2005 Newsletter Archive Vault

Other Newsletter Archives:

This Archive Vault is still available here but was not replicated on our site redesign. Clicking on links other than these below will take you to the new site.

2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004

 

God Just Keeps Giving

When you think of the ways to give to a ministry such as Alpha Prison Ministries, you might only think of financial support or volunteering. These are important, and God calls each of us to give somewhere, in some way, whether to Alpha or something else. Your role is crucial, and you are part of something that would never be complete without you.

The Bible tells us that, “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” Jesus declared that, “You may ask for anything in my name, and I will do it.” This is not new to those of us who are familiar with the Scriptures, but it is a reminder of how important our prayers are. It is a powerful way to give to any ministry.

Alpha Prison Ministries receives support in many other ways too. Some volunteers, who may not work directly with mentoring prisoners, use their skills in electrical work, carpentry, or some other way. Even the residents themselves are often handy with fixing things and making other contributions.

Donations of clothing can help Alpha House residents and other former inmates. It could help them get a job they might not get otherwise. Needs for appliances often come up that could be useful at Alpha House.

There are also employers who are willing to hire the people we send to them. This type of contribution means more than most people could imagine to an ex-offender who finds it difficult just to be given a chance to begin a normal life.

No giving is unimportant. As we enter the season of giving, we thank God for you.

Taken from the Holiday Newsletter, November 2005

 

Thank You Lord
A poem submitted by a prison inmate

Thank you Lord,
You have been so good to me
Cause you have given me hope
And made my life and future blessed before me.

Thank you Lord,
When I was lonely and down on the ground,
You extended your hand towards me
And made me know that you were always around.

Thank you Lord,
For when I was sick and death was all around me,
You spoke a word, and death and sickness had to flee.

Thank you Lord,
For when I was in prison
And each day was full of loneliness and despair,
You brought people into my life,
Who lifted me up, and showed me that you care.

Thank you Lord,
Because my life is full of sorrow and pain,
You healed me
And renewed the joy within my heart again.

K.H.

Taken from the Fall Newsletter, November 2005

 

Prisoner's Son Killed In Iraq

Thank you for your card of condolences due to the death of my son Eric. It brings me great comfort knowing you care.

Please pass on my thanks to all of those that take part in Alpha Prison Ministries. I am forever in your debt.

Your prayers and that of so many others have made this time a lot easier here for me and my family.

I have no regrets that my son chose to serve in the armed forces. To fight for the freedom of others is truly a just and moral cause.

I hold no anger or bitterness toward those who caused his death, for they truly don't know the error of their ways. I forgive them and pray the day will come that they will cease their evil ways, and seek to live in His peace.

God's love and mine,

John -- Taken from the Fall Newsletter, November 2005

2011 update… John, who has since been released from prison participated in a TV interview and APM video where he talks about his son's death. See the 4 minute video segment below which features John and his story:

 

Our Success Can Be Measured But Not All Of It

As Alpha House has been serving the needs of transitional housing for more than 5 years, nearly 80 men have been housed during that time. Of these 80 men, only 8 have since returned to prison. This kind of success only happens in faith based programs.

Studies have shown that the rate of men returning to prison on release drops by more than 60% in faith based programs. This is measurable success. Our 90% success rate is encouraging.

Yet there is much than cannot be measured. There are lives transformed within the prison system, both those now living back in society and those still in prison. Former Alpha House residents are only a small part of the success.

We can easily check how many men are back in prison. There is no database to show how many marriages and families are restored. We cannot check to see how many destructive habits have been changed, or how many souls have been won through the people we have reached.

Thankfully, we serve a God who keeps track. Not only does “He who began a good work in them carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus,” He credits to the account of all who are involved in the process. You will be rewarded for what you have done for the least of these.

Our newsletter is just a glimpse we trust you will find encouraging. Our volunteers get to see hope in the eyes of men who were once hopeless. We share occasional letters we receive that testify of the difference this ministry has made. You are part of that.

Taken from the Summer Newsletter, July 2005

 

Measure 1+1 = Unity
A poem by an Alpha House resident

What measures do we seek?
Is it the fruit of a very large tree?
So we may grow and feed our hunger,
That's three measures that woke my slumber.
Or was it hunger that woke my sleep?

