Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY190064A
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00:02 I want to spend my life
00:08 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:19 Removing pain 00:24 Lord, let my words Let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:46 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:09 Hi, and welcome to another 3ABN Today program. 01:12 I'm Jason Bradley, 01:14 and today we're going to be talking about 01:17 Carolina Conference Prison Ministries. 01:20 And I'm excited to jump in that topic, 01:24 but before I introduce my guest, 01:27 I wanna share a scripture with you 01:28 and it comes from 01:30 Matthew 25:34-40, it says, 01:36 "Then the king will say to those on His right hand, 01:39 'Come, you blessed of My Father, 01:41 inherit the kingdom prepared for you 01:44 from the foundation of the world. 01:46 For I was hungry and you gave Me food, 01:49 I was thirty and you gave Me drink, 01:52 I was a stranger and you took Me in, 01:54 I was naked and you clothed Me, 01:56 I was sick and you visited Me, 01:58 I was in prison and you came to Me.' 02:02 Then the righteous will answer Him saying, 02:04 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, 02:07 or thirsty and gave You drink? 02:09 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, 02:13 or naked and clothe You? 02:15 Or when did we see You sick or in prison and come to You?' 02:18 And the King will answer and say to them, 02:21 'Assuredly I say to you, in as much you did it 02:24 to one of the least of these my brethren, 02:27 you did it to Me.' 02:29 " I'm so excited to be 02:30 talking about prison ministries, 02:33 and here with me to discuss this topic is Larry Barker 02:37 and he is the Carolina Conference Prison Ministries' 02:40 regional director in South Carolina. 02:43 And Bill Morgan, 02:45 he is the Carolina Conference Prison Ministries volunteer. 02:50 Welcome to 3ABN Today. 02:53 I can't reach over there to you, 02:56 but it's great to have you guys here. 02:58 Thank you. Thank you, I appreciate it. 03:00 No problem. 03:01 And I want to... I would like to... 03:03 One thing that like to do is, 03:04 is find out about your background 03:07 and your story, and you know, 03:09 why you are so passionate about the ministry? 03:12 But before we jump into all of that, 03:15 I want to go to our song, we gonna be blessed 03:18 in song by Tammy Chance who's singing 03:21 "Because of Who You Are." 03:31 You spoke the words and all the worlds 03:35 came into order 03:38 You raised Your hands 03:40 And planets filled the empty skies 03:46 You placed the woman and the man inside the garden 03:52 And though they fell 03:54 They found compassion in Your eyes 03:59 Oh, Lord, I stand amazed at the wonder of it all 04:07 Yet a greater wonder brings me to my knees 04:13 Lord, I praise you because of who You are 04:20 Not for all the mighty deeds that You have done 04:27 Lord I worship You because of who You are 04:34 You're all the reason that I need to voice my praise 04:40 Because of who You are 04:48 One holy night 04:50 You sent your promise from a virgin 04:55 And promise grew till he revealed to us your heart 05:02 Enduring love displayed throughout Your Crucifixion 05:09 And through Your death 05:11 You tore the dark and grave apart 05:16 Oh, Lord, I stand amazed 05:21 At the wonder of it all 05:24 Yet a greater wonder brings me to my knees 05:30 Lord, I praise You because of who You are 05:37 Not for all the mighty deeds that You have done 05:44 Lord, I worship You because of who You are 05:51 You're all the reason that I need to voice my praise 05:58 Lord, I praise You because of who You are 06:04 Not for all the mighty deeds that You have done 06:11 Lord, I worship You because of who You are 06:18 You're all the reason that I need to voice my praise 06:24 Because of who You are 06:55 Amen, "Because of Who You are," 06:57 what a beautiful song. 06:59 Amen. 07:00 I'm ready to jump into this interview. 07:02 Okay. 07:03 I'm ready to jump in, 07:04 but I wanna go into your testimony. 07:06 Okay. 07:08 So tell us a little bit about, you know, 07:10 how you got involved in prison ministry 07:12 and your background? 07:15 I was raised as a Seventh-day Adventist. 07:17 Okay. 07:18 And then after I got older, 07:22 I guess you can say 07:23 I fell into the lure of easy money. 07:26 And I became a drug dealer. Okay. 07:30 Even though, I was raised to be a Seventh-day Adventist. 07:33 The lure of easy money got me where I could... 07:36 At one time I could make, 07:39 you know, $30,000-40,000 in hour. 07:41 Wow. 07:43 And with ease, no problem. 07:46 But eventually, it got the best of me. 07:51 God let me taste a little bit of what it's like 07:54 to be junkie. 07:56 So I became an addict to the product I was selling, 08:00 which is cocaine. 08:02 And he gave me a taste 08:04 what I was doing to other people. 08:07 But at the end of that 08:10 and to make a long story short, 08:13 when I was in prison in doing time, 08:18 God showed me something that was lacking. 08:20 Okay. 08:22 There was nobody from 08:23 Seventh-day Adventist Church coming in. 08:26 They are in South Carolina Department of Corrections 08:29 and I couldn't understand that. 08:32 And at one time it took over two years for my mom 08:36 to even to get a pastor to come visit me. 08:39 So I said right then and there, 08:41 I said, "Lord if You would 08:44 let me be a solution to a problem 08:46 and not a problem." 08:48 So when after going to prison four times, stayed in federal. 08:54 I guess you can say I'm hard headed, like Peter. 08:59 I finally seen what the problem was, 09:01 the woman I had been with wasn't the right woman. 