For I Am Not Ashamed of The Gospel of Christ Rom 1:16

Transcription

1 PASTORS TO PRISONERS NEWSLETTER Click on th musical nots abov for music Volum 9, No. 1 March 2009 d i s n i c n r f f i d h T Insid this issu: For I Am Not Ashamd of Th Gospl of Christ Rom 1:16 This vrs was cntral to th mssag that Paul dclard to th church in Rom. It is th sam mssag that I proclaim in th chapl on facility thr at R.J. Donovan prison. Th powr of th gospl is still saving and transforming th livs of incarcratd mn rgardlss of thir dradful past. It is th truth of th gospl that sts ths mn in blu fr. W hav sn a trmndous outpouring of God s grac on th yard with many coming to Sunday srvics for th first tim. W hav a Wiccan community of approximatly 45 mn on yard thr. Thy practic a form of paganism which can includ witchcraft. On Sunday Jan. 11, 2009, I was approachd by on of th brothrs in th chapl who said that thr was somon outsid who ndd to talk to m. John (not his ral nam) was crying and obviously distrssd about somthing. H told m that a fw days bfor h had did on th oprating tabl whil undrgoing surgry. Bfor h was rvivd h said that h hard a loud voic, it s not your tim. John statd that h had did twic bfor in 1994, but had nvr hard this voic spak to him. I immdiatly invitd him into th chapl knowing that God s word would bring comfort to his hart. H cam and sat down with David on of our faithful voluntrs. Discrning th far in John s voic David shard with him and within a fw minuts John prayd to rciv Christ. It was thn that w larnd that John had bn a Druid for 37 yars and was currntly th Wiccan Prist on th yard. H ndd up laving th chapl minuts bfor th srvic bgan stating that h had som important businss that h had to tak car of. As h was laving th chapl h rachd for th Wiccan Pntagram that hung around his nck snapping th chain h thrw it into th trash. Th following Sunday th Wiccan Pristss, and scond in command in th Wiccan community attndd th Sunday srvics. Aftr sitting through th first srvic Jim (not his ral nam) joind John who cam for th scond srvic. At th clos of that srvic Jim rspondd to th altar call and gav his lif to Jsus. You can imagin all of th xcitmnt manating from th chapl aftr sing two ladrs in th Wiccan community com to Christ. Wll, on th following Sunday a third Wiccan/Odinist and formr Satanist sinc th ag of fourtn cam to th chapl for th first tim. JB (not his ral nam) was raisd Click on th in a Christian pictur for a prsonal hom by loving mssag adoptd parnts. H said that h had driftd far from God but was drawn to th chapl this particular day. H latr told us that it was th powr of God s word and th trmndous lov that h flt from th voluntrs and brothrs on yard thr that capturd his hart. H thn said Rog, I was so far from God I didn t think I could vr find my way back. God is good and gratly to b praisd. Pastor Rogr Rv. Jack Oin, Foundr 2 Yard Pastor Rports 2-6 Organization Chart 2 Gust Ed. Chap. Stv 3 Rvrnd Fun 3 P2P Inbox & Mailbag 4 Bits from Board Mting 5 Th Word Insid 6 Donation Form 7 Calndar/Statistics 7 Th Final Word 8 Th Diffrnc Insid is publishd in both a full-color multi-snsory digital vrsion locatd on our wbsit and a traditional printd vrsion. If you ar rading th printd nwslttr and would lik notic of th whn th nw digital vrsion is availabl, plas lt us know. All you nd to do is mail us at: info@pastorstoprisonrs.org with th subjct lin Add to mail list. Thn, you will find Th Diffrnc Insid digital notic dlivrd to your inbox rathr than your mailbox. You will b saving us printing costs and postag mony bttr spnt on our ministry. God is Grat, All th Tim! Rod Stark, Ed.

