Surprises of Hope

LIFE LESSONS

Building Bridges. Restoring Hope. It is not just a catchy tag line. It truly is what we do. Back in January as we looked at our 2020 ministry schedule—prayer conferences in 10 Illinois correctional centers, special services in five other state and federal prisons, meeting someone at the prison gate and gathering weekly for Radical Time Out™ (RTO)—we were excited to see what God would do in the new year.

Then suddenly, like everyone else’s schedule, all those dates were cancelled. We immediately prayed to God the Father to show us what he would have us do. We knew that, more than ever, people needed hope, especially the living hope provided for us through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (1 Peter 1:3-6) Our cry to God became, “Surprise us! Show us how to hallow your name in this unique time. Bring hope to the incarcerated.”

And he did!

We were surprised that our ministry would involve facilitating the supply of feminine hygiene products to one of Illinois’ prisons for women and that Koinonia House ® Ministries (KHM) would purchase and deliver 2,400 bars of bath soap for the men at Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet. We were surprised that RTO never missed a meeting. Using technology, we continued to provide hope-filled messages and prayer times each Thursday evening for families of those impacted by incarceration and those who want a front row seat to how God can transform lives. We were surprised that an inmate’s fiancé from Chicago would be excited to do a weekly bible study over the phone with a just-released woman living in a small town in DeKalb County.

One surprise started in late February when an area church held its annual retreat for several hundred women. They contacted us for help in connecting with a prison because they wanted the ladies at the retreat to write notes of encouragement to incarcerated women. KHM was the bridge between the church and a chaplain at a federal prison for women in southern Illinois.

No one could have imagined that just two weeks after 500 cards were sent, that facility (like all prisons across the country) would go into lockdown. Visits stopped. Phone calls were restricted. Most inmates were (and many still are) confined to their cells/ dorm rooms for 22-23 hours each day, seven days a week. Those notes became God’s messengers of hope to the inmates—there were complete strangers “on the outside” thinking of and praying for them!

A few weeks went by, and the church began receiving replies from the inmates. The ministry leader wrote, “Oh to hear the hearts of these ladies. Everyone with Scripture. Took my breath away.” She was so moved by these responses that their women’s ministry team started a prisoner pen pal program, with 41 ladies eagerly volunteering to write to an inmate. A simple bridgebuilding task turned into a new avenue of communicating the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Like the Apostle Peter, we say, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead . . .” (NKJV)

About the Authors | Barbara and Manny Mill

Barbara and Manny Mill are members of College Church and local partners serving with Koinonia House ® Ministries. Manny is the CEO and Barbara is the operations director of this ministry. KHM proclaims the gospel to those in prison and discipleship out of prison.