I took it as the Lord's thirst for me,
So that I may gain the knowledge I need
To seek the unity He provided for you and me.
So I may grow in larger measures,
Than just me.
Now we'll be rooted just as a tree,
Strong and fruitful
For you and me to eat.

So we may grow in unity,
Look at the measures the Lord will seek.
He even awoke me from my sleep,
To open my eyes so I may see.
We all have different measures that He may seek,
But we can't do it without unity.

Larry

Taken from the Summer Newsletter, July 2005

 

How To Get God's Attention

In a recent Church Leaders newsletter, Jim Henderson made comments that are especially valid to those who support ministries such as APM.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus provides a hidden camera view into God's heart with his comments regarding the final judgement: “When you visited them (prisoners, orphans, and hungry) you visited me — enter into the joy of your reward” (Matthew 25:35-37 NIV).
Jesus makes what seems obvious to him, apparent to his followers by pointing out that it counted to him when they anonymously cared for other human beings and that he noticed it even if they didn't. From Jesus' perspective, seemingly unremarkable and very ordinary attempts to love others really do get his attention.

Whether you are in the prisons doing Bible studies, praying for us, contributing financially, or any area of service, you are getting God's attention.

Taken from the Summer Newsletter, July 2005

 

Alpha Desires Your Enlightened Support

When you decide to make a financial contribution to Alpha Prison Ministries, we interpret that as a serious commitment on our part. We appreciate you asking yourself these questions:

Taken from the Summer Newsletter, July 2005

 

Soul Winning
Martin's Perspective From Inside the Prisons

The summer of 1997 was the darkest period in my life. I had a serious cocaine addiction, and had committed two bank robberies. After the second robbery, I fled the state of Michigan and traveled to Indiana as a wanted fugitive. I was lost, confused, broken-hearted, and walking in complete misery. I wanted a new life but my situation seemed totally hopeless.

In the midst of my hopelessness, God sent a miracle that would alter the course of my life forever. Through a telephone call to my brother, I became aware that he had met the bank teller whom I had robbed. His first words were, “He is a Christian. He wants you to know that he and the members of his church are praying for you.” I was stunned! His message brought tears to my eyes and became the turning point in my life.

A few hours later, I found myself standing alone on a balcony gazing toward the heavens. I was being shown all the pain and hurt I had inflicted on others. Only this time the pain was mine. It's realness was intensifying the heaviness in my heart and I began crying out to God for help. He reminded me of my need to ‘believe’ in the message of the cross. If I did believe, He would then give me the ‘new life’ I so desperately wanted. As I entertained these thoughts, my heart began to burn and beat faster as it made me aware another heavenly presence was now beside me on the balcony. My heart exploded with uncontrollable excitement as it recognized the One it had been searching for all along! It was JESUS! I knew He had died on the cross for my sin, and I did not deserve Him. Yet, I wanted Him so badly! With tears in my eyes, I cried out, “Come into my heart take away my cocaine addiction, and give me a new life!” As I spoke these words, His resurrected Spirit entered my body, and for the first time, I knew the sweet joy of His Spirit and the reality of being born again. His Spirit gave me the desire to live again. However, I no longer wanted to live for myself, but for Him. One week later, I returned to Michigan and turned myself in to the authorities for the bank robberies.

In the county jail I saw men with pain and despair etched on their faces. I desperately wanted them to know Jesus Christ and experience the inner joy that now lingered in my heart. I knew that at the cross of Calvary they would find meaning and purpose for their lives.

In Jackson prison, my burden for souls increased as I interacted with men whose lives had been totally destroyed by sin. I was able to sense their hopelessness due to the despair they carried. My longing for their salvation increased even more! During the night, I would find myself staying up until the wee hours of the morning weeping and talking to God about their lives. I began to communicate the Gospel to them the best way I knew how, but mostly through acts of kindness and compassion. I began to realize more than ever that at the cross, I had found meaning and purpose to my existence.

My next few years in prison were very challenging. God began to open doors for me to speak, but I wrestled with the spirit of fear. The fear of people rejecting my messages terrified me. One particular night, I remember falling on my knees and asking God for boldness to deliver a message on repentance that He had placed in my heart. Later that evening I was given the opportunity to deliver His message to a large gathering at our Sunday night service. I was so tense as I stood at the podium looking at the men. All I could see was their big eyes staring at me. However, I found that when I stepped out in faith, the Holy Spirit gave me great liberty in speaking and connecting with the men. At the end of the message, I gave an alter call, and when the men responded and came forward to receive Christ, it was one of the most encouraging yet humbling moments in my life. My joy was not in my accomplishment, but rather in seeing the tears and joy of the men who came forward to surrender their lives to Christ.

