Barbed Wire Going Quarterly

SOCPM mission statement is "To bring the gospel to prisoners and provide holistic discipleship both during and after incarceration." In an attempt to provide holistic discipleship after incarceration SOCPM began 2016 with an objective of connecting paroling students to sound Bible teaching churches so they can continue being discipled in God's Word after being paroled.

With the beginning steps of church partnerships underway, SOCPM has also been challenged to pursue partnerships with Christian business men as potential employers for paroled students. The ministry is also looking to begin pastoral counseling in local county jails and is investigating the possibilities of providing pastoral counseling in IDOC prisons.

With the additional possibility of presenting an expanded curriculum of Christian Living through teaching 1 or 2 day seminars on the horizon, it has brought me to a point of scrunching time and by doing so stress begins to increase.

I've recently met with the elders of my church for guidance before I suffer the burnout syndrome. One of the initial steps is to recruit volunteers for the possible teaching of the Christian Living seminars and volunteers to handle some of the administrative tasks.

However, until then I need to cut back where possible and one of the decisions is to cut back on the number of yearly Barbed Wire issues from six to four. I truly enjoy keeping the supporters of SOCPM and other followers updated on how God is using the ministry for His glory but I feel the Barbed Wire is one of the current ministry tasks that has the least impact on the mission statement.

This issue of the Barbed Wire is limited in overall length. The next issue is scheduled for July and its length is dependent upon God providing a volunteer to take the lead on writing and editing.

Together for the Gospel 2016

Together for the Gospel (T4G) is a biennial pastor's conference that I've been attending with fellow members of my church since 2010. Since then, T4G has become a conference I look forward to attending. In addition to hearing teachings from some great teachers, it is a great opportunity to network and fellowship.
It was at T4G 2012, through Pastor Joe Thorn, I met several individuals from Ligonier Ministries which lead to a ministry partnership that has been a fruitful blessing to SOCPM.

This year I was the only member from my church to attend. I was bummed that my pastor, Joe Thorn, would not be attending. In the past, he has introduced me to other ministry leaders. I thought it would be a less than fruitful conference, however, I did connect with several men I've met through various ministries, including Ligonier, for great conversation on theology.

The personal high point was meeting Chris Hunsberg, the Executive Director of Radical. Radical is the resource ministry of teacher and author David Platt. I taught a Radical course "How to Study the Bible" in the 3rd term of 2015 and it was one of the most well received courses SOCPM has presented. Though my time talking with Chris was minimal, he shared that Radical had recently partnered with a prison ministry from Alabama and would be very much interested in discussing how Radical could be a resource for SOCPM.

I had a phone call with Chris on May 16th and he's sending me the resources for "The Cross of Christ", including two copies of the study guides, pending approval by both Dixon and Sheridan, I plan to tack on "The Cross of Christ as a follow-up to Ligonier Ministries "What Did Jesus Do
" as part of SOCPM's Discipleship curriculum. Chris also made me aware of other Radical material for possible use in SOCPM's Christian Living curriculum. The ministry is looking to begin presenting Christian Living one or two day seminars in the latter half of 2016.

Numbers

100 - The number of classes SOCPM has taught or participated in with the start of the Spring term Discipleship class at Sheridan Correctional Ctr. on Friday evening May 6, 2016

Online Giving is Here!!!

Soldiers of Christ Prison Ministries is a donor supported ministry
Would you please pray about becoming a monthly financial partner?

SOCPM has many objectives it hopes to bring about for God's glory but your financial support is the means to make it possible.

To help support, you can give a tax-deductible donations online at Redeemer Fellowship
Click the "To:" drop down menu and select Soldiers of Christ Prison Ministries

If you are a current monthly financial partner or have given in the past, thank you! If you aren't currently a monthly partner or have given a one time gift before, would you please pray about becoming a monthly financial partner?

Contact

Soldiers of Christ Prison Ministries
P. O. Box 671
Cortland, IL 60112
socpm@socpm.org
http://www.socpm.org