2 P AGE 2 T HE DIFFERENCE INSIDE A fw words from th foundr... I prais th Lord from whom all blssings flow. I was askd by on of our supporting churchs, What ar your drams and goals for this yar? I m sharing som of my answrs so that you will know how to pray mor ffctivly for Pastors to Prisonrs and m. I hav submittd a Program Profil to th CA. Dpt. of Corrctions and Rhabilitation. My hop is that it will gt PtP statwid rcognition of th Yard Pastor Program, and th ffctivnss w hav had, as w dal with th criminal s lack of moral valus. Part of this rcognition will b gaind from a survy of inmats who hav bn transfrrd from th R.J. Donovan to othr stat prisons, who hav bn ministrd to by yard pastors. I hop to intrviw both inmats and staff, to valuat th Biblical training thy rcivd whil at Donovan, and to documnt th improvmnt in attituds and bhavior that our program of vanglism, rol modling and disciplship has fostrd. By RJD Protstant Chaplain Bill Brown Voluntrs com and go. Thy prach, thy tach, thy participat in a varity of programs. But, Yard Pastors do MUCH mor. Th Yard Pastor is th prson who is thr, availabl whn an inmat s lif gos wonky. Th Yard Pastor is th on who vry wk provids inspiration and ladrship to th congrgation in th facility. H is th pastor to inmats who may hav nvr had a pastor. Pastor Jack Oin, Foundr and Yard Pastor RJDCR San Digo With stat approval, xpansion is mor likly to succd. W prais God that H has providd sufficint incom, and w can now apply to th Evanglical Council of Financial Accountability. Th accrditation of ECFA is ssntial, as w rach out to at last on mor of th 31 California Stat Prisons by th nd of Of th 5 missionaris working undr th umbrlla of PtP, 4 ar still lacking 30-60% of thir monthly quota. Th ECFA will giv PtP mor crdibility as w xtnd our fund raising fforts. This is ncssary to provid for both currnt and futur yard pastor s nds, and to vntually provid yard pastors to vry prison in California. I clbratd my 75 th birthday in January, and ralizd that in this day and ag, many my ag ar still going strong. Howvr w do urgntly nd youngr popl to com alongsid with th sam vision and th ability to mov us ahad. I am praying that God will supply ths popl. Anothr important projct w want (Continud on pag 3) Yard pastor: Not Just anothr voluntr H is availabl to thos who nd pastoral counsling. H listns, h lovs, h cars, h prays with and for th man and his family, whatvr th crisis or nd. Prison can b a lonly plac, and frquntly inmats struggl quitly and privatly with issus and vnts from thir past, and thy nd somon thy can trust to just listn and provid wis counsl. Th Yard Pastor not only is pastor to th inmats, h is a spiritual (Continud on pag 3) Pastors to Prisonrs Organization Board of Dirctors Officrs Rvrnd John D. Jack Oin Prsidnt & CEO Rvrnd C. M. Buzz Brwr, Chaplain, Rtird Vic Prsidnt Rvrnd Bill Fink Scrtary Ms. Ann Hughs Trasurr Mr. Chris McKllar Prsidnt Caplla Dvlopmnt Ms. Joan Lmk-Oin Missionary Nurs Rtird Dr. Rogr Ziglr Chiropractor, Rtird Yard Pastor Rprsntativ Dr. Rod Stark Dirctor of Sals & Markting IQ Scintific A Hach Company Brand Rvrnd William O. Brown, Chaplain R.J. Donovan Corrctional Facility Yard Pastors/Coordinator RJ Donovan Corrctional Facility Rvrnd Elna Hrnandz Pastor August Huntr Dr. Rogr Ziglr Cntinla Stat Prison Rvrnd Clyd Huff Advisory Board Mmbrs Rvrnd Marcial Flan, Associat Pastor Shadow Mountain Community Church Rvrnd Stv Francis, Chaplain Cntinla Stat Prison Virgil L. Hugl, Enrolld Agnt Tax Consultant Th Right Rvrnd Gthin B. Hughs Bishop, Episcopal Diocs of San Digo Lt. Col. Raymond Pacock Program Scrtary, Th Salvation Army John Ratll, Wardn, Rtird R.J. Donovan Corrctional Facility Russ Urquhart Oklahoma City, OK

