The End of the Saints Season and the Start of the Bears Season- 9/12/26 Pittsfield WC and Jacksonville CC Follow Up

I had no intention of bringing up John Madden and his classic video game series two posts in a row but I don't think I can avoid it.  

The Bears won 59-37 on Sunday.  That score did not feel like a real life score because that is the kind of score that I get when I sit down and play Madden on the Xbox.  

That is the kind of score I get when video game Jay Cutler is hitting his targets and making some big throws down field to video game Devin Hester. 

(Note to self, it may be time to get an updated copy of the game!)

The older I get, the more I enjoy the fall season of the year.  Not just because of football, but I enjoy the hooded sweatshirt season, the weather, and having an excuse to eat an unlimited number of the small Nestle Crunch candy bars in October!

One thing that fall brings as well is the end of the Saints season.  

While I'm sad that the season is over, I am overjoyed with how the Lord worked in our ministry and with our team this summer.  

The Lord provided new places for our team to minister, new faces to minister alongside, and hundreds of inmates to share the Gospel with in prison.  

This last Saturday was a perfect bookend to a really good year for our team in Illinois.  

We met up last Saturday in Morton for our final trip of the year.  We loaded our vehicles up with all of the equipment such as bats, balls, several hundred Gospels of John, tracts, and our sound system.  We then spent a few minutes taking turns praying for the day and praying for the men that we will see.  

We started down the road to Pittsfield.  Pittsfield is about two hours away from Morton.  I enjoy making this trip in the early fall as the leaves are starting to change and farmers are beginning to harvest.

We made our way to the Pittsfield McDonalds and we enjoyed a good breakfast as a team.  There was a long table, and we enjoyed eating, talking, and making fun of each other.

After breakfast, we made our way to the prison.  The Pittsfield Work Camp is outside of town.  On the other side of the outfield wall is a horse pasture!

We got signed in and the staff checked our equipment before we walked out to the prison yard.  

The Pittsfield softball field is a fun field to play on.  It has a grass infield and the outfield fences are pretty close to what you would see in most park district fields.  

We started the first game and we were sluggish in every aspect of the game.  The Pittsfield team grabbed an early lead.  In terms of softball, we just didn't look right but eventually we tied the game and traded some leads with them until we eventually pulled ahead for an easy win. 

In between games, Robert Cook shared his testimony with the men and Brent Gerber shared the Gospel.  Several of our guys had good conversations with the men out in the yard after we were done preaching.  

We played and won a time-shortened second game.

After the game was over, we circled up with the men on the pitcher's mound and handed out some MVP award books to the best players on the day.  We then spent some time encouraging them to consider the Gospel message that was preached to them today and consider where they stood with the Lord. 

Overall on the day at Pittsfield, we handed out 68 Gospels and had 5 men make professions of faith.  

We left Pittsfield and made the drive to Jacksonville.  We stopped at the Jacksonville Casey's gas station and made a mad dash through the store to get some pizza and whatever else we could find that was hot and ready.  We ate in the parking lot and then loaded back up and made our way to the prison.  

We made our way through security and onto the field.  Once again, we got off to a sluggish start but we quickly recovered and cruised to an easy win.  In between games, I shared my testimony and Kyle Krall shared the Gospel.  

After Kyle shared the Gospel I talked with a younger guy who indicated that he made a profession.  I did my best to walk through the Gospel with him again to make sure that he understood where he stood with God.  I think his profession was genuine but please continue to pray for him and the other men who made professions at Jacksonville.  

We played a time-shortened game and won the last game of the year fairly easily.

After the game we circled up on the pitcher's mound one last time and handed out some award books to the umpires and MVPs.  We then encouraged the men to not postpone repenting and believing in Jesus before we prayed with them.  

Overall on the day at Jacksonville, we handed out 62 Gospels and had 6 men make professions of faith in Christ.  

We made our way out of the prison and we huddled up in the parking lot and shared some praises for how the Lord worked in both of the prisons and for the way He provided for our team all year long.  We prayed as a team and then left the prison for a dinner stop in Springfield which included some world famous horseshoe sandwiches.  It was also fun watching the Cubs and U of I football game as a team during our dinner.

We left Springfield and made our way back home.  Everyone shared some handshakes and hugs in the parking lot before everyone went home.  

This was a really special year, and, once again, it was cool to see how God worked through new prisons, new teammates, and all of the different circumstances this year.  

Overall on the year, we visited 9 different prisons over 7 dates.  We handed out 1088 Gospels, and had 136 men indicate that they made a profession of faith.  