09:04 And every time that we've got out of prison, 09:07 we ended up going back because of our drug addiction. 09:11 And the last time I went in there, 09:13 I finally figured out this is not the right woman. 09:16 And I came out in 2000, 09:20 and in 2004 I came out in the federal prison. 09:25 Jim Wetmore, 09:26 who is now the prison ministry director 09:29 for North Carolina came in to visit me. 09:33 And before he came in, I had prayed to God, 09:37 "I said, Lord, if You want me 09:38 to be a part of prison ministry, 09:40 this man who I have never met will have to ask me out 09:42 when he gets here." 09:44 And thank God, He did. 09:46 'Cause I'm here today talking to you. 09:47 Wow! Amen. Amen. 09:50 I have been doing this for 19 years. 09:53 And the 19 years I have been out, 09:56 God has allowed me to be a pioneer at some things 09:58 that's never been done into Carolinas. 10:01 Like what? 10:02 For one, we have a church established 10:04 in legal correctional institution 10:06 for the first time. 10:07 Wow! 10:09 Amen. 10:11 We have Charleston Seventh-day Adventist, 10:15 we have Moncks Corner Seventh-day Adventist, 10:19 Summerville Seventh-day Adventist Church, 10:21 and Shiloh Seventh-day Adventist 10:22 which is South Atlantic, working together, 10:26 going and administering to the church. 10:29 We have our Sabbath school, 10:31 then we have our worship service, 10:33 we have our elders and we have our deacons, 10:36 and we even have choir. 10:38 So we have a regular worship in there just like we did, 10:42 only difference is there is, no woman 10:44 except for the woman volunteers going in, 10:46 it's all men institution, maximum security. 10:50 And so where did the baptisms take place? 10:52 Is there... Right there. 10:54 Right there in... 10:55 Yeah, they have a portable baptismal. 10:56 And we baptize them right there. 10:59 Matter of fact, 11:00 we just had a baptism two weeks ago, 11:02 we baptized nine men. 11:04 Pastor Tony LA Porte, who is the pastor 11:06 to Charleston Seventh-day Adventist Church, 11:08 came in and did baptism. 11:11 And, you know, I praise God 11:13 because when I started going in, 11:15 I had no intensions of making a church. 11:18 I was just going and seeing the men 11:20 because that's what I wanted when I was in there. 11:23 Yeah. 11:24 So my goal is to see every church 11:30 Seventh-day Adventist Church, 11:31 South Carolina and North Carolina 11:34 be active in prison ministry going in 11:37 and ministering to those in need. 11:40 Amen. 11:41 That's my goal. That's a good goal. 11:43 Might take a rest of my life, 11:45 but God gave me a plan and a purpose. 11:48 Amen. This is my calling. 11:50 And, you know, 11:51 when you realize the plan and the purpose 11:53 that God has placed on your life, 11:55 you really feel that sense of fulfillment. 11:58 Like that's what you are supposed to be doing. 12:00 Yeah. And there's no doubt about it. 12:02 It gives me conformation all the time. 12:04 Amen. Amen. 12:06 Well, Brother Bill, how did you get involved? 12:09 Well, 12:12 it started with a brother in our church 12:16 that was going to prison ministries. 12:19 And he coming back and testifying... 12:24 It bothered me and I had to get involved. 12:30 And what's your background? 12:32 My background, well, it's the refrigeration, 12:36 air conditioning and heating and I did it in the military. 12:41 Okay. What branch? 12:43 Air force. Air force, okay. 12:46 And so, you've been to several prisons, correct? 12:50 Yes, sir. 12:51 Okay, okay. 12:53 So when people get baptized in prison, 12:55 where do they get baptized? 12:57 They have a portable baptismal 13:00 that South Carolina Department correction has, 13:04 and we bring it in fill it up with water, 13:07 which is already prepared before we get there. 13:10 And it's sometimes we might be baptizing nine. 13:15 One time we baptized up to 20 at one time. 13:18 Wow! Twenty at one time? 13:20 Yes, sir. Okay, okay. 13:23 And was gonna bring me to my next question, 13:25 which is how receptive are the inmates 13:29 when you go in there? 13:30 Because I know there is probably 13:32 a large group of people that you get to speak to. 13:36 How receptive are they 13:37 to volunteers and to the message? 13:40 It's breath of fresh air for them 13:43 because they're locked up. 13:45 Some of them had never had a visit from family or anybody. 13:49 And there's some had been doing 30-40 years, 13:52 never had a visit. 13:53 So we are the only visit they get, 13:56 when the volunteer goes in. 13:57 Yeah, yeah. 13:59 Thirty to forty years without a visit? 14:01 Yeah. Wow. 14:04 It's a long time. Yeah, that is a long time. 14:07 Yes, it is. 14:09 What are you gonna say? 14:10 We had a guy that was in the wheelchair 14:12 and it was long after we met him, 14:16 that he died right there in prison. 14:19 Oh, man. 14:20 Did he accept Christ prior to dying? 14:23 Yeah, he did. 14:26 Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. 14:27 So when you go into the prisons, 14:29 what does a program look like? 14:33 A program is basically the same thing 14:36 that we have here in the street. 14:38 Okay. 14:40 I say the street and the church on the outside of the prison. 14:42 Okay. 14:44 We have a worship service for a self-believer 14:46 'cause it's a church. 14:47 We have our quarterly Bible study 14:49 like we do out here. 14:51 We also have our worship service 14:54 and the inmates which some of them 14:57 are already been lay down 14:58 and made elders and deacons in the church. 15:02 We have a regular worship service, 15:04 the only difference is, it's mostly men, 15:07 except for the women volunteers coming in to ministry too. 15:10 Got you. 15:12 And so and how long has 15:15 the Carolina Conference Prison Ministries 15:18 been in existence? 