3 V OLUME 9, NO. 1 P AGE 3 Cntilla Prison Chaplain Stv Francis Gust Editorial It has bn a grat xprinc sing th mn that attnd our chapls rspond to th Lord with nthusiasm and prais as thy hav sn Jsus working in th livs of othrs, and in many cass, thir own livs. To tll th truth, I also hav grown in so many ways as God has workd in thir livs. Som of th hardst mn I hav vr known hav softnd undr th Holy Spirits prsistnt work of "conforming thm to th imag of Christ." Yard Pastor Clyd is such a blssing hr. Each yar his valu to th Lord and to m grows as h continus to srv hr. I hav said latly that I had no ida whn I was youngr how th Lord could us m to impact othrs for Christ. I now raliz that it is with th co-laborrs that H has calld along sid through Pastors to Prisonrs and th churchs that ar snding, supporting and praying for workr who ministr in Satan s Play Pn. Rcntly, som of th bst of my voluntrs hav bn laving or tlling m that thy might lav du to othr opportunitis. Oftn ths opportunitis offr financial support that has not bn availabl for thm as thy ministr hr in th prisons. Would you pray with m that, as th Lord lads, ach will follow and His kingdom will b advancd. Pray that our Lord would grow th ministry hr with ordaind mn who will b abl to spnd full tim hours to work th ups and downs of lif for our good and God s glory. Chaplain Stv Foundr (Continud) (Continud from pag 2) to complt this yar, is th filming of vnus insid th prison in ordr to complt DVDs to prsnt th PtP ministry to churchs, businsss and srvic clubs. To lowr th prsnt rat that inmats r- turn to prison (rcidivism rat) should b of grat valu and concrn to all sgmnts of our socity. Ths DVDs will hlp us graphically show th ffcts of daling with th moral issus of crim whil th criminal is still incarcratd. My hop and prayr is that w complt all ths projcts this yar. Imagin th funds and prsonnl it will tak to rach into all 33 California prisons. Your prayrs ar invaluabl to accomplish ths goals and drams. Pastor Jack Yard Pastor Voluntr (continud) (Continud from pag 2) ladr for th voluntrs who com to hlp with th program. On a typical Sunday at Donovan Stat prison w hav 12 worship srvics in fiv sparat chapls. In addition, w hav svral spcial programs lik Th Urban Ministry Institut that provid in dpth disciplship ducation and training opportunitis that ar vital for th spiritual growth and dvlopmnt of th brothrs. Th many voluntrs who participat in ths programs ar important. But, th Yard Pastor is th on who maks it all possibl. Th Yard Pastors ar th ons who hlp th chaplain mak th programs happn. Thy opn th chapls and work with custody staff to nsur that inmats ar rlasd to attnd. I thank God for our Yard Pastors. Thy ar a rich blssing to m and our programs. Chaplain Bill Brown Copyright Gospl Communications Intrnational, Inc -

4 P AGE 4 T HE DIFFERENCE INSIDE RJD Yard pastor August Huntr ANSWERED PRAYER: Brothr Jackson was found suitabl for Parol. Brothr Jackson is awaiting his rlas by th Govrnor by Christmas. W prayd for Brwstr to b rlasd and th Board dnid him 3 yars, only to ordr a nw haring lss than 20 days latr. Our prayrs wr answrd. His haring is now April 1, Brothr Fryrs rlationship with his daughtr has bn rstord. Tim was accptd to Bibl Collg. Byron got a nw attorny. Chaplain Brown had a succssful Evanglistic trip to Uganda. GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT: Brothr Martinz dvlopd a CD/DVDS Library for th Chapl by writing lttrs to ministris that donat. Brothr Grg has a packag ministry whr h has his family purchas quartrly packags for indignt Brothrs in th Chapl. DRAMATIC CHANGE: Bcaus of prayr and Bibl studis on th Yard, thr has bn pac amongst th racs. W hav not had any riots in th last fiftn months. Support from Staff for th Chapl out counts has bn xcptional. From th P2P Inbox & Mailbag Th darknss walking through th midst of this mptinss on bcoms blind and numb. Wastd tim I mourn this night; it is this darknss, this void whrin thousands rsid and yt alon you find yourslf sking that which may light your path. Unforgiving bcam my kingdom; raising angr, rag and bittrnss towards all. Contrast to that, my soul longd and dsird for a bam of light, just a spark of truth to light my dark road and PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION: As a rsult of our Kairos Wknd, Brothr Mik who is a formr gang ladr, rddicatd his lif to Christ, and has bn faithful to attnd all th srvics. Mik s prsnc in th Chapl has inspird othrs to sk a rlationship with Christ. Mik has a boldnss and charm that ngags othrs to liv a lif of faithfulnss that transcnds prison cultur with