The Saints did several bigger trips this summer and I was blessed to go on two of them-  Texas in March and Southern Illinois in July.  

While I am looking forward to some rest for my elbow and my knees, I am absolutely stoked about the 2027 season and being part of what the Lord is going to do to spread His Word in prisons across the country.  

Thank you for supporting and praying for our team this summer!

Heading into the Last Lap of the Year!- Saints Visit Pittsfield WC and Jacksonville CC!

Hey, here is something that you don't know about me:  

I once won a Madden video game tournament at a Walmart.

In the first round I beat another guy who was about my age, I knocked out a kid from Bradley University in the semi-finals, and then I absolutely destroyed the 11 year old who won his side of the bracket and had to face me in the championship game.  

For one day I was the World Champion of the Allen Road Walmart Madden Tournament!

Another little known thing I don't share often is that I used to be a little bit of a runner.  I wasn't a good runner but I had a few years where I ran consistently.  I don't really enjoy running but it always felt good to know that I accomplished something hard.  A few years ago there is one morning I ran 13.1 miles- a half marathon.  Nothing was pleasant about that run.  It was hard and it was incredibly boring running around the local grade school dozens of times until I got to 13.1 miles.  

My favorite part of the run was knowing that I was finally on my last lap.  I dug down a little deeper and tried my best to finish with my strongest run.  When I finally looked down at my phone and saw that I made it to 13.1 miles I knew that was an incredible feeling.  I was absolutely exhausted and every muscle hurt but that felt incredible to know that months of training paid off and I did everything I could to accomplish that half marathon.  

We are coming up on our last Saints date of the year.  Just like that big run, there is a big part of me that is looking forward to the rest after this last lap of the season, but it is so cool to look back and see how God worked this past year.  In a lot of ways this has been one of my favorite seasons- if not my favorite season in the ministry.  Our Illinois team was able to go to four new prisons that we have never been to, I was able to make a trip back to Texas to minister in some big Federal prisons with some incredible teammates, I was able to travel on a Crusade to the Southern part of Illinois to go to FCI Marion which is one of the most infamous prisons in the country, and our Illinois team got to return to FCI Greenville- the place where our Illinois team played their first game back in 2012.  We also welcomed a few new faces to our team and saw God do some incredible things in the ministry this year.  

Thank you for praying for our team so far this year.  Please pray that we are able to finish strong and are faithful when we share the Gospel this weekend!

Philippians 1:3-6- I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

The original plan for this weekend was to go to Sheridan CC, but, unfortunately, they had to cancel.  Our Director of Team Operations was able to quickly pivot and get us scheduled to visit Pittsfield Work Camp and Jacksonville CC.  We have been there several times over the years, and it will be exciting to share the Gospel and play some softball there!

During the morning session at Pittsfield, Robert Cook will be sharing his testimony and Brent Gerber will be sharing the Gospel.  

During the afternoon session at Jacksonville, I will be sharing my testimony and Kyle Krall will be sharing the Gospel.  

Please keep our team in prayer as we travel, play softball, and share the Gospel throughout the entire day!

It has been a good season, and I'm looking forward to finishing strong!

PRAISES

• Last month we visited FCI Thomson.  We went 2-1 on the field, handed out 346 Gospels of John and we saw 52 men make professions of faith.  
• My son and Missionary Athlete, Joe Gibson had successful triple jaw surgery last month.  He is recovering well and is making some strides towards eating solid food again!
• My wife, Kelly had a medical procedure this week and is recovering at home for a couple of weeks.
• We often bring up the prayer request that God works in the hearts of the men that we will see.  God has answered that prayer request all year but it was cool how many good conversations we had with men who were eager to hear about the Gospel.  
• We have had the opportunity to meet with some men who are interested in the ministry and who will be joining us later this year- this is an answer to prayer!

PRAYER REQUESTS

• Pray that God continues to keep the doors open for our last visit this weekend. 
• Pray for all of the other teams going out over the last month of our season. 
• Pray for the hearts of the inmates we will see the rest of this summer. Pray that God draws their hearts to Himself.
• Pray that God provides more missionary athletes across the country for all of the opportunities to go in and share the Gospel!
• Pray for the hearts of our own missionary athletes and pray that we are bold in our prayer lives and bold sharing the Gospel this summer.
• Pray for the upcoming Angola, Louisiana trip coming up next week.
• Continue to pray for Joe’s recovery.
• Continue to pray for Kelly's recovery.

A Forgotten Super Mario Game and an Unforgettable day at FCI Thomson! 8/29/26 FCI Thomson Follow Up

Super Mario Bros: "The Lost Levels" is a frustrating game that probably affected my blood pressure this past weekend. 