15:20 Before I came to prison, 15:22 because it been going on for a while, 15:24 Jim Wetmore, 15:25 far as I know he'd been doing it 15:27 for some time now for over. 15:29 He came in to me in '98 15:33 and he was doing it before then, 15:35 so it's been 30-40 years. 15:37 Okay. 15:39 What testimonies can you share in terms of maybe lives 15:42 that have been transformed as a result of this ministry? 15:47 For one, I'm a life changed. 15:52 I like to take the words of Harry Williams, 15:53 I'm no longer pushing dope but hope. 15:55 Amen. 15:57 And I'm going out there to do something 15:59 that I wanted to do when I was in there. 16:02 Yeah. 16:03 Longing for a visit, longing for a visit. 16:06 Volunteers don't understand the impact 16:11 they make on individual 16:13 when they go in to that visit. 16:18 That is the changing of a life. 16:20 Yes, yes. 16:23 Amen. 16:25 You know, I like how you put that because 16:30 when you are in there 16:31 the first thing that happens is, 16:33 you know, you're dehumanized. 16:35 Yes. 16:36 Then you lack that contact with the outside world, 16:39 the people that you're running with 16:41 that you may have gotten in trouble with, 16:44 you know, they're nowhere to be found, 16:46 when you get in trouble. 16:48 You know, sometimes people's families 16:50 abandon them to and so that church involvement 16:55 is so crucial. 16:57 Yes, it is. 17:00 When you go to prison, you find out 17:01 who your friends and family are. 17:03 Yes. 17:05 And some of my best family, 17:07 not to say that my family didn't come visit me, 17:10 but I had people come from church to visit me, 17:13 who I never knew. 17:15 They showed me love just like my family had. 17:18 I was very fortunate to have a loving family, 17:20 who came in and visited me. 17:23 Yeah, that makes a huge difference. 17:25 Yes, it does, because that's part of rehabilitation. 17:28 Visits is part of rehabilitation, 17:30 it's part of changing of a person 17:32 into a better lifestyle 17:34 than what they were at before they went in. 17:36 Yes. 17:38 Now, how do you help in reducing 17:43 the recidivism rate? 17:45 Well, for one, we're doing another thing 17:48 that's never been done in the Carolinas. 17:51 We're actually building a transitional house right now, 17:54 first time ever done into Carolinas. 17:57 And with that transitional house, 17:58 once it's completed, 18:00 and I'm gonna stick to Philippians 1:6 on that, 18:03 "For He who began a good work in you 18:06 will bring it to completion." 18:08 He is not slack to way man concerns slackness. 18:11 What God starts He finishes. 18:15 He started this transition house, 18:17 I did not. 18:18 I didn't have the money to start it with, 18:20 but from somewhere somehow, God is making the money come. 18:25 For hence we started building in this transitional house, 18:28 it's been over two years that we've been working on it. 18:30 And by the grace of God, I'm a license builder 18:34 which I got my credentials while in prison you could say. 18:37 Wow! 18:39 I got my heating and air, I was in the Feds, 18:41 I got my carpentry 1, 2 and 3 in the state system. 18:44 And when I got out, 18:46 I got my license to be presidential builder. 18:48 Wow! 18:50 Okay, so, you got out and you were ready to go 18:52 onto the workforce? 18:53 Well, I wanted to prepare myself 18:55 when I did get out. 18:57 I want to use my time to better myself. 19:00 Yes. 19:02 The Feds had these programs and, 19:04 you know, we could take for free. 19:06 Even got to do some of my college courses, 19:08 my US history 1 and 2, my English 1 and 2. 19:13 I got my GED, when I was, 19:15 the first time I went into the state system 19:17 'cause I quit school to join the Marine Corp. 19:20 But I guess you can say 19:23 prison was Bible college for me... 19:24 Got you. 19:25 To prepare me for what I'm doing now. 19:28 So you're very productive with your time in there? 19:31 Yes. 19:32 I made a most of it, I did like a man told me, 19:35 "Don't let time do you, you do time." 19:37 Yeah, yeah. 19:38 And so in helping to reduce the recidivism rate, 19:42 you are going to be equipping people 19:46 in these transitional houses with trades? 19:47 Yes. 19:50 Once we get this house built, the next face 19:53 is to get our accreditation to Palmetto Middle School, 19:57 which is in South Carolina to get them their credentials 20:01 like a trade. 20:02 You know, for carpentry, heating and air, electrical, 20:06 plumbing, the basics, you know. 20:11 For us to have somebody and not teach them life skills, 20:14 we're setting them up for failure. 20:15 Yeah, yeah. 20:17 So we need to teach them to be independent, 20:20 to be productive citizens, Christian citizens. 20:24 So they can go back and just like God blessed me 20:28 with a business. 20:29 I'm using it to further the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 20:33 People don't know but when they hire me, 20:35 it will be construction they're giving to Lord 20:38 because not only do I return the tithe to the Lord, 20:41 I give the tithe to the prison ministry. 20:43 Wow, wow. 20:45 When you first got out of prison, 20:49 was it difficult? 20:51 I mean you had all the trades and stuff, 20:53 but did you find it difficult to find a position like 20:58 what was the transition like for you? 21:01 Well, for one, I had no house, 21:04 I had nothing but this right here 21:07 when I got out in the clothes and my bag. 21:09 And at the four times I went to prison each time 21:12 that's what I came out with, but when I finally realize 21:16 and got it right and stayed with the Lord. 21:21 You know, I was easy to transition in, 21:24 I had no ride, no place to live, no job. 21:27 But God provided all those needs for me 21:30 when I got out, 21:31 because I was looking for him to do that. 21:34 I weren't looking to nobody else, 21:35 I was looking to God. 21:37 Just like I'm looking to God to get the transitional house 21:40 to be done. 21:41 Same thing He done for me. 21:43 He's gonna do the same thing for this transitional house. 