I want to first of all thank all the churches, organizations and individuals that have tirelessly supported our efforts each and every year. I am blessed to have the most incredible staff of employees and volunteers that understand the importance of Prison Ministry and what it means to the Kingdom of God and to our local area.
This last year was not without it challenges that is for sure, however as 2012 is in our rear view mirror I am once again amazed at how God works. We were blessed once again to be provided substantial financial grants from two organizations that work through the Luzerne Foundation. those two organizations are the Logos Fund and the Shekinah Fund. These grants enable us to move into 2013 without having to make any major changes to our current ministry focus and to continue the great work.
A difficult thing to do in ministry is to define and add up "success" because God is the one who causes growth. Ministers are entrusted with the "foolish" things like preaching the Word of God. Since I have been the Executive Chaplain for Providing Hope Ministries I have kept certain data to keep track of activity and trends. These numbers do not necessarily define and delineate success, but they do show that we are faithful to what God communicates in Roman 10. It is our central and primary goal to Proclaim the Gospel Of Jesus Christ to all who hear.
The Proclamation of the Gospel is our primary mission and truthfully if we are not proclaiming the central message to all we are declaring what the Word of God says to those who believe in the Historic Biblical Jesus Christ. Declaring who they are IN CHRIST. It can be said our core message is the Gospel of Jesus Christ and we communicate that message by proclaiming and declaring to all who have ears to hear.
At the same time recognizing that even those who can't hear the message of freedom, the failure to hear does not disqualify them from experiencing the reality of the grace of God. We are to extend the grace of God even to the ones we find the hardest to love. The ones we find the hardest to love are the ones that God seems to "So Love".
In 2012 we had over 6,000 inmates in our classes and services in a correctional facility that has an average population of 750. The average class size was 10 inmates. That means that our core group of volunteers spent over 450 hours in 2012 ministering to the prisoners. The inmates were furnished with over 356 Bibles and 267 Bible studies. Our chaplains answered over 1677 inmate requests for a variety of needs. All of these services are on a voluntary basis and any interest has to be initiated by the inmate.
So again, I want to say thanks to all for an incredible year. It is an honor to lead this ministry and to work with such a diverse group of people who share a common and unrelenting love for God and a desire to glorify Him forever. Please continue to keep us in your prayers and support. We still need your help as we continue to Proclaim the truth of Jesus Christ in a dark place.
Blessings,
Rev. James Wilbur, D.Min.
Executive Chaplain
We offer direct chaplaincy care, Bible studies, worship services, and a variety of recovery programs to the over 750 (average population) inmates of the Luzerne County Division of Corrections. Each week classes/services are conducted by our Chaplain's and volunteers that currently represent a variety of different churches in Luzerne county committed to sharing the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those who have been affected by incarceration in our community.
