Good News Jail & Prison Ministry Banquet

The Good News Jail & Prison Ministry annual fundraising banquet is coming up. Come hear the life-change stories for yourself!

To RSVP contact Chaplain Brian Duclos:

brian.duclos@goodnewjail.org

Good News Jail & Prison Ministry Annual Banquet

A Quick Update

Here's a quick update from the Good News Jail & Prison ministry 2015 annual report:

500,000 U.S. inmates passed through facilities where our 70 U.S. based chaplains serve. 

1,300,000 additional international inmates passed through facilities where our 300 international chaplains serve. 

And a total of 54,070 decisions were made for Christ!

Want to learn more? Check out how you can be part of what God is doing in our jails and prisons at http://northridgeserves.com/goodnews.

Tours

As your community group kicks off for another year, consider getting your group to schedule a tour with one of our partnering agencies. A tour is a great first step to helping your group serve throughout the year. And why serve? Your group's service can help our partnering agencies make more and better disciples, and help your groupies grow too. Email any of these partnering agencies to schedule a tour.

http://northridgeserves.com/goodnews/

http://northridgeserves.com/compass/

http://northridgeserves.com/missionshare/

http://northridgeserves.com/yfc/

Take a Look at What People are Saying About the Good News Jail and Prison Ministry

Interested in learning more about the Good News Jail and Prison Ministry? Consider attending a Jail Tour or having NRS agency rep, Dave, attend your community group to share more. Email Dave for details and to set up a time.

Good News Banquet

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the ministry here in Monroe County. This event will be the largest and most important fundraiser of the year for this ministry. Join us for a delicious dinner, uplifting worship music, moving testimonies and an engaging, challenging message. We appreciate our sheriffs for allowing us to provide faith-based services to both inmates and staff.

Worship music will be provided by the First Bible Baptist Church Worship Band.

The keynote speaker will be Dr. Harry Fletcher, Vice President of International Ministry and Pastoral Care for Good News Jail & Prison Ministry. Dr. Fletcher travels all over the world ministering to Good News Chaplains and their families. Dr. Fletcher was instrumental in starting the local chapter of this ministry while he was Senior Pastor at Webster Bible Church, 40 years ago.

Please note that a group reservation does not guarantee the entire group will be able to sit together as seating is limited. Also, note this is an adults-only event. RSVP is REQUIRED. Please click here to register and get free tickets.

Good News Jail and Prison Ministry Thanks HighPoint

Interested in serving with the Good News Jail & Prison Ministry? Consider attending their prayer breakfast on Saturday, November 8th from 8am-9:30am at First Bible Baptist Church (990 Manitou Rd. Hilton, NY 14468). It will be a morning of worship music, ex-inmate testimonies, Chaplain updates, prayer, and breakfast. (Note: An offering will be taken to support the ministry within the Monroe and Wayne County Jails.)

Tour the Jail

Community groups and individuals are invited to come and tour the jail to learn more about the Good News Jail and Prison Ministry.

Tours are the 3rd Tuesday of most months starting at 6:45pm. Tours are about 2 hours long.

A background check must be performed prior to the tour. Names and date of births must be submitted to Dave (agencyrep.northridge@gmail.com) no later than a week before the tour to perform the background check. Photo ID is required on the day of the tour.

The Good and Evil Comic Book Bible

Good News Jail & Prison Ministry chaplains have found that incarcerated men and women are more likely to read the Good and Evil Comic Book bible. That’s why High Point is partnering with Good News through April to raise money to purchase more of these books. Parents, consider partnering with your children to serve in this way.

Tour the Jail

Community groups and individuals come tour the jail and learn more about the Good News Jail and Prison Ministry.

Tours are the 3rd Tuesday of most months from 6:45pm-~8:45pm. A background check must be performed prior to the tour. Names and DOBs must be submitted to our agency rep, Dave, no later than a week before the tour to perform the background check. A Photo ID is required on the day of the tour.

Email agencyrep.northridge@gmail.com to attend a tour.

Wet Your Feet with the Good News Jail & Prison Ministry

An easy way to get your feet wet serving through Good News Jail & Prison Ministry is to help with Bible cover replacement.  Community groups and families can work together to put pre-made soft covers on donated Bibles.  The time commitment is flexible, making it a good way to ease in.

If you want to get your feet a little more than just wet, try becoming a lesson grader.  Help grade the written Bible lessons that inmates work on.  Lesson graders get together Thursdays from 7-11am, but the time commitment is flexible.

Email agencyrep.northridge@gmail.com if you're interested.

Replacing Bible Covers

The Moore and Schoos Community Group recently served together helping the Good News Jail and Prison Ministry replace bible covers.  Here's a quick post sharing their experience.

What Went Well?
All of it! One of our leaders met with the agency rep, Dave, after church one Sunday and he showed her where everything was kept and how to change the covers. He talked about how other groups had done it in the past and how they made assembly lines that seemed to work well too. He also took the time to explain why they have to change the covers and a little bit about the jail ministry and what they do.

What could be improved? 
Nothing!

Any Other Comments? 
Our group had a great time working on these! We got to fellowship while we helped serve!

Interested in helping the Good News Jail & Prison Ministry? Contact Dave at agencyrep.northridge@gmail.com

Want to give some feedback on how serving went for you or your community group? Click here.

Consider Serving with the Good News Jail & Prison Ministry

Mission Statement: To provide spiritually mature, equipped, and motivated Christian chaplains to serve in correctional facilities nationally and internationally.