21:46 Amen. 21:47 It's what He called us to do, 21:49 to take, to think of the interest 21:50 of others more highly than our own. 21:54 I've learned being a Christian 21:56 that part of being a Christian for Jesus Christ, 22:00 there is supposed to be service of attitude 22:02 or attitude of service. 22:05 And knowing God and seeing what is lacking 22:09 in our prison ministry, what was lacking. 22:12 I wanted to change that, 22:13 I wanted to give somebody a visit. 22:17 I wanna help them out to have a place to stay, 22:20 to give him a job. 22:21 And I do that to this day. 22:23 I hire people coming out and give them a job, 22:26 help them get on their feet 22:29 back in society. 22:32 Not everybody is a 100%, 22:35 but then again only those for Lord is. 22:39 And we don't know that till, only God know their heart. 22:41 But I still keep on kicking, I keep on helping, 22:45 because this is what it's about. 22:47 You know, sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ 22:49 that everybody would cross the pathway. 22:51 Absolutely. 22:53 And, Bill, what have you noticed 22:55 in going to volunteer in some of these prisons? 22:59 Well, I noticed that there's guys there 23:03 that are sincere. 23:06 They are willing to give their heart to Lord. 23:11 One man getting out, we asked him the question, 23:16 why did he become a Christian? 23:19 He says, "I don't wanna go to hell." 23:21 Another guy that's in there, he got a life sentence, 23:25 he's killed someone and he's happy, 23:29 and I asked him the same question. 23:32 He says, "As mean as I have been all my life 23:36 to think that God still loves me." 23:39 Wow! 23:40 Now, that's was quiet a testimony. 23:43 Yeah. Amen. 23:45 How did God get a hold of your life? 23:51 God had hit me over the head with board. 23:57 But 24:01 He showed me in Korea 24:07 how to minister to people 24:10 and I went into this red light district 24:15 with tracts and Bibles. 24:18 And this one girl, she was at the bus stop, 24:23 cussing us, storming, 24:25 calling everybody a blankety blank liar. 24:28 She was mad. 24:30 I tried to console her. 24:33 She wouldn't console, she wouldn't. 24:37 Everything I would say, she say, 24:39 "Oh, you're a blankety blank big liar." 24:42 And I told her, I don't have any Bibles today 24:45 but I can have some tomorrow, can I bring you one? 24:48 She said, "Yeah." 24:52 So I asked her where she lived 24:56 and what time to bring to her? 24:59 She told me her address, said come see her 25:03 4 o'clock in the afternoon. 25:06 So 4 o'clock in the afternoon, I went to her house, 25:10 she wasn't home. 25:12 I sat down on the steps and waited for her. 25:15 Half hour later she come down the path, 25:18 she saw me, her face turned red as the beast. 25:22 She invited me in and I went in, 25:25 and she started to taking clothes off 25:27 and I left, 25:29 and she put her clothes on, ran and caught me and said, 25:33 I won't do that anymore. 25:36 So we sat down and I was going down 25:39 the Roman road with her. 25:42 Just big old crocodile tears coming out of her eyes, 25:47 and she accepted the Lord 25:50 and I didn't see her anymore after that. 25:53 Finally three months later, 25:55 they find her in reservoir floating, 25:58 she's dead. 26:01 Poppason, made an example out of her, 26:05 to keep the other girls in line, 26:07 that's what the girls told me. 26:10 She wouldn't give up her Lord and Saviour for to do things 26:15 that they had been doing before. 26:17 Yes. 26:18 So she took a stand for Christ. 26:20 Amen. Yeah. 26:23 Wow! 26:24 So, you went to like any... 26:27 Like anywhere there was nowhere you wouldn't go 26:30 to hand out of tract 26:32 or hand out the Bible or give Bible studies, 26:36 you know, prior to doing this program 26:39 we all sat down 26:40 and we had the opportunity to talk, 26:43 and I got to find out some information 26:45 about you guys and all of that stuff. 26:47 And you were telling me a story about 26:49 how you gave Bibles studies, you went in the... 26:52 Was it a bar or something? 26:54 No, it was a... 26:56 There was a compound they had built 26:57 called Silver Town. 26:59 Okay. 27:00 Just outside of Kunsan Air Base, 27:03 it was half way between Kunsan Air Base and Kuna City, 27:06 which was about seven miles between the two 27:08 and they were in the middle. 27:11 And they sold girls into that, 27:17 to entertainment the GI's, 27:19 'cause the Koreans didn't want 27:21 the GI's coming down 27:23 into their neighborhood cities, 27:25 afraid that it might influence their wives 27:28 or something else. 27:30 Yeah, and it was... 27:36 It made make sick. 27:38 I was in Korea before that TY. 27:42 And I saw that place and I told God, 27:44 I didn't ever want anything to do 27:47 with Koreans again, 27:50 especially Kunsan. 27:52 As soon as I got back or six months later 27:55 I got orders for the same base 27:57 Kunsan Air Force Base. 27:59 I got out of it for medical reasons. 28:02 Then I got in to an outfit, they put me on code 51 said, 28:07 that I couldn't go nowhere for three years. 28:09 Well, I said, "Good, 28:10 I'm not going to Kunsan, Korea." 28:13 When that code 51 ran out, 28:16 I got orders again for Kunsan, Korea, 28:20 and I said, "Lord why me." 28:24 And I had a dream that night of going into Silver Town, 28:28 with tracts of Bible. 