Inmates for Christ Prison Ministry

Misson:

It is the mission of the outreach ministy of Immanuel Baptist Church to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the salvation of souls. Through this ministry we also strive to edify the saints, disciple young converts and encourage fellow christians to serve God as he leads them. It is our desire that this ministry helps inmates to grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Chirst.

The Field :

Northpoint Training Center is a medium security prison located in Burgin Ky., between Harrodsburg and Danville. This prison is actually located on the grounds of a facility which was built to house prisoners of war during World War II. There are actually prisoners buried on the grounds for this era. The population is approximately 1400 inmates. The average service attendance is usually around 25-30 inmates. Inmates may attend services of various religious denominations and faiths, virtually every night of the week and usually multiple services on Sundays. Unfortuantely Baptist are very under-represented at Northpoint, only offering services on Tuesdays and our once a month service on the third Saturday.

Lee County Adjustment Center of the U.S. Corrections Corporation is located near Beattyville, Ky. This prison is a newer facility having only been open for business since the mid 1980's. The population was kept under 500 for 8 to 10 years when it was a minimum security facility. Since that time it has become a medium security faciility and can now house around 900 to 1000 inmates. We are among the first allowed to offer services in this facility and at that time, due to a lack of volunteers there were many days a week when services were not held. Since then, a couple new chaplains have worked at the facility and the schedule has filled up, but the same is true here as at Northpoint, very few Baptist volunteer.

History:

Brother LeRoy Mains was invited to attend a service at Northpoint with the Newby Baptist Church in Richmond, Ky. It was a life changing event for Brother Mains. He knew from that point on that his calling from God would be to the inmates at Northpoint. Through the help of Brother Clark Edwards, he became a volunteer chaplain at Northpoint and soon after at Lee County Adjustment Center. For about ten years he served in htis capacity volunteering weekly at NPTC and monthly at LCAC. The ministry continues today by God's grace and includes several other volunteers.

Process:

We are guest in the prisons we attend, and we are there with a mission in mind, to preach the gospel. To accomplish this, services vary in length between one and two hours. During this time the normal procedure is that the inmates lead congregational singing for 10-20 minutes, although occasionally we are called to do this. Depending on the volunteers attending, we usually bring special singing for approximately 10-30 minutes. The remaining time is used to bring the message that God has laid on our hearts. This could be as long as 60 minutes; however the inmates only complain if the message is too short. An inviation is given and time permitting we try to fellowship by shaking hands with each inmate that has come out, listening to their prayer request, testimonies and praises which many are more than willing to share.

If you would like more information about how you could be a part of the prision ministry,
Please contact John Schmidt

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