At the Farmington Correctional Center’s request, GAP began offering Conquering Addiction (CA), our Christ-centered biblical twelve-step study, inside the prison in late March of this year. Before we go on with this story, do you realize the significance of the first sentence?! God is good! We are teaching the full, fifteen week course, complete with the talks, the small group discussion, and the inventory process. (The participants, all men, did their inventories this past week – that is a story in itself.)
While there are many stories to tell from this ministry, we want tell about one man. “Richard” began CA on week one, participated each week, did his homework (they ALL do their homework – it is amazing), and became very engaged with his table group. Richard’s release date fell right after week 4 of the course, and he lives in Richmond, Missouri. Before his release, his table leader made some contacts with a good church in Richmond, and also connected with the leader of a Celebrate Recovery (CR) ministry in Richmond to see if Richard could join this. (Celebrate Recovery is a biblical twelve-step study that is similar to our Conquering Addiction course.) The table leader made every effort to connect Richard with the church and the CR program, and he prayed for Richard.
The great news came last week at CA when five of Richard’s friends, still in prison, made sure to tell Richard’s table leader they had heard from him. And guess what? He called them to say he was in Celebrate Recovery and in his new church in Richmond! I don’t know about you, but my guess is that is not the normal phone conversation over the prison phone lines. God is good! Will you join the prison team in praying for “Richard” and for the men who are participating in CA?
If you would like to hear more about the ministry inside the FCC, just talk to any of the following team members: Jon Bird, Norman Forbes, Tim Gray, Ken McIntyre, Lance Smith, Jerrod Tune, Beth Upchurch, Jerry Weems, and Warren Westrup.
GAP is all about the Kingdom, and this ministry reaches out far beyond the walls of any one church. In fact, the nine-member GAP team that is teaching CA in the Farmington Correctional Center represents five different churches: The Bridge, Leadwood Church of God, Twin Oaks Free Will Baptist, Desloge Methodist and First Baptist Church in Potosi. And now we can add a church in Richmond as a partner!
If you are interested in more information on GAP and our ministry inside the Farmington Correctional Center, St. Francois County Jail, Community Supervision Center, Aquinas treatment center, or CA at The Bridge, please visit www.greatadventureproject.com, or call 573-518-1131. There are many ways to get connected and serve in our GAP ministry.