28:29 Rolled me out of bed, "Oh, no, Lord. 28:33 I can't do that." 28:35 I don't mean, I can't, I couldn't do it. 28:41 And for seven months after I got to Kunsan, Korea, 28:45 I ran from Silver Town. 28:48 I couldn't stand that place. 28:50 Every time I go by, it was like someone standing up, 28:53 pointing a finger at me Like that, 28:55 their picture they had of Uncle Sam 28:59 pointing his finger at us during the World War II 29:02 and saying God wants you. 29:05 I mean, America wants you, it's America wants you. 29:08 It was like saying God wants you to be. 29:13 And it made me miserable. 29:17 I went to Seoul, Korea to a watch night service, 29:22 and they had 7,000 tracts there, 29:25 was my name on it. 29:27 No one knew I was gonna be there. 29:30 No one knew I mean... 29:34 They didn't know anything about me, 29:36 not in Seoul, Korea, I was in Kunsan, 29:39 which is half way down the peninsula to... 29:44 The end of it, you know. 29:47 So you know there are with tracts, 29:50 was my name on it. 29:52 Wow, so God was really trying to get a hold of you. 29:54 Oh, yeah. 29:56 God was really, 29:58 really trying to get a hold of you. 30:02 So, you know, you've been in the military 30:06 and now you... 30:07 You're here back in the States and going into prisons 30:13 and volunteering 30:15 and you're the Regional Director, 30:18 how many other people are involved 30:20 in the prison ministry? 30:23 In South Carolina, 30:26 you have just in the Charleston, 30:29 Summerville, Moncks Corner and Shiloh, 30:32 we have over 26 volunteers who take turns 30:35 going in each Sabbath on Monday, 30:38 to minister to the inmates. 30:40 Okay. 30:41 And then we're Bill from in West Columbia, 30:44 and Columbia, 30:45 Midtown in Armo 30:48 and Leesburg and Batesburg out there... 30:51 Where they have a Three Angels' Church. 30:53 Okay. 30:55 They are like in the mid part of South Carolina 30:59 to the institutions there. 31:01 They're going in to 31:04 Manning Correctional Institution 31:06 where Bill goes on the Sabbath. 31:08 In Broad River they both go there. 31:10 You have Woodruff, South Carolina 31:12 who goes into 31:14 Tyger River Correctional Institution. 31:16 And then you have Greenville Seventh-day Adventist Church, 31:20 who's going into 31:21 the Greenville Juvenile Detention Center, 31:23 who're ministering to the youth there. 31:25 Nice. Yeah. 31:26 Nice. So there's heavy involvement. 31:28 Yes. Heavy involvement. 31:30 Who's on, like, what tell us about the board? 31:33 The Board of Directors for like transitional housing. 31:37 Bill is one of the members so am I, 31:40 Tony Bowers, Robert Dawson, David Dorn and Lori. 31:45 I can't remember Lori's last name. 31:47 I hope she forgives me about that. 31:48 Yeah. 31:50 But when we... 31:53 When the board came together, it was Robert Dawson, 31:55 Tony and Bill and I. 31:57 And after two years working on the transitional house, 32:02 we decided who is going to start fasting 32:04 and praying to God and get the money we needed. 32:09 And about a month after we had started fasting 32:11 and praying, 32:13 we were already getting some money 32:15 coming in through donations, 32:17 you know, from churches and people, like, 32:20 the NAD, the North American Division 32:22 donated 10,000 towards us to help us. 32:24 Praise the Lord. Get going, where we're going. 32:26 It was a blessing. 32:27 And then it weren't long after that, 32:31 God opened up the door for me 32:33 to buy another transitional house 32:35 in North Charleston, South Carolina, 32:37 which is waiting to be done 32:39 when we get done with Gilbert. 32:41 Wow! 32:42 Wow! Amen. 32:44 We actually have some pictures that I'd like for us to go to 32:47 and as we walk through these pictures, 32:49 just tell us what, 32:50 tell us a little bit about each one? 32:52 Well, that one there is when we went to India. 32:54 Okay. 32:56 And the reason we went to India, 32:57 there was no prison ministry there. 32:59 And Tony Dawson, I mean, Robert Dawson, I'm sorry. 33:02 Robert Dawson knew the president 33:06 from the union there, 33:07 he had come here to South Carolina to visit him. 33:10 And he was witnessing to him 33:11 what we were doing in prison ministry. 33:14 And he said, "Would we come over there?" 33:17 Because they had no prison ministry, 33:18 even though the Seventh-day Adventist 33:20 been there over a hundred years. 33:22 So we agreed to go, and matter of fact, 33:27 the Southern Union office helped pay 33:28 for the tickets to go 33:30 and the local churches donated money for our expenses. 33:32 And we went there 33:34 and we started going to churches. 33:37 A 15-hour flight, and when we got there, 33:40 I mean, as soon as we got there, 33:42 we started getting into car and going to churches in India. 33:45 Wow! 33:46 Which is a 10-hour drive 33:48 as soon as we get off the plane. 33:49 Yeah. 33:50 Ten-hour drive as soon as you got off the plane? 33:52 Yeah. How long was that flight? 33:54 Fifteen hours. Fifteen hours? 33:56 Yes. Wow! 33:59 That's a 25-hour ride. 34:01 There was no rest. 34:02 But you know, 34:04 when you're doing something for Lord, 34:05 then you don't think about those things. 34:06 Yeah. You just want to get there. 34:08 Yes, I'm ready to go and, and we went to this, 34:11 that picture just you were showing there. 34:13 Every one of those came forward for prison ministry 34:15 in that picture. 34:16 Wow! 34:18 That church there... 34:19 Matter of fact after we came back here, 34:21 the Pathfinders, 34:22 they went in with the Pathfinders 34:24 to the local prison there 34:26 and ministered to the prisoners there 34:28 since we left, so they have a prison ministry 34:32 going on in India now. 34:33 That is beautiful. 