an attitud of sincrity, and joy of hart. Brothr Thomas rddicatd his lif, got baptizd in watr, and has st his hart on plasing God and larning mor about Christ. That can only b don through fllowship and Bibl Studis. Thomas is a formr gang mmbr that njoys my no nonsns styl of praching that is slfconfrontational, causing th harr to confss his sins and chang his ways. Thomas said, I m about to parol, and I nd to b a godly fathr to my kids. PAROLEES: Brothr Richard was finally parold aftr 29 yars. H has mad a succssful rntry with his Mom, Dad, guid m back. I bcam awar that not only was this not much of a road but a body of watr in which I was drowning. Thr was nothing around but currnts of that which stol my soul. Gazing blow into my hand, th pain of ralizing that which sank m was unbarabl, a rock. On masly rock, a ston which draggd m furthr down into th dark watrs. Why am I not ltting go? How do you lt go of that which you fll in lov with? I daughtr, and grandchildrn. Marcus, Franando, and Billy had an amazing tim at my wdding. Yard Pastor Huntr Ed. Not: Congratulations Pastor Huntr! Pastors To Prisonrs is happy to congratulat Pastor August on his wdding to his blovd Sistr Bcky. It has bn a long tim coming. Thy hav bn frinds for ovr fiv yars in ministry. Thir lov is a blssing to all who know thm, and an inspiration for all singls waiting on a godly mat as thy trust Christ to provid th hlp mat of His choic. W clbrat August and Bcky and wlcom hr as a partnr with Pastors To Prisonrs, confidnt that thir marriag will touch countlss as thy hav touchd th livs of our staff. Pastor August Huntr, Yard Pastor RJDCR God blss th Huntr s!!! found solac in th gray but my soul crid light. Slowly unclnching my fist th rock slippd out of my hand and sank out of sight as I soard upward to brath th air I had dnid myslf. Glory and prais is always to Th Almighty whos hand is not shortnd and I am vr so gratful of His srvants Pastor Jack and Pastor Rogr who so faithfully com to dlivr His Word and plant His sds to thos put in thir paths. A Fllow Slav of Christ, Inmat Oscar G.

5 V OLUME 9, NO. 1 P AGE 5 RJD Spanish Ministry Coordinator Elna Hrnandz I hav th privilg of coordinating outsid Spanish spaking groups and bringing thm into Donovan vry wknd to ministr on yards 2, 3 and 1. What a privilg it is to s livs rsponding to altar calls and bing touchd by th music, by a word of hop, by tstimonis, prayrs and th Spirit of God. Th journy of an inmat in prison is on of lonlinss and suffring. In th book Th Woundd Halr, by Hnri J.M. Nouwn, it says that A ministr is not a doctor Pastor Elna Hrnandz, Pastora Spanish Ministry whos primary task is to tak away pain. Rathr, h dpns th pain to a lvl whr it can b shard. This rminds m of an inmat in yard 2 who approachd m dspratly not too long ago and said, Plas pray for m, my wif wants to lav m. I put my hand on his had, prayd for him, and thankd God for listning to our prayr. What I did is bringing his lvl of lonlinss and suffring to a lvl that could b shard and opnd, culminating with prayr, which mad him com to libration. Human withdrawal is a vry painful and lonly procss, bcaus it forcs us to fac dirctly our own condition. I acknowldg that in my own strngth I can not sav anyon, but with God s hlp I can offr myslf as a guid to lonly-farful mn in a painful world of imprisonmnt.. I thank so much all voluntrs who tak som of thir valuabl tim to bring a word of hop, ncouragmnt and support to ths incarcratd mn. W also thank you for your financial support and for your prayrs. Pastor Elna Hrnandz Bits from th Board of Dirctor s Mting Bill Brown discussd th diffrnc btwn a voluntr and a yard pastor. (S sparat articl in this nwslttr) A Yard Pastor is mor than a chapl voluntr. From th bginning th standard was that a prson nds to b an ordaind ministr. Typically this rquirs both a baccalaurat dgr and a sminary dgr. Whn th board mmbrs rcognizd that vry fw of our voluntrs could mt this standard, th standard was modifid to rquir som formal Bibl/Thological ducation and bing licnsd to prach th gospl. Thn whn this bcam a barrir, th standard was changd to say or pursuing Th Holy Spirit is working bhind ths fncs