My desire in sharing these experiences is not to entertain you, but rather to encourage you to step ‘OUT’ of the boat and to start walking by faith. Matthew 14:29 says, “Peter got ‘OUT’ of the boat.” If we are honest with ourselves, we will admit that sometimes we stay in the boat because we are afraid of the world and scared to preach the Gospel to those who need to hear it. However, I am convinced that we can make a difference in the lives of people around us by simply stepping ‘OUT’ of our boats of comfort and allowing the power of the Holy Spirit to flow through us. The day the Holy Spirit fell in Acts 2 was a wonderful and exhilarating experience, but Christ's disciples did not stay there. Instead, they stepped out in faith and went ‘OUT’ into the world to preach the Gospel. We also need to step ‘OUT’ into our world and reach out to broken people - just like the bank teller did in my case.

The work of evangelism can be challenging, but it's extremely rewarding. I am persuaded that there is no greater joy in the world more rewarding than seeing a new convert fall in love with Jesus, study His Word, and sing praises to His Name. The overwhelming joy of bringing souls to the cross is the greatest reward we can ever receive in this lifetime, and it cannot be measured in terms of earthly riches. It should humble us and bring tears to our eyes to know that we can be used by God to rescue souls from eternal loss.

Some of you are saying, “My spirit is stirred, but I don't have the gift of an evangelist.” Your gift may not be that of an evangelist, but that should not prevent you from being a soul winner. Along with salvation comes the great privilege of helping weary souls find rest in the arms of Jesus Christ.

At this very moment, there is a soul in your life who is lost and in desperate need of guidance. This soul may be a friend, a loved one, or even the person you are living with. This soul needs you. Will you reach out to this soul with the compassion of Jesus Christ? Will you be like the prophet Isaiah and say, “Here am I! Send me.”

My sole purpose in sharing this testimony is to encourage, challenge, and inspire you to become part of the greatest spiritual awakening that has ever taken place in the prison system.

He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him. (Psalm 126:6)

Taken from the Spring Newsletter, May 2005

 

Does “Tough On Crime” Work?

In recent decades, laws have become tougher, jails and prisons are getting fuller, and more are being built at taxpayer expense. As the prison population in the US now exceeds two million, this is a burden and expense we all bear together.

If you translate the prison population another way, on average, one in every 75 men in the US are in prison! Among African American males, it is one in 20, and it is one in 50 among Hispanics. These are not just numbers, these are human beings.

The idea, “Lock them up and throw away the key,” has been tried. Are we better off? Is society safer? Or do we just shoulder a bigger tax burden, a higher crime rate, more repeat offenders, and more hardened criminals?

Those of us who are Christians are very much aware that Jesus Christ is the only real answer. When you change the heart, you change the person. Yet at the same time we often buy into the politically popular “tough on crime” idea. Perhaps we would do well to reexamine that position.

Pat Nolan of Justice Fellowship recently acknowledged problems with prison reform he helped support in California. These reforms were not keeping the public safe, but draining huge amounts of resources from taxpayers.

Mr. Nolan states, “I made two mistakes that led me to support these failed policies. First, I didn't realize that along with the violent offenders California locked up, there were even more non-violent offenders incarcerated – and usually for longer terms than the violent felons. And second, the increased spending for prison construction that we in the legislature authorized didn't include money to prepare the inmates for their return to society at the end of their sentences.”

This ministry is built on the idea of showing compassion to those who society throws away. As a supporter, you are on the leading edge of rehabilitation. Departments of corrections are realizing that without rehabilitation, without preparing prisoners to integrate back into society, their methods fail. Offenders only get hardened and become more dangerous for the short time they spend back in society.

As our society faces these serious problems, you are taking action through your support of this ministry. While the system hands out only punishment, you are providing hope. Every life that is changed is one less drain on the system, one more person to reach others. For inmates who get released from prison, you are helping them make a successful transition back into society where they can be part of the solution instead of part of the problem.

Taken from the Winter Newsletter, February 2005

 

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica Inc.
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture taken from The Message. (The Message)
Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002.
Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.