34:35 So this thing is not just confined to Carolina. 34:38 This is more of a global. 34:40 Yeah. 34:41 Well, God's everywhere. Absolutely. Absolutely. 34:44 You can't contain Him. 34:45 That's right. 34:47 He's everywhere. That's right. 34:48 And we were willing to go and that's, 34:50 you know, it was... 34:52 If you're willing to let God use you, 34:54 the sky's the limit. 34:56 Yes. Yes, that is true. 34:59 And the gospel is to go into all the world. 35:01 Yeah. And there's no limit on that. 35:02 That's right. That's right. 35:04 God opens up doors for that everywhere. 35:06 Amen. 35:07 We've got some more pictures we want to go through. 35:08 Sure. And see what does? 35:11 This is a transitional house in Gilbert, South Carolina. 35:13 This is the property that Bill here bought. 35:16 And the guy on the deck that you see there 35:19 is an inmate who had just got out, 35:21 I gave him a job to help him out. 35:22 He was helping us build that. 35:25 And this is the beginning, 35:26 I wouldn't say the beginning stages. 35:28 When I came in 35:30 and got started on this project, 35:32 this deck wasn't here, the building was there. 35:36 And Bill had hired somebody 35:37 to do the piers underneath there. 35:39 Okay. 35:40 And he made a mistake of paying them 35:42 before they got done, 35:43 but they never came back to finish. 35:44 Oh! 35:46 So I went in there and we finished 35:47 the piers underneath there. 35:49 We started the deck. 35:51 And we're gradually slowly but surely moving our way 35:54 to getting done. 35:57 We're almost done with outside of it. 35:59 Nice. We're working on it. 36:00 Nice. 36:01 And how many people does say 36:03 one of the transitional houses hold? 36:06 This particular house will be able to house six men. 36:08 Okay. Two in each room. 36:10 Nice. Nice. 36:12 So it's not gonna be overcrowded or anything. 36:15 It's a nice setting for them to really thrive. 36:18 Yes. 36:19 It's 3.6 acres that this house is on. 36:21 3.6 acres. Wow! 36:23 3.6 acres so it's gonna be 36:25 a nice peaceful setting for them 36:27 where they can really learn, 36:29 and focus and be reintegrated into society. 36:31 Well, it's got to be big enough to house 36:33 the trade school we're gonna build 36:35 as soon as we get done with this transitional housing. 36:37 Absolutely. Absolutely. 36:40 All right, let's take a look at 36:41 some of the other pictures that we have. 36:43 This is a drawing of the transitional house 36:46 that David Dorn did for us, donated it to us. 36:50 And this is the floor plan 36:52 on what you're looking at there, 36:54 the outside and inside. 36:58 That there is the projected landscape 37:03 if it gets to that part, 37:04 we not, not be that meticulous 37:06 and doing that many bushes 37:07 that you see in that picture, but... 37:09 Just the Lord would tarry. 37:10 But there's where we add to this day 37:12 on the transition house in that picture. 37:14 Okay. 37:16 I waited two years to see that picture or that... 37:20 that much to get accomplished. 37:22 That is definitely sweat, sweat and tears over that. 37:25 Yeah, you had some sweat equity in that. 37:27 Yes. 37:28 And but, you know, 37:29 I drive from Charleston up to Gilbert, 37:31 which is an hour and a half ride one way. 37:32 Wow! 37:34 So I do that on a weekly basis to get this done. 37:38 Yes. Yes. 37:41 So what are maybe like 37:44 some of the needs that you have? 37:47 Well, we always need money... 37:49 Yeah. 37:50 Which is the big factor. 37:53 And we're relying on God to bring it in, 37:55 and donation is one of it. 37:58 And volunteers? 38:00 Oh, volunteers? Yes. 38:01 Without volunteers there is no prison ministry. 38:03 Yes. Yes. 38:04 We got to have volunteers. 38:06 What about pastors? 38:07 Pastors? 38:08 We can use more of them. 38:10 Okay. 38:11 We have one Tony Laporti, who's the pastor 38:13 in the Charleston Seventh-day Adventist Church. 38:17 And in 19 years I've been out, he's one of the ones 38:22 that actually calls me and ask me, 38:25 "When do you need me to go in next week?" 38:28 I wish I can get more like that. 38:29 Yes. 38:30 I mean, I'm not saying that they don't come 38:32 when I do ask other pastors, they do. 38:35 But for a pastor to be that dedicated, 38:39 is the first one in 19 years I've been out. 38:41 Wow! 38:43 I've had pastors at one time, telling me, 38:45 it wasn't their cup of tea to go in to visit. 38:49 But we're living in that time, 38:51 you know, we're in the end times. 38:53 Oh, yeah. 38:54 And trouble is on the inside, it ain't outside. 38:57 It comes from within. 38:59 And when I was in prison and I was seeing 39:02 how we didn't have anybody coming in, 39:04 I wanted to change that, I want to be a part of that. 39:07 Yeah. 39:08 Because I am a Seventh-day Adventist, 39:10 I believe in the message that we preach. 39:16 Yeah. 39:18 And I want it to happen. 39:19 I want to be a part of that. 39:20 Yes. Yes. 39:22 The changing of a life, 39:24 the truth and the truth hurts. 39:28 Yeah, yeah. 39:31 And definitely it's like looking in a mirror. 39:33 Yeah. 39:34 It causes you to take a look at your life. 39:36 Yes, it does. 39:37 And realize your need for Christ. 39:40 And I need Him every day. 39:41 Amen, we all do. 39:43 We all do, for sure. 39:46 So what are some of the challenges 39:49 that you faced in prison ministry? 39:53 My biggest challenge is getting, 39:58 I hate to say this, 40:00 is trying to get a pastor going sometimes. 40:03 You know, because I'm a regional director 40:06 in South Carolina and I can't do the whole state. 40:08 Yeah. Although it's my territory. 