Why I Serve With the Ministry By Terry Flesch

“God has brought us into a relationship with Him, but the only justification for our existence as the church, as the people of God, is to facilitate building the kingdom of

God through evangelism, discipleship, and missions." ----Jerry Rankin

Please close your eyes with me for a minute: try to imagine that you have been arrested and put in jail. Consider that your picture, your address and a lot of details about you -- whether it is true or not, have been published in the media. Consider how your family may treat you. Consider that since you are not going to show up at work tomorrow, you will most likely lose your job. Your sense of hope and security are gone. Everything has been taken away from you. You are at rock bottom.

You can open your eyes now. You know, there is no difference between the people in jail and those who are not. We are all sinners. Those in jail were caught for their sin, judged and punished by society. However, as a result of accepting Jesus’ sacrifice, and our repentance, we are free and forgiven in Christ, with the power of His Spirit to overcome sin. “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us

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this issue

Why I Serve With the Ministry p. 1 ……continued from page one…. p. 2

Discipleship p. 3 Updates p. 4

Good News Jail & Prison Ministry has chaplains serving in the US and abroad. Your gifts help to reach inmates and staff with the Gospel and to disciple them for Jesus Christ. Please peruse our web site to learn about our national and international ministries.

ECFA is an accreditation agency dedicated to helping Christian ministries earn the public’s trust through adherence to Seven Standards of Responsible Stewardship™, which focus on board governance, financial transparency, integrity in fundraising, and proper use of charity resources.

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Your Chaplains

RON MORSE Ron.morse@goodnewsjail.org

Ron Morse was raised in Central New York and moved with his family to Rochester in 1970. In 1971, Ron joined the Army and served for nearly twenty years active and Reserve.

Ron is a graduate of Louisiana Baptist University, in Shreveport, LA and is currently completing his doctorate in psychology. In 1995, Ron was ordained into the ministry at Victory Baptist Church in Rochester. He then planted a church in the inner city where he served also as pastor.

In 2003, Ron helped open the His Way House which served as a transitional ministry for recently released inmates from local county jails and NYS Prisons.

In 2006, he was also instrumental in the formation and opening of a crisis pregnancy center in Rochester called Embracing Options.

Ron authored a book for Christian counselors on how to understand and minister to addictive behavior called “More Than Sin.” The book is an expanded version of the CLEAN Addiction Recovery Ministry that he wrote to counsel inmates suffering from addiction. The CLEAN ministry is currently running in 23 churches and 16 jails in NY, and is also in NJ, PA, OH, FL, and TX.

Before coming on as Chaplain in 2008, Ron had served with Good News as a volunteer for 14 years and an active member of the President’s Council.

Ron lives in the Rochester area with his wife Cindy where they attend Victory Church. He has three daughters, two step-sons, and four grandchildren.

to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. (Titus 2:11 – 14 [ESV]).

I serve on the Chaplain Support Team (CST) and have since 2010. I was asked to participate on the CST long before that. But, I was “too busy.” Then, one night our phone rang, one of our kids was arrested. What followed were some of the worst years of our lives. But, it was also a wakeup call from God for my wife and I. He opened our eyes to the need for this ministry and we knew that we must be involved with it.

Jail is no less a mission field than any other place in this world. Whether you realize it or not, the believers in jail are your brothers and sisters in Christ. It should be our desire to see those in jail transformed in Christ.

As someone with a loved one in jail, I wanted to be sure that there was someone who had access to my loved one, who would care and show compassion. I also wanted someone who would share God’s word with them, so that it might provide light into the dark corners of their life and illuminate hope for their future.

I hope and pray that you never experience, yourself or a loved one, being incarcerated, but the probability is that some of you will or already have. GNJPM not only makes a difference in the lives of the inmates and staff in the jail, but also for the loved ones on the outside.

Recently, I have been approached by others in our church who recently have had loved ones incarcerated. They were also looking for someone who would care, show compassion and share God’s word to bring peace and hope in a situation that is overwhelming and seemingly hopeless.