"The Lost Levels" was a game that was never released in the US when it came out in the late 80's in Japan because of the complexity of the game which made it not as fun to play.  You can read more about the legacy of the game here.  

I played the game with my sons the other night and watched Mario fall to his death dozens of times as I attempted to make him jump across the many gulches in this game.  

Playing this game wasn't on my radar for the other night but it was the byproduct of having my middle son at home while he is recovering from his jaw surgery.  

We are three weeks removed from his surgery and he is making some progress and is getting closer to eating some solid food.  

His recovery from the surgery has been a praise we have shared with each other and with our church family.  

I recently got to lead the Wednesday night devotion before our prayer time at church.  I went through Psalm 111-113.  The Psalmist reminds us over and over again that we are expected to praise the Lord.  There are so many things about the ministry that need to work out in order for us to do what we do.  We are dealing with the government, transportation, team sports, and ministry- all at the same time!  

God has been merciful and has answered prayers over the years and has blessed us with the Gospel opportunities that He has provided.  

Our last visit to FCI Thomson was a day full of praises for the Lord!

Last Saturday (8/29/26), we met up at my church at 4 AM and packed up our gear.  We spent some time in prayer as a team before departing north for Thomson, IL.  Usually our drives are full of bean and corn fields in the dark.   This time we took a route where we got to see Iowa on the other side of the Mississippi on the the western side of Illinois.  

Of course, this route was in the dark as well.  

We made a quick breakfast stop at the local Casey's which involved breakfast pizza, bottles of protein shakes, and my personal favorite, Casey's donuts!

We departed the Casey's and we arrived at the prison on time and made our way through the security process.  The walk to the field from the entryway was actually shorter than most prisons.  

The field is a multi-sport recreation yard so it wasn't quite a true softball field- there was a walking track that went through the outfield, a huge light tower in center field, and a basketball court in left center field.  However, it made for one of the more fun and interesting fields we have played on all year.  

We started our first game, and the game was a hard-fought one.  We went back and forth for several innings before taking a break for our ministry time.  

Josh Thompson who is in his first year of the ministry, shared his testimony of how he came to know the Lord.  After Josh shared his testimony, Kris Mettelmann shared the Gospel with a big crowd.  

After the ministry time, we continued our game and squeaked out a one-run victory!  After the game we circled up with the men and handed out some award books to the umpires and team MVPs.  

After we finished up the first half of the day, we made our way back out of the prison and had a really quick lunch at the same Casey's gas station.  It was still around 10 am so we did our best with some more Casey's breakfast food and whatever we could find in the food aisles of the store.  

After lunch, we made our way back to the prison and got ready to play a new team and minister to a different crowd of men.  We came out with one of our best offensive games of the year and cruised to an easy win.  

In between games, Ray Koonce shared his testimony and I shared the Gospel with another big crowd.  

After I got done preaching, I had a conversation with a man who was from India who said he was Hindu but he believed in Jesus.  Unfortunately, there was lots of broken English and we had trouble communicating.  He said he wanted to write to me to continue the conversation.  Please pray for this man and that he follows through with writing to the ministry.  

We played a third game and lost on a tough walk-off hit.  It wasn't fun losing but it was cool to see their team celebrate as though they won the World Series!

We circled up on the pitcher's mound one more time and handed out some MVP awards.  Kris Mettelmann challenged the men on where they stood with Christ and encouraged them to believe and repent before praying with them.  

Overall on the day we went 2-1 on the field, handed out 346 Gospels of John and we saw 52 men make professions of faith.  

We huddled up outside the prison and we shared our stories about the day.  Several guys had stories of one on one conversations where they were able to share the Gospel.  One of the biggest blessing as the coach of the team is hearing our men share praises about how God worked and provided opportunities to share the Gospel.  

We made our trip back home along the Mississippi.  This is actually one of my favorite drives home as we went through several small towns and villages along the river.  

We stopped at a local restaurant on the way for a meal which included some incredible cheese fries and Midwest tenderloin sandwiches!

We made it back to the church and unloaded all of our stuff, gave each other some handshakes and hugs, and then headed home to promptly go back to bed after the early start time.  

Our next date is 9/12.  It was supposed to be a visit to Sheridan CC, but they had to cancel.  

However, our Director of Team Operations was able to work the phones and get us into the Pittsfield WC and Jacksonville CC.  We have visited both prisons before several times and we are looking forward to wrapping up our season there!

Thank you for praying for our trip and for praying for the ministry!