40:10 Yeah. 40:11 And I need help and God sends volunteers 40:13 to help me get it done. 40:15 But there are some times that, you know, 40:18 and I can understand a pastor saying, "No," 40:20 because sometimes our pastors 40:22 might be doing two or three churches at one time. 40:23 That's true, yeah. 40:25 My pastor right now 40:27 he's the leader for men's ministry 40:29 and he runs, the pastor 40:32 of the Charleston Seventh-day Adventist Church. 40:33 Wow! 40:35 So he has his plate full. 40:36 Yes, yeah. 40:38 As well as I, but... 40:39 Stretched thin. 40:41 Well... In some places. 40:42 If you want to do something, you'll find a way. 40:45 You'll make a way, you'll look for that time slot, 40:48 you'll make a time slot forward, 40:50 that's all we're doing. 40:52 Bill, you want to say. 40:53 Yeah, on Wednesdays at Manning, 40:56 I'm usually the only one and on... 40:59 on Tuesdays at Broad River, 41:02 I'm usually the only one going in there 41:05 and it would help to have someone else beside me. 41:10 And I've been a Seventh-day Adventist for seven years, 41:14 so I'm a little bit short 41:16 on some of the teachings. 41:21 I'm trying to learn as much as I can. 41:25 Say age is against me. 41:28 But the inmates, 41:31 they welcome me. 41:34 We have quite a camaraderie 41:37 and we get along good, 41:41 but it's still to be the only one. 41:46 When you walk through that gate 41:47 and click, slam shut on you. 41:50 Yes. 41:52 You know that you're in there, 41:54 you're the only one in there like you are 41:58 and the rest of them, 42:00 you know, is not, not that friendly. 42:05 Maybe to me they might be since I worked in a prison, 42:10 but you need more people involved. 42:16 It would show to the inmate 42:19 that more people have a heart for them. 42:21 Yes. 42:23 As Christians, 42:25 we should be having a heart 42:29 for the lost souls. 42:31 We should have a dream winning people to the Lord, 42:36 not just me, myself and I. 42:38 Yeah. 42:39 We're not made of that. 42:41 We're not supposed to be made of that. 42:42 If that's it, then we need to get back down 42:45 to the altar ourselves. 42:48 Amen. 42:50 Yes. And you said it. 42:51 You said it for sure. 42:52 And then what the gospel supposed to be preached 42:57 to the whole world that includes prisons, 42:58 that includes those that are incarcerated. 43:01 You know, they are God want to reach those individuals. 43:05 Who do we consider the least of these? 43:08 The ones we think the least of 43:11 and when are we going to get a heart for that? 43:15 Yes. Yes. 43:16 Amen. Yeah. 43:18 Our quarterly has owned 43:19 for the least of these ministries. 43:21 And on the front of it, it shows the man 43:24 that got robbed on the Jericho Path. 43:27 And it was this Samaritan, 43:29 the one that the Jews did not like, 43:32 who went in to help this particular person 43:35 that got robbed. 43:37 Except for the grace of God, there go I. 43:39 Yeah. 43:41 If we don't get that attitude and we don't, 43:43 we're not going to get it. 43:44 Yeah. 43:46 We got to get involved. 43:47 Yes. Amen. 43:49 And I can't think somebody else is gonna do it, 43:52 well somebody else will do it, somebody else will do it. 43:54 Read the... the after 43:56 where you left off and on 25, 44:00 read the rest of that. 44:01 Correct. 44:02 I think people need to hear that too. 44:05 Yeah. 44:06 Matthew Chapter 25. Yeah. 44:08 Yeah, this is in now in verse 41 and it says, 44:13 "Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 44:17 'Depart from Me, you cursed, 44:20 into the everlasting fire 44:22 prepared for the devil and his angels: 44:25 For I was hungry and you gave Me no food, 44:28 I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink, 44:30 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, 44:33 naked and you did not clothe Me, 44:36 sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.' 44:40 Then they also will answer Him, 44:41 saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, 44:45 or a stranger, or naked, or sick or in prison, 44:48 and did not minister to You?' 44:52 Then He will answer them, 44:53 saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, 44:56 inasmuch as you did not do it 44:59 to one of the least of these, 45:01 you did not do it to Me. 45:05 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, 45:08 but the righteous into eternal life." 45:13 Yeah, God is not just love only, 45:16 He's also just. 45:21 And you know, even in His, 45:23 when you think about, 45:25 you know, those that may not make it to heaven, 45:30 like He's God, 45:31 we do serve a just God and a loving God, 45:35 and you think about the people that don't want to serve God 45:38 and don't want to honor God 45:41 and try and reciprocate that love. 45:46 You know, 45:49 you think about how miserable that they would be in a place 45:53 where everybody is worshipping and praising, 45:56 praising God and He knows that and He doesn't... 45:59 He's a God of love, so He doesn't force, 46:02 force you to love Him. 46:04 Well, how many of them would bail 46:05 or point a finger at you 46:07 and say you didn't tell me to? 46:08 And that... 46:09 Yeah. Yeah. 46:11 The blood will be required. 46:13 Yeah. Yeah. 46:14 How many neighbors don't know about Christ? 46:17 Family members. 46:18 Family members. Yes. 46:20 Yeah, friends. Amen. 46:21 Yeah, yeah. Absolutely. 46:25 You know, one of the things 46:26 that I'm very passionate about is prison ministry. 46:29 So I was very excited to know that you guys were coming 46:32 and that I was gonna have the opportunity of sitting down 46:35 and talking to you guys and finding out what, 46:37 you know, what you're all about and, what you're doing 46:39 and what God is using you guys 46:43 to do in prison ministry? 