!
Our Illinois team is coming up on the halfway point of the season, and the ministry as a whole has had an opportunity to travel to several different places across the country!
This week we are traveling to Southern Illinois to visit five different prisons.
7/8- Vandalia CC
7/9- Shawnee CC, Vienna CC
7/10- FCI Marion
7/11- Robinson CC
Our Illinois softball team has been to Vandalia CC and Robinson CC. This will be my first visit to Shawnee CC and Vienna CC. I am looking forward to the trip to FCI Marion. I have never been there before, but there is a connection between the prison and baseball history as Pete Rose served his time there!
Here are some ways you can pray for our team as we travel this week:
Traveling Mercies– Ironically, most of the team on the Illinois Crusade will be from Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Besides PA and NJ, there will be guys traveling from Georgia, Wisconsin, and,
of course, Illinois. This is going to be a really good crew of men traveling on this trip. This trip will have the usual traveling mercy needs such as connecting flights, rental cars, and multiple airports. They can also include things like flight delays, broken van issues, and big city traffic!
Please pray for traveling mercies as some of our team will be flying while some of us make the drive.
Team Unity– This is a really special group of guys to travel with this weekend. There are guys who have been with me since my first Saints journey in 2011 and lots of guys who have been with me throughout my Saints travels over the years. Please pray that fellowship will be sweet and morale will be high as we serve together. I’m excited that my friend from Wisconsin, Bruce Buri, will be leading our team devotions each evening so we will have time to study God’s Word together as a team.
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. The Texas teams we played last year were good so please pray that we play well and that we avoid the injury bug!
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. We are planning on having five different Gospel sharing times to the crowds in the prisons. Pray that we communicate clearly and that the Lord works in the prison yard.
Families– There will be 16 Missionary Athletes leaving families 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.
2026 has been a good year so far for sharing the Gospel in prison. I appreciate everyone who has been praying for our team this year! The summer is flying by but there are plenty of opportunities left to share the Gospel this summer!