It helps to know that someone is ministering to your loved one in jail with the Word of God. That’s what our Chaplains and volunteers do. Please consider how you might be involved with this ministry

Terry Flesch Chaplaincy Support Team

Good News Jail & Prison Ministry

When Christ chose His disciples He selected twelve grown men from various different occupations and lifestyles. Matthew was a tax collector (he identifies himself as such in Matthew 10:3) employed by the Roman government to collect money in his local area. Peter and his brother Andrew were fishermen (Mark 1:16). These men became the revolutionary frontrunners of the New Testament church, but they were not without faults and weaknesses.

Interestingly, not one of the chosen 12 disciples was a theologian or rabbi. They had no astonishing skills. Neither religious, nor distinguished, they were average people, just like you and me.

What is significant about these men is that they made the decision to follow Christ to be discipled by the Savior in the context of community before being sent on a mission as Apostles (ones sent forth). After the coming of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4), Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost (see Acts 2:14-41), and approximately 3000 people were saved.

While many are in the habit of focusing on the results of ministry (which is honorable), chaplains also emphasize the “middle ground”, the process by

which we get there. It’s called discipleship.

Christ observed men involved in ordinary living and turned them into the extraordinary. Prisoners are very conventional people, having made bad decisions that resulted in incarceration.

Good News Jail & Prison Ministry chaplains and volunteers not only lead souls to the Lord by preaching the Gospel, we also begin the process of discipleship. We labor full-time in our jails and prisons giving personal attention to those who have accepted Christ as Lord and Savior. No achievement comes without practice and discipline. Disciple-making is a commitment that involves relational investment. This is why our chaplains depend on your generous donations to keep us in jail full-time.

I am certainly grateful that a southern Mennonite chaplain introduced me to Christ as a young inmate and went on to disciple me for three years. I am equally thankful that he simply obeyed the Lord’s mandate to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:18-20).

Tommy Davis

Chaplain

Ways minister to prisoners.... Donate through UNITED WAY by designating

Be a financial partner – Monthly, Quarterly, One Time.

Pray for Chaplains/inmates – Get on our Prayer List

Grade Bible Lessons – Meet once a week at the Grading Center

Become a volunteer – Preach, Teach, Evangelize, Disciple inmates

Join the Chaplaincy Support Team – Monthly meeting to help the local ministry

Join a special event committee (Annual Banquet, Prayer Breakfast, Golf Tournament)

Donate - Bibles, religious magazines/literature, and soft-cover books

TOMMY DAVIS Tommy.davis@goodnewsjail.org

Chaplain Tommy Davis was arrested in 1989 at the age of 16 after arriving in Rochester from North Carolina just a year earlier. He was led to faith in Christ by a jail chaplain.

Tommy went on to earn his BA in Theology from Apex School of Theology in Durham, NC and a master's in Ministry from Tennessee Temple University. He is currently pursuing his D.Min.

Prior to joining Good News Jail & Prison Ministry as a full time chaplain in 2010, Chaplain Davis served for five years as a crisis chaplain and team supervisor at homicide scenes, operating in conjunction with law enforcement agencies that included the U.S. Marshal’s Service.

From 2006 to 2011, Tommy served as a NY division chief chaplain with Chaplain Fellowship Ministries International, overseeing clergy throughout NYS. He also served as an assistant pastor in Rochester, NY and a sanitation supervisor for a beef company.

In 2012, Tommy, along with a sheriff’s deputy and a police chaplain, founded the Flower City Chaplain Corps Inc. a Christian not-for-profit that ministers to residents in high crime areas, and facilitates a fugitive safe surrender program whereas wanted offenders voluntarily turn themselves in to authorities in the presence of a chaplain.

Tommy and his wife, Raymona, were married in August of 2001. They currently live in Rochester with their three children and attend First Bible Baptist Church in Hilton, NY.

Chaplains are available for: Lectures, Presentations, Pulpit Supply, Ministry Updates

(TBD)

TBD)

(Saturday, November 9th)

Interested In A Jail Tour? The chaplain’s office conducts a jail tour

every third Tuesday of each month from 7pm to 8pm at the Monroe County jail. To sign up please, contact us for specifics at 585-753-4032.