and walls through P2P bing licnsd. At th sam tim Pastors to Prisonrs pursus rlationships with chaplains at othr prisons and th CDCR, and w sk to hav our Yard Pastors rcognizd as rligious profssionals. Without som standard it will b a difficult cas to mak. Rgularly th othr chaplains at RJD say of yard pastors: h is just a voluntr. As Protstant Chaplain, I s it diffrntly, and rgularly say so. W nd to work togthr to maintain and advocat that Pastors to Prisonrs Yard Pastors ar mor than a chapl voluntr, and w must maintain som standard that supports our claim that thy ar rligious profssionals. Rogr has a grant form from th San Digo County Employs Charitabl Organization that offrs mony to non-profit organization. Jack and Joan to talk to prospctiv nw yard pastors with whom thy hav contact. PtP vidos hav bn addd to YouTub. You can viw th vidos by sarching on prison ministry, or our organization s nam. Pray for our Yard Pastors

6 P AGE 6 T HE DIFFERENCE INSIDE Cntinla yard pastor clyd huff GOD ANSWERS PRAYER A Russian inmat, w ll call him V, was xcitd about a prayr God answrd. V is from Sovit Russia; h larnd English in prison bcaus th only Bibl h had was in English. H accptd Christ aftr h was imprisond. His daughtr was in prison in Arizona and through writing to hr about th Lord, sh trustd Christ as hr Savior. Sh was rlasd from prison and movd in with hr mothr, grandmothr and youngr brothr who wr living in a on bdroom apartmnt and had no mony. His daughtr ndd thr hundrd dollars for a work prmit and had no way to gt th mony. V wrot his Christian Russian frinds about th problm. A lady in Sacramnto raisd an offring of $150 and snt it to a frind in Los Angls. Th woman stoppd by V s hous to drop off th nvlop containing th gift, but did not hav tim to stay and talk so handd th daughtr th nvlop and lft. Whn his Pastor Clyd Huff, Yard Pastor, Cntinla daughtr opnd th nvlop sh found $300. Th amazing part is that bfor V cam to Christ, h knw non of th popl involvd in mting his family s nd, but thy hav surroundd th family with Christian lov; thy travl long distancs to visit him, writ to him, and hav givn of thir rsourcs. H told m h is writing to ovr 15 Russian Christians and sharing what Christ has don for him. In His srvic, Rv. Clyd Huff Th Word from insid Inmats Kairos commnts (Statmnts mad at an opn mik th 2 nd vning of a 3-day Kairos Program) Bst tim I hav vr spnt Our motions wr opnd up and w shard lov I nvr thought possibl Amazing lov was shard Nvr flt so much lov away from hom I want to chang and this will hlp I wantd to try out somthing nw and it is working This changd my lif; I hav dcidd to do somthing ngativ, I hav bn ncouragd not to I want to thank th Lord, this has had a profound ffct, I am going to stop running from Jsus This was a good xprinc and I prais God I ain t usd to bing tratd lik this, I prais God I got to com This is way diffrnt from th Yard Thr is a lot of support in this Chapl, thr isn t a lot of lov in prison Brothrs, I giv thanks, ask God to continu to touch my hart This is somthing nw and good Thank God that I hav bn a mmbr in this church for 5 months, I am glad I was abl to xprinc God s lov ths days I ain t bn to church for a long tim, prais God for using ths popl from th strt Wok up this morning, didn t want to com. Thank God I cam anyway Thank God for this blssing. If I wasn t in prison I would not b aliv. now I am not only aliv I am savd Thank God for fr popl who lov m Ths hav bn th bst days of my lif in prison or out I mt th Walking with Christ, th handcuffs ar opnd and our brothrs and Sistrs ar Fr on th Insid Lord whn I was 20, I lft th Lord, I know God is good, now all I want is to srv th Lord Jsus from hr on. W ar blssd to b hr at Donovan Wondrful xprinc, thank you for accpting m so I could shar th Lov of God in you Thank you Lord, God chos to b hr ths days Lt s carry what w larnd today out to ncourag th yard I hav not sn this lov for a long tim, it has opnd m up to God s lov W just don t gt th lov and accptanc that you brought in to us Bn down a long tim, I v sn nothing lik this on th strt or in prison. All th inmat candidats shard at th opn mik. That is miraculous in itslf.

