Note from Robby:
“Sports Reach is always looking for new ways to involve a variety of people. We are grateful for such a church as this that has found another niche to reach “The Least of These”.“
When Otter Creek Correctional, a medium-security prison for women in Floyd County, closed in 2010, the female inmates were moved to other facilities.
After they were transferred, Tanya, one of the ladies on our prison ministry team, suggested that we write to the ones we could find. She thought a newsletter would be a way we could encourage them. That sounded great! We knew many of their first names but had been forbidden to keep a written list of the women who came to Bible study during our four years serving there. The ONLY way to find them was to look through every female name on the DOC database online. It took WEEKS! After going through over 10,000 names, we found thirty girls we knew.
Tanya had said, “Everybody can use some good news,” and so Good News became the name of our brand new newsletter. We began writing to those thirty girls. They liked getting mail and were encouraged that they had not been forgotten. They shared Good News with others, and they wanted to be added to the mailing list. They also added family and friends who needed encouragement or were incarcerated.
What began with thirty women, located explicitly in KY, has grown over the years to reach from California, Washington state, Ohio, Texas, Georgia, and to many in Florida.
The newsletter started as one sheet and then grew to seven. At one time, some of those were on brightly colored paper. However, it got brought down to five sheets of all white paper due to the restrictions of several institutions (The number of our distribution grew to over 500, and we had to put a limit on it a few years ago, due to postage cost, to only those who were incarcerated).
Our goal is to encourage, bless, and point people to Jesus. Each newsletter contains Bible studies, encouraging and sometimes funny stories, puzzles and the Plan of Salvation. Locally, it goes to two rehab facilities (male and female) and the female inmates at Floyd County Jail.
During the last year, because of the Sports Reach softball ministry, we have been thrilled to add over 100 new brothers to our mailing list! They are in facilities located in Kentucky, Georgia, and Florida. Several have written to us (we pass around their letters), and we have even put some of their stories and letters within ‘Good News’.
We are very thankful to be a part of a church that loves others! They support Good News and even help us put it all together. On the second Sunday of each month, a group of faithful ladies stuffs the envelopes for mailing. We surround the letters, put our hands on them, and pray for each recipient.
Luke 4:18 reminds us always: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me because He has anointed me, to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free…”
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