Greetings in the love and grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Since my last letter the Lord has continued to open doors and provide opportunities far beyond my greatest expectations. All areas of our work are expanding and men and women are finding relationships with the Lord and continuing to grow in the faith. I'll be including a report from one of your newest Chaplains, Rich Bartlett, on the back of my report. It is quite noteworthy and gives a good picture of what the Lord is doing through our staff. Your prayers and investments are being greatly honored by the Lord and resulting in hearts won and faith established. Praise the Lord for what He is doing!
It's hard to believe we are over half way through another year. Seems like it just started the other day. We are still in the process of adding more staff while at the same time trying to get the word out about this work and what the Lord is and can be doing through it. Pray for ways to share this important ministry with the Body of Christ and for His supply for more works in the field.
If you know a minister or Church that would be interested in this work, please let me know and I'll contact them for a meeting. Any good words you can put into these contacts for us can really open doors. Don't hesitate to share the story, become an Andrew that brought his brother Simon Peter to Jesus. Bringing Prison Discipleship's work through us by the Lord's power will cause others to join us as workers, prayer partners and investmentors.
You are needed and I thank God for the call He has given us, together!. Funds are tight and I'm looking to "mend tents" just like Paul did. I'll looking to pulpit supply and maybe even fill the need for a Bi-Vocational in some small church. If that would be the Lord's will and direction. Pray for me, Please!
In His Never Ending Love for Us,
Dr. C. Steven Bradshaw D. D
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Continued growth and participation characterized the month of May in the ministries to the Department of Corrections and the Department of Mental Health at the Oklahoma Forensic Center in Vinita, OK. In addition, a new ministry was initiated at the Northeastern Oklahoma Community Correctional Center, a pre-release work center also in Vinita, OK. The "kickoff" event on May 13th was a showing of the Christian movie
"The Forge" to 12 inmates in the chapel at the facility. Plans include Bible-oriented classes offered to the inmates on such topics as Communication, HIV Health, and Anger Management. These classes are designed to better prepare inmates for life "outside the fence" after their release but will be presented from a biblical perspective.
The Character Building discipleship series grew from 12 to 31 inmates at Jess Dunn Correctional Center (JDCC) in Taft during May. The next and final workbook, Book #3, will begin in June. Plans are being made for a first-ever graduation event, with founder and author Steve Bradshaw in attendance, in August. God continues to bless the effort with steady growth in attendance and participation!
We are also continuing to sponsor Celebrate Recovery (CR) at JDCC each week. This
12-step, Christ-centered program has grown from 12 inmates to 50 each week! Plans are underway for a leadership training session and a new cycle of "step studies" in September. This would be the third cycle of CR at Jess Dunn. A 5 km walk/run for the inmates at the facility is being organized, in order to promote the program to the entire facility.
JDCC Sunday School is being sponsored by myself and Jay Davis, formerly of Prison Discipleship, on Sunday mornings at the chapel. The hour-long biblical teaching time is designed to provide a steady diet of doctrine to the inmates. This doctrine is hopefully countering the influence of the cults in the "yard" such as the Jehovah Witnesses, hyper-Charismatic "prosperity" teaching, and Islam, among others. In May, the true gospel through the Book of Romans was presented.
"Grace to You", the ministry of John MacArthur, has provided over $500 worth of Bibles and teaching materials at no cost to us, through their prison-ministry program!
Study Bibles and booklets on "The True Work of the Holy Spirit" are available to all inmates - in English and Spanish! (This allows for a Spanish-only Sunday School class, led by an inmate under our supervision.)
At the Oklahoma Forensic Center (OFC) in Vinita, the Book of John study was completed with 17-20 residents. "The Forge" has been shown during May and the Character Building study will begin in June. As Lee P., a resident at OFC said recently,
"When I started reading the Bible, I became sane!"
God is working through the prayers, support and consistent serving at the facilities.
Thank you!
Chaplain Rich Barlett