Purpose Statement: To meet the spiritual needs of both inmates and staff through ministry that includes evangelism, discipleship, and pastoral attention, while facilitating other religious faiths within the guidelines established by law and the individual correctional facility.

http://northridgeserves.com/goodnews/

An Interview with Mary Lou

Name:

Mary Lou Mikel

Where Do You Serve?

Good News Jail Ministry

What Do You Do While There?

As part of this group I meet with other dedicated Christians to correct and grade bible studies one chapter at a time provided for those in jail by Good News Jail Ministry.

What Do You Enjoy About Your Experience?

I most enjoy responding to the questions at the end of the testing: "Explain in your own words the message in this chapter." and "How does this apply to your life?" I have been blessed to read honest accounts of lives from all educational, cultural and spiritual backgrounds who are seeking to know and to apply or re-apply Gods Word to their lives. I have the opportunity to clarify when needed and always to encourage them with Gods love and forgiveness and my concern for a fellow sinner also saved by His grace.

Any Other Comments?

The lessons are based upon the King James Version of the Bible. Many prisoners do better with the New Translations. There has been little or no change since this program was first begun. However, it is valuable even in its present form.

We are praying and would appreciate the Church to pray for more interest in the prison community to seek God in His unchanging Word.

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Interested in becoming a lesson grader like Mary Lou, or leading a project to develop a new curriculum for the Good News Jail and Prison Ministry?  

If so, email our Agency Rep., Dave, at agencyrep.northridge@gmail.com.

An Interview with Dave

Name:

Dave Baxter

Where Do You Serve?

Good News Jail & Prison Ministry

What Do You Do While There?

There are three ways to serve the jail:

1) Join the team that meets one morning a week to grade written Bible lessons that some of the inmates complete. This includes the opportunity to write a few words of encouragement to the inmates, which for many inmates is the only contact they have with the outside world.

2) Help with the church service that a handful of faithful volunteers from Northridge has run for years in the Henrietta Jail on the third Sunday evening of each month. (Requires clearance and training for going in the jail.)

3) Volunteer in the downtown or Henrietta jails leading a Bible study of your choosing for small groups of inmates or speaking one on one with inmates. (Requires clearance and training for going in the jail.)

I volunteer in the downtown jail leading small group Bible studies.

What Did You Enjoy About Your Experience?

I love how easy it is to connect with the inmates. About a third are anxious to speak with me the second I walk in. Another third are willing to speak with me if simply say hi. The last third don't want to talk but don't make a big deal out of it.

Why Would You Recommend Others to Serve Where You Did?

100%. The inmates are nicer than many of the people I know on the outside! They pray for me and care about me and miss me if I can't see them. Many spend HOURS in the Word every day and have great insights to share. I always feel like I've received more than I've given when I leave the jail. 

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Interested in finding out more about the Good News Jail and Prison Ministry?  

Come on a tour Tuesday evening, January 15th.

Please contact our Agency Rep, Dave Baxter, by email or through the Northridge Serves page by January 8th if you're interested in attending.

An Interview with Jack and June

Name:

Jack and June Robson

Where Do You Serve?

Good News Jail and Prison Ministry

What Do You While There?

June and I have been involved in our monthly services at either the downtown jail facility, or at the Correctional facility in Henrietta, New York for over 40 years.

We do not have a large team of volunteers, but there is usually 4 or 5 of us on the team that visits the jail on a 3^rd Sunday evening of the month, and spend about an hour and a half  with the 60 to 70 male and female inmates that usually show up for the service.

We have hymnals and will sing several of the more popular hymns that the inmates would know, have a time of prayer, sometimes giving several minutes to a few of the attendees that would like to sing, read a poem, or give some sort of testimony, and then present one of our “guest” speakers who will bring a 15 to 20 minute message from God’s word.

From time to time, we have had a former inmate visit our Northridge church, when released into society, and always encourage those getting out of jail to find a good bible believing home church to attend, or to come over to a place where they will feel most welcomed and benefit spiritually.

What Did You Enjoy About Your Experience?

 “Transforming lives behind bars here and around the World” is the theme most shared with people involved in Jail ministry.

We are very privileged to have had the opportunity to be a small part of this world-wide ministry, and to see how folks that are incarcerated  and behind bars in the local jail institutions are given the chance to change their lives by trusting in a Savior, who can release them from the bonds of sin that has put them into a jail institution in the first place, rehabilitate them through the Word of God and counseling, and to see  these folk coming back into society and rejoining their families with a desire to change their lives under God’s leadership.

Why Would You Recommend Others to Serve Where You Did?

Our Pastor’s recent sermons mention missions in our own back yard, and surely this jail ministry is a mission field that beckons to us to give help to these citizens, just like ourselves, who strayed from the straight and narrow road, have reached rock bottom, and need the help of folk like you and I to help them to rehabilitate themselves.  Seeing the joy of one whose life has been changed through trusting Christ as Lord and Savior, is a real blessing to us involved in this work.

We can use more help in our program. All it takes is filling out an application, which is sent to the jail section for approval, attending a special information class (1 hour), and then when approved, to come along to a Sunday Evening service and let God show you the many blessings that we have found from participation in this Good News mission program.

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Want to join Jack and June in this ministry?  

Email agencyrep.northridge@gmail.com or comment on this post to receive more details and an application.