46:46 It's always great to hear about people 46:49 that had given their lives to the Lord 46:51 and those that are incarcerated, 46:53 sometimes what you find is 46:55 they're more hungry for the gospel 46:57 than people that free on the outside. 47:00 Amen. 47:02 But in bondage to sin. 47:04 Amen. I know that so. 47:06 There're some of them 47:07 that know the Bible better than we do. 47:09 And that's true too. Yeah. 47:11 So you better study 47:12 to show yourself approved of God, 47:14 so you can be a workman who need not be ashamed. 47:17 And who correctly handles the word, 47:18 because when you go in there, they got it down pat. 47:21 Oh, yeah. And they will question you. 47:23 Yes, they do. 47:24 They will ask you questions for sure. 47:26 They're like debris and show me in Word. 47:29 That's right. That's right. 47:31 So, all right. 47:33 What other things can you tell me 47:34 about your prison ministry experience? 47:39 It's one that's very appealing. 47:44 It's one that when I do get to go into the prisons, 47:48 and I come out after ministering to them, 47:51 it's a spiritual high that only you can get 47:55 when you give yourself away to someone else who's in need. 47:59 It's part of the gospel. 48:03 It's a high that no drug can even compared to you. 48:06 Amen. 48:07 Because it lasts forever and ever. 48:09 Yeah. Yeah. 48:12 Bill, what about you? 48:15 Well, I can agree with him. 48:17 And it's a blessing. 48:20 They will bless you that are in prison. 48:23 You're not only blessing, but it returns. 48:27 Sometimes it returns tenfold. 48:30 And you could sit there 48:32 and just praise God and be thankful. 48:37 Amen. 48:38 Isn't it incredible how you go into say a prison 48:42 or even if you're feeding the homeless 48:44 or whatever the case may be, 48:46 but you go to be a blessing 48:47 and then you come out more blessed 48:49 than what you think they might be now at this point. 48:52 Amen. Amen. 48:53 Yeah. Yeah. 48:54 It was better to give than receive. 48:56 Absolutely. 48:57 It'd be packed down and overflowing. 49:03 What are some of the questions that you guys receive 49:05 when you go into the prisons? 49:09 Well, sometimes you'll have an inmate 49:11 who'll try to get you to call their family. 49:13 Okay. 49:14 Which we're not allowed to do because you volunteer. 49:17 But there's ways of doing that, 49:19 you get someone who's not a volunteer 49:21 to make the phone call, 49:22 because you see, 49:23 there's another outreach right there. 49:25 Every inmate has a family, or wife or children. 49:30 So community service and prison ministry 49:32 go hand in hand, 49:34 because there's needs of the family 49:36 as well as the inmate. 49:38 And I hate to say it 49:39 when someone's doing time, the family is too. 49:42 Absolutely. 49:43 Unpack that a little bit? Yeah. 49:45 Well, right now in South Carolina alone, 49:49 they don't pay inmates anymore, they stopped that years ago. 49:52 Wow! 49:53 I mean, when I was doing time, 49:55 they used to give you $5 49:57 and some change every two weeks. 49:59 So you can buy some soap or shampoo, but now no. 50:03 So the only way that an inmate gets money 50:06 is from individuals like you and I to send them money. 50:09 Wow! 50:10 And the state also does this too. 50:13 They charge them to go see a doctor in there now, 50:16 and they have to pay for their medication. 50:19 They charge them to go to a doctor? 50:20 Yes. Yes. 50:22 But then they don't pay them to work. 50:24 Correct. 50:25 What's wrong with that picture? 50:27 So you, I mean, you could just die in there 50:29 if you can't afford to get it. 50:31 Well, true, but what it is 50:35 they're stacking up a financial bill 50:38 or debt on that inmate 50:40 so when he gets out, 50:42 he's got to pay the medical expense bill 50:45 of being in there. 50:47 And they are trying to say that crime don't pay, 50:49 but you're not teaching them 50:52 that crime don't pay when you're teaching them, 50:55 you're more or less, you hold back not the wages 50:57 of the laborers what the Bible says. 51:00 So you're gonna work somebody and not paying him? 51:01 Yeah. 51:03 That's not a... that's not a good. 51:04 I know they broke the law. 51:06 But again, you're supposed to be rehabilitating, 51:08 not getting them to go backwards. 51:11 Yeah. 51:12 You need to pay someone who works 51:14 and even the Bible says so. 51:17 Our prisons aren't 51:19 near as severe as they are 51:21 in Third World Nations. 51:23 Yeah. Yes. 51:24 In Thailand, it's a pit 51:27 and everything flows to the bottom. 51:28 Wow! 51:30 And the one that committed the worst crime 51:32 is at the bottom. 51:34 Wow! 51:35 In Korea, they got four walls, no roof. 51:40 The cells are on the inside of the wall. 51:43 They're open to the elements. Wow! 51:45 If you get over 51:47 a four year prison term in Korea, 51:49 it's a death penalty. 51:50 Wow! 51:52 Yes. Yeah. 51:53 Some harsh sentences out there for sure. 51:56 We've got to go to the address role. 51:59 We are going to show you 52:00 how you can get in touch with them 52:03 and support the ministry, 52:05 and then we'll go to a brief news break 52:07 and we'll be right back. 52:12 If you feel impressed to support 52:14 the Carolina Conference Prison Ministries 52:17 and their passion for those who are incarcerated, 52:20 you can do so by contacting them 52:21 at Carolina Conference Prison Ministries, 52:25 PO Box 945, 52:28 Ladson, South Carolina 29456. 52:32 That's Carolina Conference Prison Ministries, 52:35 PO Box 945, 52:38 Ladson, L-A-D-S-O-N, 52:41 South Carolina 29456 52:44 or you can go to their website, 52:47 CarolinaPrisonMinistries.com. |
Revised 2019-10-21