On Saturday May 28, 2016 The Way Out Prison Ministry in partnership with the R.E.A.L. Men Fellowship of Mount Hermon Baptist Church held its annual “Community Health Fair”.
The Way Out volunteer Minister RL Jones a.k.a. “Butch” from Mount Hermon Baptist Church lead the charge. The health fair is an outreach to the surrounding community offering free health screening for blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, sickle cell and HIV.
As Butch would say “To God be the glory”.
October 2016
Submitted by Claudia Kennedy, Women’s Chaplain of The Way Out Prison Ministry
Several months ago a very sad young looking 14-year-old girl came to our weekly Bible study at the Portage Geauga Juvenile Detention Center. I took a double take because her resemblance to my granddaughter Rachel age 11 was striking. She came regularly to our Bible studies over the course of her incarceration. And in time, she was smiling and engaging with a sweet personality. She was eventually released. I will call her Carla.
Last night she was back! But this time, she was totally broken. Her hair was a mess, her face had sores, and her arms were covered with scratches from cutting. She couldn’t stop crying. After our singing and sharing from the Bible as a co-ed group, we broke down into small groups. Since she was the only girl in attendance, I had the opportunity to sit down with her one on one.
Her story poured out immediately. Carla had been released a few months ago from the detention center to rehab. She told me that she did really well and was making progress. She was happy. But with one week to go in rehab, she ran away.
Then she told me through her tears that she doesn’t care about her life anymore. She feels worthless and just isn’t able to break her addiction. She has tried really hard, but it didn’t work. She has given up. She has just been sleeping and not coming out of her cell. The encouraging thing is that she did come out last night. I know that she is drawn to the only answer that can set her free!!
She went on to tell me that two years ago her Mom died of a heroin overdose. She lives with her dad. She began smoking weed at age 11, with help from her brother. After her Mom died, she graduated to meth. She told me that she never really grieved her Mom’s passing.
Her brother and a former boyfriend are also residents of the detention center. It bothers her that the ex-boyfriend is someone that she has to see when the boys and girls are together. He was in attendance last night at the Bible study and kept steeling concerned peeks at Carla. I asked her when she last used Meth, and she said it was 2 days ago before she turned herself in. I assured Carla that God loves her and addiction is something we can’t fight by ourselves. We have to have God’s help. But mostly I just listened as she needed to talk. Our teams will have the opportunity to minister to Carla while she is incarcerated. What an opportunity we have to point her to Jesus.
Carla just turned 15 a few days ago. My heart is broken for her, and I promised to pray for her. She needs love. This is a young child who has been almost destroyed by wrong choices and her family living environment. The night before, I was at The Geauga Safety Center holding a Bible study with 9 women. Most of them have addictions. I was sharing that the next night I would be ministering to teens of addicted parents. I encouraged them to embrace Christ and when released to make their children their first priority so they don’t end up in a detention center. Little did I know that I would be facing the exact same scenario 24 hour later.
The Way Out Prison Ministry is reaching out to the neediest in our society. We are going into the darkest places of men and women’s hearts with the glorious hope of life instead of death. Freedom from bondage is not only possible, it is why we can’t help but share the good news of a new life in Christ!! We need your prayers to have an openness to The Holy Spirit as we minister and for the receptivity of broken hearts ready to ask for help from the Great Physician, Jesus Christ.
UPDATE – Portage Geauga Juvenile Detention Center (PGJDC)
Different teams from The Way Out (TWO) minister at PGJDC every Thursday evening from 7:00-8:00 pm. Each team of volunteers represents a local church. As volunteers build relationships with the youth we pray they would attend one the churches represented by TWO.
We begin each evening with worship and prayer. One of the volunteers shares the message of the Gospel with the youth. We then break up into small groups, girls and boys, for the last 15-20 minutes and have a rap time answering their questions about faith.
The teen’s bond quickly with the volunteers and the hour spent with them each week is very profitable. TWO provides a Bible for each teen that attends our services.
UPDATE – Geauga Safety Center – women
TWO has 4 volunteers who minister to 2 groups of ladies 2 times per month for 1 hour. We have a time of worship followed by a bible lesson tailored for the needs of the women. We are very well received and the ladies are open and hungry for the answers only the lord can provide.
As one of our team members was sharing the lesson about Saul’s encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, one young fellow, Jimmy, raised his hand and asked if God could speak to him in the same way,so he would know for sure it was God speaking? In our answer this teenager realized that he knows about Jesus and knows the right words to say, but he desires to really know Christ on the inside. We witnessed the Holy Spirit’s work in a real and deep way in Jimmy’s heart tonight.
June 23, 2016
Transformation
The Way Out ministry serves the Residential Correctional Center (RCC), an Oriana house facility for incarcerated women in Summit County. RCC has approximately 65 women incarcerated in the facility. In the fall of 2016, TWO volunteer Diane Popovich began a weekly bible study. The bible study attendance has quickly grown from 2-4 woman a week to 12 women a week. As Chaplain for that facility I have witnessed a spiritual presence being constantly in this facility as the Bible study has grown. The facility has gone from being in the dark to have rays of God’s light permeate the building.
In May of this year Arlington Church of God (ACOG) further blessed RCC. Under the guidance of Chaplain Mark Matthews, ACOG started transporting the RCC women to their weekly Celebrate Recovery (CR) meetings. CR is a biblically based program for recovery from any of life’s hurts, habits, and hang-ups. In 6 short weeks the interest has blossomed and there are 25-30 women from RCC attending CR weekly. That is half of the women at RCC voluntarily attending a bible based meeting! The RCC women are now inviting family members and their significant others to attend the CR meeting.
Seeing the RCC women and their loved ones at the CR meetings is inspiring. Families connecting in God. Women being in the presence of other women who have been there. Their energy has provided new found enthusiasm for others who attend the CR meeting. The CR meetings not only give hope to the RCC women, but a plan of how to get to God’s grace and glory. For truly this entire transformation is God’s, and to Him we give the glory.
Occasionally an inmate asks me, “Why am I a Jail Chaplain?” My automatic answer is to go back to January of 2008 when I was incarcerated. At that time I had no hope and could see nothing but darkness. But God found me in that moment and my life has never been the same. Ever since that time I have always felt the need to share the hope of Jesus Christ with others.
People are drawn to jail and prison ministry for different reasons. The reason God called me to be a Jail Chaplain is to share the hope of Jesus Christ to those incarcerated men and women who have NO HOPE and are looking for a way out.