7 V OLUME 9, NO. 1 P AGE 7 Evnts for Prayr and Action Mark your Calndar Sunday Worship Srvics in Facilitis 1, 3 & Min. Sunday Gust Ministris 2nd Sun Episcopal Svc Fac 1 3rd Sun On Th Mov Prison Ministris, Fac 2 Sunday Catholic Mass Facilitis1, 3 and Minimum Saturday Spanish Srvics in Facilitis 1-3 Saturday Apostolic Church in Facilitis 1-3 April 4th Board of Dirctors Quartrly Mting, 9am at Torry Pins Christian Church. All ar Wlcom Sptmbr 1st Submission dadlin for nxt issu of Th Diffrnc Insid Statistics to Dat 2009 Activity Conductd Attndanc Worship Srvics pr srvic Yd Pastor Srmons pr srvic Holy Communion Bibl Studis pr study Pastoral Counsling 161 Mtings Conductd or Suprvisd 175 Baptisms 6 Prais th Lord! Tim spnd in Institution (330 Voluntrs) 1159 hours Thank you, Lord! W nd your hlp! Pastors to Prisonrs is a non-profit organization. W thank you in joining with us to bring th Lord s work insid California Prisons. Hlp us light th dark rachs of th prisons with Christ s Light and Lov Mthod of Paymnt Chck Enclosd (Mail Only) Pay Pal CLICK HERE Visa/MC/AMEX Crdit Card # Signatur PASTORS TO PRISONERS NEWSLETTER Chck Pastor Prison Donation X Pastor Jack RJD $ X Pastor Elna RJD Spanish $ X Pastor Clyd Cntinla $ X Pastor August RJD $ X Pastor Rogr RJD $ X Gnral YP Fund All Projcts $ X Spcial Projcts Nam Addrss Phon Addrss Mail Donations to: Pastors to Prisonrs PO Box 2757 La Msa, CA All Aras $ Exp. dat Undsignatd donations will b placd in th Oprating Fund and distributd quartrly on a shortfall basis.

8 PASTORS TO PRISONERS NEWSLETTER Hlping brokn popl put th pics togthr... Th last word by Pastor Jack What W Do and How Far It May Go? I hav oftn said, B carful, you don t know what th rsults of your actions will b or how far thy will travl. I am also answring th qustion, how ar you? by saying, I am blssd. My grandson Dustin, rcntly joind th Air Forc, and about th scond wk of his training I wrot him a lttr. I told him that h was probably wondring what had gottn into him for committing to basic training. I told him a story about th old farmr who stood up in a southrn tstimony mting, and said, I m so glad th Bibl says, It Pastors to Prisonrs PO Box 4381 Chula Vista, CA ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED cam to pass, and sat down. Th prachr askd th farmr to rpat what h had said. H stood up again and rpatd what h had said bfor and sat down. This happnd svral tims and finally th Pastor said, brothr, w hard what you said, now what do you man? Th old farmr stood again and said, I am so glad th Bibl says, It cam to pass and dos not say, It cam to stay. My grandson wrot back that h had rcivd th lttr aftr a particularly rough day and whn h rad it, it rally liftd his spirits and so h shard it with som of th othr trains, and thy also wr ncouragd. On of thm said that h hopd Dustin s grandfathr would writ again. Anothr askd who his grandfathr was. Dustin told him, that h was th prsidnt of Pastors to Prisonrs, and thn h askd, What is his nam? Dustin told him and th fllow brightnd up and said, that man ld m to th Lord svral yars ago, and that is kping m out of prison. Dustin wrot that this train was going to b a Chaplain s Assistant, and vry night aftr lights out, h would gt out his flash light and thy would hav a Bibl study around his bunk. So you s I can t hlp it, I am blssd and th blssing has not stoppd. Non-profit Organization U.S. Postag Paid Chula Vista, CA Prmit No. 194 Info@pastorstoprisonrs.org Visit us on th wb at Digital Radrs nd only to click on th link abov P.O. Box 4381 Chula Vista, CA Ph: (619) Fax: (619) RalJoy@cox.nt Hlping brokn popl put thir livs back togthr...